Salvador Santana
Encyclopedia
Salvador Santana was born in 1983 in the San Francisco Bay Area
. He is a Latin instrumentalist whose main instrument is the keyboard. He sings and loves spoken word, but piano and keyboard have always been his mainstays. He is the son of ten-time Grammy winning guitarist Carlos Santana
and poet/author Deborah Santana. His maternal grandfather, Saunders King
, is an icon of American blues and his paternal grandfather, Jose Santana, is a legendary violinist and mariachi
bandleader.
Santana began playing piano at the age of five. He was instructed by Marcia Miget. He later went on to study music at San Francisco School of the Arts High School. He took up playing percussion and found a niche with the tympani drum. He also played piano in the school's award-winning jazz band.
In 1999, Salvador collaborated with his father on the Grammy winning track “El Farol” off the smash album Supernatural.
For higher education, Santana attended California Institute of the Arts
in Valencia, California
.
and jazz
. His musical roots stem from the Latin rock of Carlos Santana, his grandfathers, Saunders King and Jose Santana, as well as the music of jazz artists John Coltrane
, Herbie Hancock
, Thelonious Monk
, and Oscar Peterson
and a healthy implementation of contemporary hip-hop acts like Atmosphere
, Ozomatli
.
(Beastie Boys
), and GZA
to help him with the album's production.
Keyboard City was built on what Salvador called "a mix of my favorite music, the best of what’s impacted my life, all coming together in a new way." Salvador first masterminded the direction for the album after a 2008 Remixes project where Del The Funky Homosapien was commissioned to remix the SSB song "Hella Tight". The synergy between Salvador and Del, along with the eclectic and fresh sound of the Remixes project was the inspiration for the new musical direction in the studio for his sophomore release.
In late fall 2009 a series of remix MP3s of the album's title track "Keyboard City" were released on the internet. These remixes were performed by internet DJs, The Hood Internet
as well as indie electronic musician Dan Deacon
, both remixes featured vocals by GZA
. These remix MP3s were wildly popular, appearing on tastemaker music sites such as Brooklyn Vegan, Pitchfork Media, and My Old Kentucky Blog.
Keyboard City was released on February 2, 2010 via Quannum Projects
. Keyboard Magazine declared that "Funkadelic and the Meters had a love child who was then raised by Esquivel in a space age bachelor pad full of analog synths." The magazine also stated, "On December 31, 2019, Keyboard City may well be remembered as one of the standout neo-funk records of the decade." Allmusic.com gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars and Spin Magazine gave the album 3 out of 5 stars.
In March 2010 Salvador will launch a Spring tour in support of Keyboard City, hitting the road with The New Mastersounds
.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. He is a Latin instrumentalist whose main instrument is the keyboard. He sings and loves spoken word, but piano and keyboard have always been his mainstays. He is the son of ten-time Grammy winning guitarist Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
and poet/author Deborah Santana. His maternal grandfather, Saunders King
Saunders King
Saunders King was an American R&B and blues guitarist and singer.-Life and career:Saunders Samuel King was born in Staple, Louisiana, United States. He was the son of a preacher, and sang in his father's church while growing up in Oakland, California...
, is an icon of American blues and his paternal grandfather, Jose Santana, is a legendary violinist and mariachi
Mariachi
Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...
bandleader.
Santana began playing piano at the age of five. He was instructed by Marcia Miget. He later went on to study music at San Francisco School of the Arts High School. He took up playing percussion and found a niche with the tympani drum. He also played piano in the school's award-winning jazz band.
In 1999, Salvador collaborated with his father on the Grammy winning track “El Farol” off the smash album Supernatural.
For higher education, Santana attended California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
in Valencia, California
Valencia, California
Valencia is an affluent planned community located in the City of Santa Clarita, California and Los Angeles County, California, U.S. in the northwestern corner of the Santa Clarita Valley, adjacent to Interstate 5. In 1987, it was one of the four unincorporated communities that merged to create the...
.
Salvador Santana Band (2004 - 2008)
In 2004 Salvador established the Salvador Santana Band. Members of the group were Emerson Cardenas (bass), Quincy McQuary (vocals, keyboards), Woody Aplanalp (guitar), Tony Austin (drums) and José Espinoza (sax, percussion, vocals). With them Salvador prefers a fresh musical style which incorporates elements of hip hopHip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. His musical roots stem from the Latin rock of Carlos Santana, his grandfathers, Saunders King and Jose Santana, as well as the music of jazz artists John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
, and Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
and a healthy implementation of contemporary hip-hop acts like Atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
, Ozomatli
Ozomatli
Ozomatli is a seven to ten piece band playing primarily Latin, hip hop, and rock music, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and their wide array of musical styles - including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, rap, and others.In a 2007 NPR interview, band...
.
Keyboard City (2008 - Present)
In 2009 Salvador entered the studio to record his second major studio album / first solo album Keyboard City. He enlisted underground legends Del The Funky Homosapien, Money MarkMoney Mark
Mark Ramos-Nishita aka Money Mark is a producer and musician who has collaborated with the Beastie Boys many times. He also appears on the first Banyan album in 1997 as the "Freeway Keyboardist".-Career:...
(Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
), and GZA
GZA
Gary Grice , better known by his stage names GZA and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist and founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also appeared on his fellow clan members' solo projects and has maintained a successful solo career...
to help him with the album's production.
Keyboard City was built on what Salvador called "a mix of my favorite music, the best of what’s impacted my life, all coming together in a new way." Salvador first masterminded the direction for the album after a 2008 Remixes project where Del The Funky Homosapien was commissioned to remix the SSB song "Hella Tight". The synergy between Salvador and Del, along with the eclectic and fresh sound of the Remixes project was the inspiration for the new musical direction in the studio for his sophomore release.
In late fall 2009 a series of remix MP3s of the album's title track "Keyboard City" were released on the internet. These remixes were performed by internet DJs, The Hood Internet
The Hood Internet
The Hood Internet is a Chicago-based production duo specializing most notably in mashups of hip-hop with indie rock. They also run a blog of the same name through which they release their music, a venture that helped their foray into performing live DJ sets of their material...
as well as indie electronic musician Dan Deacon
Dan Deacon
Dan Deacon is an American composer and electronic musician based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Since 2003, Deacon has released eight albums under several different labels...
, both remixes featured vocals by GZA
GZA
Gary Grice , better known by his stage names GZA and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist and founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also appeared on his fellow clan members' solo projects and has maintained a successful solo career...
. These remix MP3s were wildly popular, appearing on tastemaker music sites such as Brooklyn Vegan, Pitchfork Media, and My Old Kentucky Blog.
Keyboard City was released on February 2, 2010 via Quannum Projects
Quannum Projects
Quannum Projects is a hip hop collective based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been active since 1992, when it was formed at UC Davis under the moniker Solesides Records. It is also the name of the independent record label that releases their records, as well as those of a number of other...
. Keyboard Magazine declared that "Funkadelic and the Meters had a love child who was then raised by Esquivel in a space age bachelor pad full of analog synths." The magazine also stated, "On December 31, 2019, Keyboard City may well be remembered as one of the standout neo-funk records of the decade." Allmusic.com gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars and Spin Magazine gave the album 3 out of 5 stars.
In March 2010 Salvador will launch a Spring tour in support of Keyboard City, hitting the road with The New Mastersounds
The New Mastersounds
The New Mastersounds are a four-piece funk band based in Leeds, England.In the late 1990s, guitarist and producer Eddie Roberts was running a club night in Leeds called "The Cooker." When The Cooker moved into a new venue with a second floor in 1999, there was space and the opportunity to put a...
.