Mikael Santana
Encyclopedia
Mikael Santana is an American
blues
harmonica
player and singer-songwriter
, who blends the Chicago blues
style with jump blues
and West Coast swing. He lives in Memphis
, Tennessee
.
, Florida
, United States
, and lived in Miami from 1960 to 1972. His mother worked as a ticket agent for an airline, enabling the family to travel extensively. Thus, by the time he had reached his early teens Santana had traveled to Bolivia
, Chile
, Guatemala
, Peru
, Brazil
, Paraguay
, Spain
, and Portugal
. His parents divorced in 1972; and along with his mother, sister, and brother, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, all of them living with his grandparents until his mother finished her teaching degree. Having graduated, his mother took a job teaching at Dyersburg Senior High School in Dyersburg, Tennessee. Santana did his senior year of high school there (graduating in 1976), and then returned to Miami.
For six years, Santana worked at a variety of jobs (short-order cook, apprentice carpenter, clerk in a bookstore) before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1982. During his stay in the Army, Santana studied the Mandarin Chinese language at the Defense Language Institute
in Monterey, California
. Upon completion of language school, he was assigned to his permanent duty station at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina
. While at Ft. Bragg, he received an Associates Degree in General Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle University. In 1986, he was received into the Greek Orthodox Church
, taking the name of St. Mikael the Archangel. He was discharged from the Army in 1987.
Moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
; it was there that he watched the film
, Crossroads
, inspiring him to take up the study of the blues harmonica.
Santana moved back to Dyersburg, Tennessee
in 1988, and for the next three years studied Medical Laboratory Science at Jackson State Community College. During this time he studied the recordings of such Blues harmonica masters as James Cotton
, Little Walter
, and Sonny Boy Williamson II
and within two years he was serving an apprenticeship under the tutelage of Butch Mudbone on Beale Street
in Memphis, Tennessee.
After graduating from college Santana moved permanently to Memphis, and with encouragement from Mudbone, went on to develop his skills as a front man. Eventually he met guitarist Al Rollag, with whom he formed the band Metropolitan Avenue (along with Steve Earnshaw (electric bass) and drummer Mike Karcz). Using a repertoire built on the traditional Chicago blues style, Metropolitan Avenue incorporated into its sound the jazz, jump blues, and West Coast swing elements of such modern blues greats as Big Joe and the Dynaflows, Charlie Musslewhite, Rod Piazza
and the Mighty Flyers, and William Clarke.
in Memphis as their base of operations, they regularly gigged there as headliners, or opened up for such blues notables as Little Jimmy King, Blind Mississippi Morris
, Studebaker John, Sean Costello
, and Anson Funderburgh
with Sam Myers
. On June 2, 2000 they were given the honor of opening for B.B. King at the B.B. King Homecoming in Indianola, Mississippi
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player and singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, who blends the Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
style with jump blues
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
and West Coast swing. He lives in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
Early years
Mikael Santana was born in LakelandLakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and lived in Miami from 1960 to 1972. His mother worked as a ticket agent for an airline, enabling the family to travel extensively. Thus, by the time he had reached his early teens Santana had traveled to Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. His parents divorced in 1972; and along with his mother, sister, and brother, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, all of them living with his grandparents until his mother finished her teaching degree. Having graduated, his mother took a job teaching at Dyersburg Senior High School in Dyersburg, Tennessee. Santana did his senior year of high school there (graduating in 1976), and then returned to Miami.
For six years, Santana worked at a variety of jobs (short-order cook, apprentice carpenter, clerk in a bookstore) before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1982. During his stay in the Army, Santana studied the Mandarin Chinese language at the Defense Language Institute
Defense Language Institute
The Defense Language Institute is a United States Department of Defense educational and research institution, which provides linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other Federal Agencies and numerous and varied other customers...
in Monterey, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Upon completion of language school, he was assigned to his permanent duty station at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. While at Ft. Bragg, he received an Associates Degree in General Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle University. In 1986, he was received into the Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
, taking the name of St. Mikael the Archangel. He was discharged from the Army in 1987.
The Crossroads
Upon leaving the Army, Santana returned to Miami, where he studied massage therapy and briefly worked as a masseur at a Miami Beach hotel.Moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
; it was there that he watched the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Crossroads
Crossroads (film)
Crossroads may refer to:* Crossroads , a Chinese film starring Zhao Dan* Crossroads , a mystery film directed by Jack Conway* Crossroads , directed by Bruce Conner...
, inspiring him to take up the study of the blues harmonica.
Santana moved back to Dyersburg, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
in 1988, and for the next three years studied Medical Laboratory Science at Jackson State Community College. During this time he studied the recordings of such Blues harmonica masters as James Cotton
James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
, Little Walter
Little Walter
Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs , was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, for innovation and impact on succeeding generations...
, and Sonny Boy Williamson II
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
and within two years he was serving an apprenticeship under the tutelage of Butch Mudbone on Beale Street
Beale Street
Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are...
in Memphis, Tennessee.
After graduating from college Santana moved permanently to Memphis, and with encouragement from Mudbone, went on to develop his skills as a front man. Eventually he met guitarist Al Rollag, with whom he formed the band Metropolitan Avenue (along with Steve Earnshaw (electric bass) and drummer Mike Karcz). Using a repertoire built on the traditional Chicago blues style, Metropolitan Avenue incorporated into its sound the jazz, jump blues, and West Coast swing elements of such modern blues greats as Big Joe and the Dynaflows, Charlie Musslewhite, Rod Piazza
Rod Piazza
Rod Piazza is an American blues harmonica player and singer. He has been playing with his band The Mighty Flyers since 1980 which he formed with his pianist wife Honey Piazza...
and the Mighty Flyers, and William Clarke.
Performing
After the release of In Transit, Santana formed The Mikael Santana Band, and using The Black Diamond Club on Beale StreetBeale Street
Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are...
in Memphis as their base of operations, they regularly gigged there as headliners, or opened up for such blues notables as Little Jimmy King, Blind Mississippi Morris
Blind Mississippi Morris
Blind Mississippi Morris is an American blues artist.Cummings lost his sight at the age of four, but that did not stop him from learning the blues. Morris has become a popular blues act on Beale Street. Morris and his band, the Pocket Rockets, are known as the "real deal from Beale"...
, Studebaker John, Sean Costello
Sean Costello
Sean Costello was an American blues musician, renowned for his fiery guitar playing and soulful singing. He released five critically acclaimed albums before his career was cut short by his sudden death at the age of 28. Tinsley Ellis called him ‘the most gifted young blues guitarist on the scene.....
, and Anson Funderburgh
Anson Funderburgh
Anson Funderburgh is an American blues guitar player and bandleader of Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets since 1978...
with Sam Myers
Sam Myers
Sam Myers was an American blues musician and songwriter. He appeared as an accompanist on dozens of recordings for blues artists over five decades. He began his career as a drummer for Elmore James, but was most famous as a blues vocalist and blues harp player...
. On June 2, 2000 they were given the honor of opening for B.B. King at the B.B. King Homecoming in Indianola, Mississippi
Indianola, Mississippi
Indianola is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,066 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Sunflower County.-History:...
.