Jim McCarthy
November 2009
This month’s copy of the UK’s Classic Rock magazine (December 2009- Issue number 139) carries a five-page feature with photos, on Santana circa 69 onwards. It essentially deals with the success and troubles within the “original” Santana group. Who, in many peoples view, are the greatest of ALL the Santana incarnations to date.

For those of you that have not read any of this before, this will be to some degree eye opening. But be aware that the feature by Ben Fong-Torres is essentially a “remix” as he puts it from an original Rolling Stone feature from December 1972.
It is actually more of a condensed piece as the Rolling Stone piece was much lengthier than here. For Santana historians it is good to see the early band getting some “props. Albeit thru a vortex of all the inner strife they personally encountered within this volatile but ground breaking ensemble. This article broke the wall of silence and the then seeming mystique around the group. Years later Michael Shrieve would say they were open to interviews but simply did not get the requests thru from management.

However, it all added to the band’s glamour and made the music completely stand on its own, without reason or explanation. Anyone who is interested in this period may wish to seek out a December 1972 issue of Rolling Stone, with the cover proclaiming The Resurrection Of Santana.

Also; forthcoming to this website is a lengthy interview with Herbie Herbert, iconoclastic rock entrepreneur and then Santana road manager, who answers many questions about the early Santana history and is known for his forthright honesty, openness to telling the truth and anecdotal insight to those early times. He has a fairly photographic memory and even though I had twenty questions ready, we only got past two or three and that was with Herbie talking for nearly two hours.
Look out for this piece coming soon here!!

Jim McCarthy – November 2009.

Tags: Carlos Santana

JORGE SANTANA “HERE I AM” CD REVIEW
© Jim McCarthy October 2009

Here I Am is the recently released “from the vaults” compilation put together by Jorge and released on his own Misha label. It follows on from his two earlier solo recordings originally recorded for Tomato Records in New York and also re-issued on CD and available on Misha and from his new website jorgesantana.com.

Here I Am is divided into five musical ventures and opens with five songs with a definite eighties feeling in production style and arrangements with big keyboard sounds and a solid band featuring Walter Afanasieff on keys/vocals plus Phil Anastasia on Lead vocals. It features Gary Brown on bass plus Yogi Newman and Rick Lawton on congas& percussion and drums respectively.

Once Is Not Enough/Para Ti opens the CD and the remastered sound quality is decent considering these are studio demos. The song has a lilting Latin cha-cha feel. In common with Jorge’s output at this time, it falls on the R&B and pop side of the musical fence. This song furthers the Latin cha-cha feel with a raspy, fluent and sharp guitarra solo by Jorge, over the refrain of “Para Ti, Para ti”. The next tune, Isolation has a jaunty funky and light summery feel, the band also managed to fit in a five-week tour around the New York area while these demos were being shopped. The “title” track Here I Am is a mid-tempo piece that didn’t lift me particularly but is competent and features an arrangement steeped in synth washes. Runaway Love has that AOR sound typical of that era with big backing chords by Jorge, It has a rousing chorus and a sound not unlike Carlos’ output around the Inner Secrets/Marathon recorded era. Tell Me Love is another up-tempo with a great vocal by Walter aka Dean Parrish, Jorge plays fifties style rhythm guitar licks on here.

For my money the jewels on this CD follow with Jorge’s collaboration with the Mission District group Puro Bandido. Casa Bandido is pure Latino magic! It starts with a three chord, slightly melancholic refrain with excellent guitar atmospherics by Jorge and Johnny Gunn, before breaking into a salsa inflected joyous song, featuring Richard Segovia (previously of the TNT band) on timbales and Rafael Ramirez on congas and Angel Orozco on drum kit!
This is truly a great cut, both fully steeped in the San Franciscan Latino-Mission tradition but with a fresh and uplifting vibe. The song kicks with excellent compressed vocals. Superb horns and arrangement see this song would not be out of place on one of Carlos’ recent stellar releases. They name check Puerto Rico, Salvador and the Mission thru this great
and very danceable song. Jorge plays a dreamy and soulful guitar break over the middle eight and is followed by a great trombone solo. One would really like to hear Puro Bandido releasing some more stuff- this is excellent. It fades with a guitar break by Johnny Gunn-top notch!!

Latin Lover follows with a Jose Santana  (Tony Santana, Jorge’s older brother is Jose’s father making him Jorge’s nephew) rap over another Puro Bandido arrangement. This is another smoking cut which strides confidently along with superb excellent ensemble playing, including backing vocals by Heather Lauren and The Herrera Sisters.
A cascara timbale rhythm by Richard Segovia propels this cut along with a supreme gusto and features another Jorge solo full of controlled fire, followed by a flourishing keyboard solo by Steve Salinas. Yet another musical high point on this CD.

Rainbows Of Love is notable for a closely recorded conga tumbao by Yogi Newman (apparently Newman had an even bigger afro-head than Mike Carabello or Arcelio Garcia and is these days living a hermetic life, out of the music scene) and it would be great to hear congas recorded with this “loudness’ more often. This also features a stirring Jorge solo over a double time vamp.

The fourth set of tunes feature old Malo running mate Richard Bean on chief vocals and song writing. It also features Ron DeMasi from the last two Malo albums on Warner (Evolution & Ascension)
Bar Of Five instrumental shows DeMasi playing some synth and other keyboard clavinet style solo funkiness over a driving beat, the is a real cooker and these recordings hail from 1977 and were demoed at San Francisco’s CBS Studios in Folsom Street. The drummer Jerry Marshall wrote this cut and these could be DeMasi’s last recorded performances.
Sandy and Darling I Love You, originally featured on the Jorge Santana solo release, are given a different dance mix airing here and shows Bean’s pop take on Latin, with an almost Neil Sedaka feel to proceedings, with an ample disco-style beat produced by Tony Bongiovi and Bob Clearmountain.

Of great interest to Malo fans are two cuts from Sesame Street, Bienvenidos (Welcome) and Show Me How You Feel (Como To Sientes) featuring the redoubtable Tony Smith on drums and Lead vocals along with Jorge. Welcome is great as it aims to teach a person listening basic Spanish. It has great (Ascension era-Malo) horns and a pumping Pablo Tellez bass aided and abetted by Jorge on a nice piercing solo. A cool way to round off this varied CD package.

For guitar followers Jorge has added information on the guitars and amps used thru-out these recordings.

I had a conversation with Jorge about the future and he aims to release at least two more CD’s of material next year. He informed me he had been listening to archive recorded with Richard Kermode and Pablo Tellez from 1981 and another piece (A Bit Of Spice) recorded with Karl Perazzo, both among others, which should find their way onto the next CD release in 2010.
Of great interest is the Malo “fifth” set of recordings demoed after Ascension in San Francisco (not to be confused with Malo 5 released in New York on Traq Records, under the name of Arcelio Garcia) and featuring Pablo, Ron De Masi, Butch Haynes on percussion. Further down the line Jorge is planning to release these rarities and I know all Mission Latino heads will be looking forward to hearing this historical material.

Tags: Arcelio Garcia, Carlos Santana, Jorge Santana, Latin Rock, Malo, Mission District, NEW YORK, Pablo Tellez, Puro Bandido, Richard Bean, Ron De Masi, San Francisco, Santana, Sesame Street, Tony Smith

Glenn Symmonds on the 70’s Bay Area, playing drums and touring with Coke Escovedo
© Jim McCarthy August 2009

Glenn Symmonds was originally a native of and went to High School in Spokane Washington, his mother originated from the city of Liverpool (home of The Beatles) and he toured in later years in the UK with a band called The Untouchables, (a second wave ska band) supporting well-known chart toppers, the Birmingham based band UB40.

One early influence was to have a direct and overwhelming influence on Symmonds’ life, “Tower of Power used to travel through the border of Washington and Idaho, on the state line. There was a place where you get in to the bars there, so we’d all go to catch the groups coming through. Tower, Elvin Bishop, Cold Blood, lots of the Bay Area bands. I was drawn to the Bay Area from listening to David Garibaldi’s playing with Tower of Power. We became friends and he invited me over to listen to him practice in his hotel room and go over the stuff he was studying with his teacher Chuck Brown. I knew then that the minute I graduated, I wanted to take lessons with Chuck Brown. That was my goal!”

He was true to his word, Symmonds graduated and leaving Spokane at seventeen years old….. “ I knocked on Chuck Brown’s door, I had a U-haul trailer filled with my stuff out on the street and I’m knocking on his door. He opened the door and introduced myself, I said I’ve driven 1300 miles to take lessons from him and he says, my teaching schedule Is pretty full for the next year (laughs!) I didn’t even have place to live, all my stuff is in the van outside and the motor’s running. I said to him, I came here to study with you and I shamed Chuck Brown into giving me drum lessons.”

Chuck Brown as well as mentoring hundreds of drummers also taught significantly Michael Shrieve as well as Terry Bozzio (who played with Azteca) and of course Garibaldi.

Symmonds plugged into the Bay Area scene fairly quickly, he attended his first audition and remembers, “ My first audition was going down to a club in Berkeley and Linda Tillery and The Loading Zone were playing and I was friendly with Bill Meeker. He was drummer with Elvin Bishop. Coincidentally I had met him before at the state line when Elvin had come thru, so I asked him
If I could sit in, as drummers do! They were a very cool soul and R&B type band with great vocals, Vince Denim on saxophone, (who went onto play with Elvis) they had a great groove, they also had Dougie Rauch on bass with them. Bill was a phenomenal drummer, they turned round and said “ Do you know What Is Hip”. I had worn out the grooves on my vinyl record, learning that song. I wore that vinyl white, I just knew it inside and out. I had to put a coin on top of the needle to get it to stay down while playing the record, I’d played it so much. I used to slow the tracks down to 16 rpm, it was like W-O-O-O-AAAHHHHHH, very low sounding and demonic (laughs). That’s how I learned those Tower tunes. They didn’t know that I knew that song like the back of my wife’s ass!
So I had practiced them also with my friend Dave Garibaldi, studied ’em further with Chuck Brown and David had written out those parts too. First nite in Oakland and they call off What Is Hip and I nailed it. They turned around and grinned at me – just look at that kid play! It was a great entrée into that world. In the audience were some people that offered me a job with Frank Byner and The Night Shift who wrote songs for Tower Of Power. A bass player that came up to me also that night was David Margen. He was also playing with Frank. So I was playing with them now as well.”

His expansive personality and expressive drum chops, made his entry into the Bay Area more established, “I also was playing with a guy called Gideon and in his band he had a guy called Melvin Seals. He was the leader of The Jerry Garcia Band. Melvin was groomed in the church and could make the Hammond B3 sing man! They had a high-energy gospel-rock vibe. All those bands played the same kinda’ clubs, The Keystone Korner, LaValles, The Long Branch, they were three of the top ones. Also during that intern, I met Eddie Money and played with him. He knocked on my door, saying ‘ I hear you’re a drummer, my drummer didn’t show, so I want you to play with me tonight, I did one song and he says, “That’s it, I want you in the band. He said, “My name’s Eddie Money and I want to be a rock and roll star by 25, I don’t have a lotta’ time!“ Just like that! So I was gigging with everybody.”

Gigs for the young Symmonds were plentiful, “I was in a fourth band too, called Grayson Street. They had a phenomenal harmonica player called Ricky Kellog, who ended up in Canned Heat. Grayson Street was mostly original R&B style East Bay grease and very funky – James Brown orientated1”
The East Bay, particularly Oakland was a breeding ground for the funk and Symmonds went on to discuss one of Tower of Power’s greatest vocalists, the redoubtable but also controversial Rick Stevens. “Rick had a cover band, they were doing Tower songs and he was the best of all the Tower singers in my opinion. I saw Tower with Lenny Williams mostly at the time I saw them.”

His connection with Coke Escovedo was fairly straightforward, “ I was on a bill with Coke, There was Grayson Street and Coke was checking me out from the side of the stage. I knew something was up and he came over and asked me to join his band! He already had very talented musicians, he had a guy on drums apart from Harvey Mason on his first album and I came in after that. I knew of him from the Third Santana album, with the dedication to him on there. We started rehearsing and every Monday night in Oakland we would play at a club called King Richards. That was in Jack London Square, we would hold court there and a lot of great jazz and other musicians would show up unexpectedly, you never knew who – it could be Malo’s singer, it could be brother Pete or Sheila would sit in and play congas. Abel Zarate was in the band too, another guy there was Ray Obiedo, he was very popular.”

The line up didn’t have a regular conga player, Coke simply invited his family down. “ Frank was on keyboards, (later on it would be Herman Eberitsch ) Erroll Knowles was singing and also another girl was Lynn Mabry, who later became a Bride Of Funkenstein (an off-shoot of Parliament) and later became a back up singer in George Michael’s show. Everybody in the East Bay could play- everybody was really good. My parents were very supportive and I got well schooled- I could play mallets, for zylophone, vibraphone, marimba and Coke let me used that talent on the Comin’ At Ya’ album- he let me play vibes on there on the Jose Feliciano song, “Stay With Me.”

“Playing with Coke was my first recorded album and he let me play and recorded three of my songs as well. He took all the credit for the first one- a guaganco groove and he had everybody singing “Coke Escovedo play the guaguanco, Coke Escovedo play the guaguanco” and he put his name on that (laughs). I don’t even remember what I was getting paid. He had a three-album contract with Mercury Records- and considering he was sideman and not a singer- it’s great he got a record deal!

Coke certainly had hit a home run in the recording stakes for awhile, and apparently was an outgoing individual; Glenn describes Coke thus. “ He had a gentle heart, a lovely guy, with a lot of talent, he loved to be the centre of attention. He was great to me, showed me how to play drums with him, he kept his distance too, with the employees, he had a dark side to him that I was to become aware of. His eyes would get really glassy at times. He would get very wasted and spaced out on cocaine, I know sometimes he would get so high, he didn’t want to be standing up there with his timbales. So, he would come to the back of the stage and kick me off the drums and get me to play timbales.
He told me to go play ‘em, he would play drums- he was a terrible drummer (laughs).

I asked Glenn about the slew of outstanding timbale players in the Bay Area at that time. “Well – Jose “Chepito”Areas absolutely, Chepito was so strong he didn’t play with those thin little dowelling timbale sticks, and they’d cut them in half. Chepito played with brutal hardness, using thick drumsticks and was intensely talented. They’re as no rivalry at all in Coke. I remember we played Madison Square Garden and Tito Puente came down. Backstage Tito treated Coke like a long lost son, he was very gracious and invited us to his nightclub after we were done. We got there and a table was set, he wined us and dined us, we came into this Latin club, there’s a ten- piece band playing and Tito really took care of us. He was very grateful that Coke had brought “Para Los Rumberos” to the Third Santana album sessions and got that song Tito wrote included on the Third album.

Symmonds’ path crossed most of the Bay Area percussion luminaries. “Mingo was a hugely talented and strong and powerful conga player- a triple Sagittarius, like I said. He was very intense, very crazy and wild! He was involved in the Chick Corea Electric band when they had Steve Gadd- the very first incarnation of that, before Al Di Meola and Lenny White. Mingo would sit in at King Richards club. He asked me also to play with him, and he also had an album deal with CBS and was putting together a batch of his songs. He had hand picked musicians , we would rehearse seven days a week and I had gigs at night too, playing with all these other bands, so I could not give Mingo the commitment he wanted. I took from him all the lessons he showed me, he showed me the conga, timbale techniques, applied to the drum set, when there isn’t a conga player or a timbale player, what do you do?? How do you simulate those sounds and rhythms, he’d also showed Steve Gadd the same type of stuff. Gadd and Mingo were very tight. At that time he was not maybe been even twenty-one year old – nor was I for that matter.

Glenn’s time with Coke was curtailed by the encroaching drug related aspects of those day in the music business and later on in the USA as coke and heroin spread thru out US society rapidly. “ Coke’s band was a great band playing locally, so musicians who didn’t play on a Monday night, it was a great place to hang but with the hang came the drugs too. When we were on the road we were opening for Parliament and Funkadelic. We were opening for The Johnson Brothers. There were some characters hanging around – they were in the van with us. In the hotels with us, on the stage with us! I didn’t know who they were but I got to know why they were there. To some degree they kept me isolated, I was a nineteen-year-old kid at that time. Erroll Knowles and Coke were much older and I was a younger guy and I was mostly friends with Abel Zarate in the band, A very sweet guitar player. But I started to find out, one night Coke told us to get onstage and I had to go back to the dressing room, I’d forgotten my drumsticks and the bag. I rushed offstage and get to the dressing room and there’s Coke, with a needle in his arm. He yelled, “Get the fuck outta’ here!”

One character in particular was to hasten Glenn’s departure from the group, “Big Ronnie was one of those guys hanging around, he came out from the side of the stage and he poked me in the ribs one night, during the first song, told me to “Shut the fuck up, that I was playing too loud”. I turned around and bashed him on the head and on the shoulders with my sticks- told him to get the fuck away from me.
He crawled off the stage with his purple pimp hat (with a big feather in it) his purple pimp jacket and his platform shoes. (laughs) He was total pimp man; it was the seventies. When we walked offstage, you can imagine the audience is roaring out a standing ovation – and everybody is patting themselves down with towels, congratulating each other and Big Ronnie is grabbing me with two hands round my neck and I am down in the curtains. I am down man. He is choking me, “I’m gonna’ kill you motherfucker”, he’s going for broke and the band realise and pulled him off me. I swore that was it, I did one more show and then the tour was over. I never played again with Coke Escovedo. I totally lost touch.

He described the adverse effect cocaine had on his drumming abilities, “I only did cocaine a couple of times but I experienced the same feeling, my back was very tensed up and it also made me very gun-shy. It inhibited my playing a lot. I think maybe the first hit can be great. But if you’re in concert and you’re revved and do you do a line of coke, you’re only going to feel that for five minutes and then you’re going to crash while your playing. Then you feel terrible, you are thinking those people are looking at me.
My hands hurt and you start to feel achy and you can’t wait to get off stage and get another hit. It was always counterproductive for me – I wasn’t addicted but I think Coke was, he wasn’t as sharp; he became less focused than he was.”

Glenn went on to along and varied drumming career with among others, Automatic Man, John Klemmer, Dave Mason, Elvin Bishop, Etta James and a long association with Eddie Money.

Look out for further revealing stories and tales from the rock and roll merry-go-round;
Glenn Symmonds
is part of a upcoming VOICES interviews feature on Automatic Man – The Greatest Group You Never Heard!!

© Jim McCarthy July 2009

Tags: Abel Zarate, Automatic Man, Azteca, Carlos Santana, cocaine, Coke Escovedo, Cold Blood, Dougie Rauch, Eddie Money, Glenn Symmonds, Jerry Garcia, Jose (Chepito) Areas, Linda Tillery, Mingo Lewis, Pete Escovedo, Santana Third album, Sheila E, The Loading Zone, Tower Of Power, Voices of Latin Rock

How did the original horn player of Malo come from Philadelphia and wind up in the mission district and the Haight Ashbury of San Francisco in 1969? Then in 1971 help to give birth to one of the most influential groups in the history of Latin Rock only to vanish from that scene for over 35 years? But now with the advent and impact of VOLR some new dots can finally be connected.

It’s really pretty simple and starts back in Philadelphia where I went to a music school that was for the average kids, not the geniuses, Combs College of Music. But even so the Alumni included John Coltrane, Leopold Stokowski, Jan Peerce, Romeo Cascarino, Reinhardt, Casadesus, Mischa Elman and so many other giants in the field of music. Not being a “corporate” school, individual skills and quirks were readily honed. Roy Murray quickly fell in with that.

Steve Busfield had gone to Combs also. He left to go to San Francisco in 1968 to put a flower in his hair and the times were a changing – A new way of playing music had emerged. He right away was in the Loading Zone, then Azteca and later Buddy Miles for two years, plus many others.

In Philly we had played in a group together called the Motivations – a black soul review. Steve Busfield was on guitar, Alfonso Johnson on bass (Santana and Weather Report), Linda Creed on vocals (she co-wrote 10 top ten hits), Roy Murray on trumpet (Naked Lunch and Malo), Duane Hitchings on keyboard (Rod Stewart and Heart) plus several others. But it was Steve who greatly urged and influenced me and later Alfonso Johnson to come on out. “The scene” would well be worth the move.

I arrived as a multi horn player. This was going to serve me very well. My music teacher Len Pierro Jr. and Doc. Donald S. Reinhardt (from Combs & Curtis Institute of Music) all helped me to develop an embouchure that actually could switch between brass and reeds. That was rare… but it was my passion, and I was able to do it. Influenced by Coltrane, Miles, the brass men of Kenton, and many classical composers I was ready for “the scene.”

First band up I joined was the Western Addition – nope, not country music. That was the San Francisco version of a ghetto and Sly Stone territory. It was funk, R&B, soul groups. We did Sly Stone of course, but also James Brown and the just released album of Chicago, plus some originals. Future members of Elvin Bishop, Cold Blood, Boz Skaggs, Santana were all in this group and who sang lead?… Wendy Haas (Azteca, Santana etc.) What a time this was – my first San Francisco band. We performed a lot and did a lot of gigs in San Francisco and Los Angeles, but it was really a learning process.

Wendy was awesome!! What a vocal talent… but it was hers and our stage presence. All of us – we were all kinetic – none of us could stop strutting. With Wendy leading the way, what we did lack in originally really didn’t seem to matter. Watching us was something everybody did. Need I say anything more? We were young and wild!!!

We gigged but the profit was low – hence I took a house band gig at the Nite Life with a wild acid Central American rock group called The Aliens (El Salvador and Nicaragua). Six nights a week: 5 hours a night. I replaced Chepito. Now how many horn players can say they replaced one of the world’s greatest timbale players? Here’s what happened.

Chepito was playing some trumpet as well as percussion, drums, etc. with the Aliens for many years. The Aliens liked the idea of replacing him with a full time trumpet player. There was already a sax player in the group, so I stayed on trumpet.

The music they played, unreal. Never saw anything like it. Straight up rock to top 40 hits to a slow ballad. Then onto a 20 minute jam on just one song, next into a cumbia, but then they would go into some real pulsating driving Latin Rock. Undoubtedly some of the very first of it’s kind!! Then onto a polka, well not really – but with that group who knows. The versatility was amazing – William (Guillermo) Coronado (founder with his brother Michael) even threw in some vibraphone Cal Tjader stuff. Meanwhile Carlos from the Santana Blues Band would come in to check out this timbalero Chepito and took him away as they shortly there afterwards became Santana.

The line up of personnel for this highly influential band was: Frank Zavala-lead vocal, Bernie Peoples-bass, Oscar Calderon-drums, Cliff Anderson-congas, Charlie Elks-flute and sax, Michael Coronado-guitar, and William Coronado-keyboards and vibraphone. (Also see previous VOLR post on this site “Memories of the Aliens”).

I started out great, very strong. My beautiful trompeta sound did them well. It was my first house band gig. But I didn’t know how to “pace” myself – I died. I couldn’t even hold my arms up to blow through my horn two months later. I didn’t do drugs or drink, but i also wasn’t eating right. I lost my strength. We had to part company. But also, I wasn’t a real Latin trumpet player – Very creative and inventive – but not the real Latin deal. That would show up again in the future when I was in Malo.

But we can’t leave this until we have at least one Jose (Chepito) Areas story. The whole world wants a Chepito story!!

One night we’re all playing at the Nite Life and this little guy with more hair on his head than Dougie Rauch walks in, and in one of those Latino languages starts yelling at the band telling ‘em what to do. Next thing I know, he’s onstage with us playing all kinds of percussion. I’m clueless. Finally he steps down. I think he’s still trying to tell the band how to do it all. Who was it??….It was the first time anyone ever saw Chepito with an Afro!! It was a learning curve for me!!

Next came several bands at once. Stuff, Stone Creation (I was the founder) and doing gigs with several guys who would become Azteca. Some were just pick up gigs and others just 2 or 3 weeks. In the band Stuff was future Tower of Power lead vocalist Rick Stevens. But more on him and much more on Him later.

But one night, yes, one night I walked into a jam at the Children of Mu’s commune in the Haight-Ashbury – And my life would never be the same. Abel Zarate and Naked Lunch. I found Myself!! Total dedication to it. Robert (Bob) Olivera on sax. We were the hippie, trippie, psychedelic horn section. No “tight stuff” for us. But on occasion we were. But we were unreal – The whole band amazed people – Bill Graham signed us – John Walker (It’s a Beautiful Day) became our manager. We played Fillmore and every other main venue in the Bay area. After a concert on 9/16/70 we did with Boz Skaggs, Elvin Bishop, Tower of Power and Victoria, Tom Campell wrote in the S.F.Examiner that “Naked Lunch isn’t a sandwich without bread. It’s a superior rock band – music scene habitués call the group heavy “– Finally, 40 years later some of our music got released this past Jan. See the VOLR review of it from 4/5/09 on this site. It is well worth it for anyone to listen to. Naked Lunch went on for a year and a half, but Malo was up next. Me (Roy Murray), Richard Spremich, and Abel Zarate joined up with Pablo, Jorge, R. Bean & Arcelio in their newly named group Malo (formerly the Malibus). It was electric – Not too many people ever heard this eclectic seven performers along with Coke, Kermode, Pantoja, and Gasca before it’s demise. It truly was one of a kind. In my opinion, it was one of the greatest bands in the world… if it would have stayed together. Abel Zarate & Jorge Santana…there’ll never be, and hasn’t been something like that in music again! And as to the personnel that followed the original recording Malo cast…unbelievable! Raul & Leo replaced Coke & Victor Pantoja. The horn players that followed me…unreal. Tom Harrell, Forrest Buchtel, Hadley Caliman, etc. etc.

So as not to repeat info and passages from the Voices of Latin Rock book I’ll just give some very specialized insights into the horn playing which me and Luis Gasca did on that first album.

I wrote all the horn parts before Luis Gasca arrived (but also had some help from Zarate and the rest of the guys). Luis came in and added the desperately needed and so obvious… the Latin Trompeta fire parts. That would never come from me, the hippie. But what did come out of me was unique and even stands to this day as some of their most enduring horn lines. Little did I or any of us know that would be the case.

But first I have to back up when Naked Lunch had raged through San Francisco and the greather Bay area. We were definitely on the “cutting edge” of the times. A cross between early Chicago and early Santana. (Santana had not yet released its first album when we wrote that music). We were on our way to the top (as the phrase goes) then one day I get a phone call. It was our new manager John Walker – Bill Graham and the Fillmore Corporation was dropping us (because of business, not music.) That devastated us!! We couldn’t recover from it. Soon the Malibus/Malo began talking to us. Chris Wong (Malo manager) had already been talking to Abel Zarate. But I was the first official Naked Lunch member in. Then Abel, then Richard Spremich. We all jelled very quickly and worked extremely hard and well together. The ideas were flying every which way and from everybody. Luis Gasca, Richard Kermode, Coke Escovedo and Victor Pantoja all got on board in time to record the first album.

Now, to the horns –
Because there was never a rehearsal between me and Luis, there were no harmony horn parts. I showed Luis all the parts I wrote. I did this in the recording studio and then he added his things on top of that. It was perfect. And I mean perfect! But Dave Rubinson (the producer) said we were going to double the horn parts to fatten them up, since there was no harmony, plus over dubbing other parts, plus all the original lines and solos and fills. That’s a lot of work and time. In the doubling of the parts suddenly 2 horns become 4 – throw in a dub or two and you’ve got 6 trumpets or so. Nobody knew this – except us doing it. That’s how Luis and I get this incredible fat and very lively sound for just two horns!! It worked out great. However, as people came and went in and out of the studio it appeared I (Murray) was screwing up causing extra takes as nobody, and I mean nobody understood what was going on in the studio at those times in regards to the recording of the horns. It all appeared like I needed extra takes on everything, when that wasn’t the case at all.

Suavecito:

I am the only horn player on that song. Luis Gasca does not even play on it. And as usual I did it all in one take. To my knowledge I’m one of the very few horn players, if any others, to have a trombone solo and trumpet solo in a top 20 hit. Abel Zarate wrote the trombone solo for me in the intro. I wrote and played the trumpet solos in the background which really helped to give a very distinctive push to the song and launch the Malo identity with horns ‘round the world. I couldn’t play the true Latin fills, but man I could play. And no horn player would write horn lines the way I did. Yes, Suavecito is kinda “bubble gum” – but you listen to what each musician brought to that song and you realize what a little masterpiece it is. It was truly a group effort with outstanding individual work!! Often called the Chicano National Anthem.

One quick footnote to the recording of my trumpet part. Fred Catero was the engineer – He was also the engineer for Santana, Janis Joplin, Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, etc. – He already knew very well how to record horns – Thank God, because that really helped us. After recording my trombone solo intro line in the studio, Fred saw I wasn’t playing anything while the first verse was being recorded. So he turned my mic off. As I put the trumpet to my lips to get ready to do my part in verse two he knew my mic was off and literally dove across the room and sound board to get it on in the nick of time – thank God he got it on. I said to myself – everything is all right and proceeded to play my heart out as I followed Richard Bean’s fantastic perfect pop vocal. And the rest is history.

Nena:

I wrote all the horn lines on that too. I recorded trumpet, trombone, and flute on that song. Luis, of course, played trumpet.
All in all, I wrote about 15 parts on that first Malo album – but not enough to be a song writer of any. Such was the fate of many horn players.
On the album I play flute, trumpet, trombone and sax. Not many horn players can do that on their 1st major recording session in life. I did fantastic. But the “Malo musical-go-round” was already flying. And suddenly I’m on the outside and totally forgotten about while for 40 years everybody imitates and plays what I wrote. How did it happen??

As Chris Wong the manager said it took three horn players to replace me. A trumpet, sax and trombone. The one man or two man horn section of Malo suddenly became three because of me. They had to have all my sounds live on stage. So who were some of these horn players that took my place? The guy who literally took my place on a one to one basis was Tom Harrell. Voted by the critics of Down Beat Magazine as the greatest improvising trumpet player. Another guy quickly in was Forrest Buchtel – who has a mouthpiece named after him for hitting high notes. Hadily Caliman from Janis Joplin, and many others, on sax and various great trombone players.

Well, no wonder Arcelio and the boys never missed me. It was good riddance Murray. Those guys came in and changed the music dramatically and took the horns in a whole different direction. It was fantastic. Great stuff… but as the fame of Malo goes on for almost 40 years now, Murray’s horn lines (both the writing and playing of them) continues to be a strong contribution to that. Listen to the streamers of Pana, Suavecito and Nena – their three most popular songs – there I am over & over. I wish I could have gotten a chance to write some more horn lines for them. My radio friendly stuff and their serious jazz stuff combined… well in my opinion, it would have been one of the greatest combinations in pop music history!!

After Malo, Abel Zarate and I and Naked Lunch sax player Bob Olivera formed Banda de Jesus also with Hutch Hutchinson on bass (played with Bonne Rait for 30 years and many, many others), Roger Alves on drums (from Abel & the Prophets ..see VOLR book p.50 & 161) and Ron Freitas on Hammond B3 organ. Dave Rubinson and Fred Catero did our demo. Big time was coming up once again – But once again, it didn’t come. (See the Naked Lunch CD for a few tracks.) We didn’t gig – We never made the scene – Just continually wrote new music with a very forward sounding set up. We went in a totally different direction from Malo. Really combining pop & progressive in a new way. Though inking several deals came close, but close doesn’t count. We all splintered off into bands that were touring, regardless of what their recording potential was. I went with Andy Kandanes and the Mendocino All-Stars. I left San Francisco never knowing I was never to return.

The All-Stars gave me what I needed bad. Paying gigs for 3 ½ years. Plus fabulous on the road experiences. I loved it!! I brought Abel Zarate, Hutch Hutchison, Robert Olivera and a few others on for a couple of tours every now and then. Other members of the band were from the Sons of Champlin, Tina Turner, Patti LaBelle, The Byrds, Naked Lunch, Malo, War, B.B. King, Janis Joplin, Elvin Bishop, Lenny (Monster Mash) Capizzi – The members came from all over. Even Joe Satriani himself played in it for awhile. I really enjoyed the Redwood forest of Mendocino immensely. But after one long Candian tour Andy wanted to take a break. I went back East to visit family. And this time, I never knew I was never coming back to California.
These were the days of no cell phones or e-mail and 100% living on the road as I did, no place to even get mail. I lost 100% total contact with Naked Lunch & Malo. Plus my non-ending musical career would take me in many new directions, and it is still going very strong today (but in the form of music ministry).

Thirty-five years would go by before ever seeing anyone from that San Francisco experience. Finally, I briefly visited a VOLR (the first book launch party- Jim) in 2005 and saw everyone for a few good moments and laughs & smiles. But several of us have passed on. Time marches on. I really treasured seeing everyone one more time!!

Music is all that I do. It is the only thing I will do. I am a classically trained Rock n’ Roller who now plays in church. I don’t play in bands anymore, but I perform or teach music in some way everyday.

Coke Escovedo, Victor Pantoja, Abel Zarate, Alfonso Johnson, Malo was #1, and Rick Stevens. A few lines on each:

1. Coke & Victor – How could anybody be in a band that had both Coke & Victor in it? (Malo & Azteca) And they’re replaced in Malo by Raul & Leo. Is such a thing possible? Yes, what good fortune that brought to

Malo. I will never, ever forget watching Coke & Victor record their parts on that first album.

Coke played like he knew everything about our music, but he never heard it before!!

Victor was busy playing away – got up, left… got a drink of water, returned – never missed a beat. While the tapes were rolling. These guys were like supernatural.

2) Abel Zarate – He was fiercely independent and was ravenous about the value of melody. The creation of beauty is the responsibility of an artist. Abel’s music values are all over the album. As one of the few human beings alive to hear Abel Zarate and Jorge Santana play together (and the very first horn player to put his mark on it) it was beyond anyone’s imagination as to how great it really was. With those two and Arcelio and Pablo and the rest of us, we all knew there was no end to the style and music we were creating… but it wasn’t to be.

3) Alfonso – Back in 1968 Philadelphia the Motivations were having a rehearsal. Steve Busfield walked in with a record nobody ever even heard of and said we should learn some song off it. For the next 30 minutes we all go to a different corner of the rehearsal hall and learn our parts while someone keeps playing the record over and over. But Alfonso sits on the couch doing nothing. Finally as we all near knowing our parts, the leader says – Alfonso, will you get up and go learn your part. (we called him “string bean”) Alfonso smiles, stands up, does some kinda’ south Philly strut, walks over to his bass, picks it up, and proceeds to play his part perfect – note for note on the 1st try. We all stood there speechless. Then we all smiled and laughed with him. He was grinning ear to ear. It was great!! When Carlos Santana said in the liner notes of his “Blues for Salvador” that two of the tracks are a testimony to the spontaneity of “One take Johnson”… I understood!!

4) Malo was #1… and nobody knows it. If they do – there hasn’t been much talk about it. Well, here goes.

Malo’s first album (the one I did) hit #14 on the charts and Suavecito #18 as a single – Not bad, but both would have gone much higher if it wasn’t for a snafu by Warner Bros. Would anyone ever ‘fess up to it? Here’s what happened.

Bands like Naked Lunch & Malo and a few others that were destined for Bill Graham’s Corporation all had one thing in common. At various times they all needed a place to rehearse. So Dave Rubinson and Bill gave up office space in their complex for that purpose. That’s how serious all this was. But only one person would have a key in those bands – that was me. I was trustworthy. I over heard stuff. But the one that rings in my mind, even to this day was when I was in Rubinson’s office talking to him about something. He went out to the reception area and I heard him say the following. When the President of Warner Bros. Records flew into New York and by far his most important and immediate mission was when the plane landed, he immediately marched into Warner Bros. headquarters and bellowed and gave the command to release Malo’s album NOW. Immediately – For it already had been released two weeks earlier on the west coast and was hitting the charts.

Well, what does this all mean?

If both the East Coast and West Coast had released Malo & Suavecito at the same time, both the album and single would have been much higher up the charts.
Aside from how that would have affected things then – it even affects things now. Both the album and single would have surely hit the top 10 – putting it into all those years & decades of those top ten lists of moldy oldies etc. but, instead it’s not there in all those media things. That is a lot of pizzazz lost. In my mind if both coasts would have released simultaneously it would have hit #1!!!

5) Rick Stevens and the “what if’s” and some other Gospel stuff. Aside from all the bands previously mentioned, I still got invitations to join others or to record with them. Van Morrison, Copperhead (Quicksilver Messenger Service), Several R&B groups in San Francisco, Jerry Miller (a few years after Moby Grape) etc. etc.

After the Aliens and before forming Stone Creation I very briefly played in a band called Stuff. Guess who sang in it? Rick Stevens. (If it wasn’t Stuff, then it was one with very similar circumstances and even rehearsal location that we played in together playing pick up gigs or top 40 covers in topless bars on Broadway in S.F.) I thought he was tremendous!! I tried to do some booking for Stuff, but did not succeed. Money was pressing and the group was going splinter – Rick suggested we should form a band together. After all, a trumpet and his voice worked extremely well together (“Your still a young man”) – It wasn’t long and I joined into Naked Lunch and then later Malo. He joined into Tower of Power. I think both of us found what we were looking for. A sound and a style to totally dedicate our talents too. That’s why I didn’t want to be playing in multiple bands. I wanted one band that could say it all!! But what if I hung with him a bit. Would I have auditioned for TOP or would I have invited him into Naked Lunch? If so, how different a lot of things would have been. Even after Malo when Richard Bean asked me to record with him and his group Sapo (After all, my trumpet and his voice worked extremely well together too – “Suavecito”) Again, how I wish I could have found the time – but I was too far away being on the road with the All-Stars.

I would love to write about some of the other bands i did on the East Coast as well like “Ralph – the Rock Orchestra” produced by Don Costa and many others. But that’s out of the confines and printability of this interview.

Epilogue:

So what’s important about all of this?
Musically and socially, a lot. But there’s a bigger picture. All those years of being on the road and travel did a lot for me. It was fantastic!! But I was lost! I didn’t know that until I met these people who called themselves “Christians.” They called themselves that for following Jesus Christ. I totally reject evolution or that we are products from Outer Space. We have a creator and redeemer. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. I never touched a Bible until I was 39 yrs old. Man did not write it. God wrote it through man and don’t let the translation problems confuse you, the message is clear…Christ crucified for us. Exceptions, none. Yes, all!!
And all even means Rick Stevens who is currently serving double life sentences, or anyone else. I don’t know if Rick would even remember me. But the life of Christ is not a game. God sent His only begotten son to earth to be one of us. God gave us free will – you know what happened. Christ was crucified. He held back legions of angels ready to attack – He said dying on the cross would be payment by Him for your sins if you accept this greatest gift of Love ever given. I’ve heard that Rick has accepted Christ. I only knew Rick but for a very brief moment, but I will now know him for all eternity when we all get there because this is the blood of God that washes away all sin. Our Reedemer lives; there is nothing more that I believe in!!

In closing I’d like to quote some lyrics from the closing song on MALO’s first album. “Peace”

There was a man who lived who said,
he said, love your brother and kiss your enemy.
He’s dead – they hung him, they hung him,
nailed Him to a cross, they hung him –
Peace all through the nations.

I hope some dots have been connected.
Roy Murray
Trumpet d’Amor
“Brass of Peace”

Appendix A

Naked Lunch:
Abel Zarate-lead guitar & lead vocals, Rick Tiffer and Charles Fletcher-bass, Ludwig (Fist) Stephens-C3 Hammond organ, Jose Marrero-congas, Richard Spremich-drums, Robert (Bob) Olivera-sax & background vocals, Roy Murray-trumpet.

Western Addition;
Ross-bass, Bill-guitar, Greg-drums, mike-trombone, John Celona-sax, Roy Murray-trumpet, Wendy Haas, vocals & organ.

The Loading Zone:
Paul Fauerso-organ,piano,vocal; Steve Busfield-guiter,vocal; Ron Taormina- alto & baritone sax; Patrick O’Hara- trombone, French.horn; Mike Eggleston-bass; George Marsh- drums & percussion.
Footnote: This too was quite a very interesting group because of its many styles. When I arrived in S.F. (1969) Steve took me with him to my very first S.F. gig – The Loading Zone. They made the 3000-mile drive worth it!! Linda Tillery (Sweet Linda Devine) had already left the group to go on her own. Later on I got to play with her for just one night. Pretty sweet!! But what’s also interesting here for those who wish to be thorough is that for the above personnel for the album “one for all” on Umbrella Records their engineer was a little known Columbia Records staff person named Brent Dangerfield who got just a matter of fact working assignment – Santana’s first album! (Wow!) Later in life when I was with the All-Stars we’d play a club called The Orphanage (a pretty happening place) – but we’d crash at Brent’s apartment as he was working with us on our sound. It was pretty extreme fun in sound engineering adventures.

Premier of Azteca:
Friday, June 16th – Kabuki Theater (S.F.) – also appearing: Gabor Szabo

Timbales- Coke Escovedo, Drums- Michael Shrieve, Congas- Victor Pantoja, Bongos- Armando Perraza, Guitars- Steve Busfield & Neal Schon, Bass- Paul Jackson, Horns- Mel Martin, Tom Harrell, Bob Ferreira, & Jules Rowell, Keyboards-George Diquattro, Flip Nunez & George Muribus, Vocals- Rico Reyes, Pete Escovedo, Wendy Haas & Errol Knowles.

A majorly big thanks to Roy Murray for answering questions on all the above, it is really good to get the experiences and views of people who did not make the VOICES book for a variety of reasons, be it time, unavailability, deadlines etc.

Thanks again Roy- your input is greatly valued amigo!
Jim McCarthy
August 2009

Tags: Alfonso Johnson, Aliens, Azteca, Carlos Santana, Coke Escovedo, David Rubinson, Fred Catero. Bill Graham, Jorge Santana, Linda Tillery, Loading Zone, Malibus, Malo, Mike Shrieve, Naked Lunch, Neal Schon, Rick Stevens, Santana, Steve Busfield, Tower Of Power, Western Addition

You’ve heard his voice and keyboards on such classic Santana hits as “Black Magic Woman”, “Evil Ways”, “No One To Depend On”, “Everybody’s Everything” and “Oye Como Va”, now legendary Santana / Journey founding member, and Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Gregg Rolie is preparing to release a DVD of his band in concert at the Sturgis Motorcycle Ralley in 2007. Shot with 17 cameras, the Gregg Rolie Band whip up an exciting memorable performance featuring all the beloved Santana hits, as well as tracks from his 2001 critically acclaimed solo CD ‘Roots’.

Along with preparations for the new DVD release, Gregg Rolie will be featured on the PBS special Trini Lopez Presents The Legends of Latin Music. Filmed at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles last October, the program will be aired in March 2009. Celebrating its 40th Anniversary, this year Warner Home Videos will be releasing a Blu-ray and DVD Ultimate Collector’s Edition with high definition picture and sound of ‘Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music’, which will also feature two hours of bonus material, some of it newly-discovered. Much to the elation of fans worldwide, extra footage of Santana’s historic Woodstock performance will be included. Held at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas on Saturday March 23, along with Santana alumni Michael Shrieve, Gregg will reside on a discussion panel of performers, film-makers and key technicians who helped create the timeless music classic and Oscar winning ‘Best Documentary’ Woodstock.

“The first time I played with Gregg everything just clicked. In a humble way, it was very much like McCartney and Lennon. You know when there’s chemistry there. Drummers came and went; congeros came and went, but his feeling and my feeling…sometimes it was hard to tell who was the needle and who was the thread.” Carlos Santana

Gregg Rolie is responsible for co-founding two phenomenally popular, multi-platinum super groups – Santana and Journey. In 1998, the world-class keyboardist/vocalist/producer was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame as part of the original Santana band. Formed in San Francisco in 1969, the multi-cultural ensemble produced three groundbreaking hit albums which yeilded several FM staples. “There’s one unique ability of the band, ” Gregg told music critic Ben Fong-Torres, “and that was that it created music that there is no name for… Santana’s music is such a jell of different material that there just is no name for it, and there’s no one that plays it like Santana does.” Departing after the pioneering jazz fusion offering ‘Caravansarai’ in 1972, both band members Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon went on to form quintessential 1980s hit-makers Journey. After co-writing and producing the band’s first 7 albums, along with constant touring, Gregg decided to leave Journey once the hugely successful 1981 live double LP ‘Captured’ was issued. During the ’80s Rolie wrote, produced and played on the Santana albums ‘Shango’ and ‘Freedom’, and released his debut, self-titled 1985 solo album and its 1987 follow-up ‘Gringo’, before co-founding the all-new Journey-esque rock group The Storm at the tail end of the decade. The Storm released two albums: 1992’s eponymous disc that yeilded the #13 Billboard Hot 100 hit “I’ve Got A Lot To Learn About Love” and 1996’s ‘Eye Of The Storm’. That same year, Rolie, along with five other original Santana members, formed Abraxis Pool, a spirited collaboration that resulted in the 1997 critically acclaimed album of the same name.

Thirty-five years after Gregg and Carlos met in San Francisco, 2001 marked the release of Rolie’s third solo album ‘Roots’. The first-ever release on Bay-Area based Tower Records’ new proprietary label 33rd Street, ‘Roots’ finds Gregg revisiting the incredible brew of sounds he helped conjure up in the late ’60s. Rolie calls ‘Roots’ twelve original selections “Latin rock plus; instrumentation is Latin percussion, with organ, guitar, horns, and lots of great solo work and songwriting, ” adding that “I really wanted to go all the way back to my Santana roots.”

The Gregg Rolie Band consists of founding Santana member Michael Carabello on Congas, Adrian Areas (son of original Santana percussionist Jose Chepito Areas) on Timbales, drummer Ron Wikso (who was also in The Storm), Kurt Griffey on guitars, internationally acclaimed bassist, Chapman Stick artist and Santana alumni Alphonso Johnson and former Jean Luc Ponty keyboardist Wally Minko. “If you are having a good time at anything you do, you are going to do a good job at what you do, ” Gregg recently told music critic Jim Harrington. “That’s really where the key to this band is. We really just enjoy each other a tremendous amount and have a lot of fun with this. We will get up to playing about 50 dates a year, and really that’s all I want to do.” The Gregg Rolie Band will be performing throughout 2009 with tour dates listed on his official website.

Tags: Carlos Santana, Gregg Rollie, Michael Shrieve, Mike Carabelo

Santana 3 or the Third Album, as it is also known, is a primal masterpiece, filled with some of Santana’s best music. The ensemble playing is freer and more fluid and the band embarked on darker, deeper, more mysterious grooves.

Santana’s San Franciscan Mission District based music, had no parallels, it wasn’t salsa, it wasn’t bugaloo, and it wasn’t straight ahead blues or rock. It contained elements of all this music but totally existed in it’s own universe, both re-defining Latino music that had gone before (Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barretto, Richie Valens, Cal Tjader etc) and creating a totally contemporary definition of what it meant to be the vanguard for a new, emerging Latino culture.
Santana 3 is the final part of the effortless trilogy, the original band brought to the international music scene.
Their meteoric rise to fame, with their stunning appearance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, and the subsequent release of their first recording Santana, galvanized not only the festival audience, putting Latin rhythms on the world map, but significantly, Santana also positioned themselves in the arc of USA music history, as a potent, representing, first wave musical force for young, aspiring Latinos in the USA.

The group’s core lineup remained with Carlos Santana (Guitar, Vocals) Gregg Rolie (Keyboards, Vocals) David Brown (Bass) Mike Carabello (Congas) Jose Chepito Areas (Timbales, Congas) and Michael Shrieve (Drums). Santana’s openness to guests and allowing others to share the spotlight brought in two important additions.
Most importantly, the fifteen-year-old guitar whiz Neal Schon. Shrieve and Rolie discovered the fiery Schon, playing in a band called Old Davis at the Poppycock Club in Palo Alto. Carlos, although established as a guitar phenomenon, had no anxiety about the young Schon coming in. In fact, the two together pushed each other to new heights. Remembers Shrieve, “ God knows how Neal felt, coming into the Santana band with Carlos. Neal brought a young fire into the mix and he also picked up on Carlos’ melodicism. Neal was a burner and he could take things really high. Carlos and Neal shared a lot of the same gifts.”

The other newcomer to the ensemble, Thomas “Coke” Escovedo, was another Mission based percussionist (originally playing with Pete Escovedo, as The Escovedo Brothers). Coke was asked to tour with the band in early 1971, due to Chepito Areas, their dynamic, and impossibly talented Nicaraguan timbalero, suffering a sudden and almost fatal brain aneurysm. Coke was brought in to the band, after they had tried out Willie Bobo, (A percussionist and band leader, from New York’s Spanish Harlem, who was a major influence on the Santana group, supplying their first smash hit “Evil Ways”) for the February 1971, Soul To Soul Independence Day Concerts in Accra, Ghana, in Africa.

The recording began mostly at night at the newly opened Columbia Studios on San Francisco’s Folsom Street. Santana were ensconced in Studio B and the recording took shape, partly from long jamming sessions and also songs that had been formulated thru more structured means. Chepito Areas made the sessions, he had made a miraculous recovery; re-appearing with his astonishing musical chops intact. As the band ascended the heights of super stardom, the excesses associated with the music scene in those riotous times had increased as well. The fact that this record is so coherent, and musically cohesive, speaks volumes for the group’s unique musical chemistry.

“Batuka” is the funky opening cut, showing off the feral side of Neal Schon’s guitar work. Behind a backdrop of Carlos, Gregg and David’s ensemble parrying, the percolating rhythm section sets up a cowbell-led pattern that introduces Schon’s wild guitar work.

Gregg Rolie recalls, “We played “Batuka” with Zubin Mehta and the L.A. Philharmonic, for the Bell Telephone TV Hour. They had sent us a taped piece from Leonard Bernstein to learn”.
Coke and Carabello brought in part of the tune “No One To Depend On”, which was in some elements related to an earlier Willie Bobo tune called “Spanish Grease”. They collaborated with Rolie at his Mill Valley home. Rolie wrote the thunderous middle section, and replete with it’s rolling funk-rock riffs this became an instant crowd favourite. This was the second single and demonstrated Santana’s unique take on cha-cha-cha.
“Taboo” was a song Gregg Rolie played frequently at rehearsals until the band developed the sultry piece into the atmospheric ambient finished recording. Carlos’ guitar and Rolie’s vocals intertwine in an ethereal mix until the outro builds to a scorching climax courtesy of Neal Schon’s piercing fretwork.
Here we see Santana using the studio more as an aural instrument itself. “No One to Depend On” finishes with delayed backwards echo and “Taboo” punches its way thru its climax, with a forceful big sound. The sound is enhanced, more open, with studio effects used in an integrated setting. Eddie Kramer, who worked closely as Jimi Hendrix’s producer was on hand to engineer some of the songs but the finished credits went to Glen Kolotkin and the Santana musicians.
“Toussaint L’Ouverture” (named for the Haitian revolutionary by the radical Mission based pianist Alberto Gianquinto) is a pinnacle in Santana’s recorded history. A towering piece that had been jammed from the first album days, Toussaint smokes furiously and features ecstatic soloing from Carlos on it’s fervent intro followed by hot percussion breaks by Carabello and Chepito. The finale is an intense build with wailing breaks by Rolie, Schon and Santana until it’s abrupt end. Deafening silence remains, echoing musical magnitude.

“Everybody’s Everything” was the first single release and has a soul-based vibe with added texture by the East Bay’s Tower of Power’s horn section it is also notable for a crazed wah-wah pedal driven solo by Schon pushing Chepito’s bubbling drum track even further.
“Guajira” is a Santana classic, Shrieve loved Carlos’ beautiful piercing guitar on this cut.
“This is some of my all-time favourite playing by Carlos, starting with Chepito’s bass intro, Carlos’ playing is exquisite, the way he plays over the time change from 4/4 to 6/8, it’s still my favorite music”. Rico Reyes from the neighbourhood supplied a memorable soul filled Spanish vocal and co-wrote the song with David Brown and Chepito in Hawaii.
On “Guajira,” Gregg Rolie was open to a salsa piano solo proffered by Mario Ochoa, another seasoned Latino musician from the earlier generation. “Jungle Strut “was a hip Gene Ammons saxophone soul-jazz instrumental, on which Bernard Purdie, the hip funk drummer of that time originally played. Shrieve was exploring the outer edges of funk with David Garibaldi (the sensational drummer from Tower Of Power) and Santana used it as another vehicle for multi soloing, over a boiling percussion section.
The penultimate track rounding out the recording was “Everything Is Coming Our Way”, a sensitive Carlos song, in contrast to, but also complimentary to all the preceding music. Gregg Rolie with guidance from Carlos supplies a swirling Hammond organ solo that helps resolve the aching vocal by Carlos himself. Coke Escovedo brought in Tito Puente’s “Para Los Rumberos” to the sessions and the furiously driven performance features Luis Gasca on hot trompeta flourishes, ending the album on a high note.

The bonus tracks are a further snapshot of the experimental Santana band, “Gumbo” is a ferocious crowd pleaser, complete with a dual guitar funk interlude, which allowed Carabello and David Brown to do some tambourine propelled dancing onstage.
Mike Carabello attests to “Gumbo”, being influenced by both Sly Stone and Dr John’s Gris Gris album. “We were dedicated to being different, “Gumbo” was a soup of each person’s musical flavours”

“Folsom Street”, named for the new Columbia Studios at Number 1, was never played live and is a rarity with a loping rhythm and a solid band performance. “Bambele Bambeyo” is pure Santana trance music. Aided by Rico Reyes on vocals and Victor Pantoja on congas, the percussion is sublime. With it’s chants, the band takes us all the way back to Africa. Carlos provides free-floating guitar atmospherics, at least eight minutes into the session.

The second bonus disc sees the original Santana captured as the last act on the last night at the Fillmore West, as Bill Graham so aptly puts it, ‘What better way, than to close with the sounds from the streets, Santana!”
The third album was given it’s first airing here and as the sun set on a generation with the Fillmore’s closing, the Santana band closed the auditorium with a powerful, ragged and passionate show. Most of the above is here, the band slams thru their set but with a one-off version of “In A Silent Way”, written by Joe Zawinul and made famous by Miles Davis. Their version heats the song up and Carlos and Neal snarl and maul with Brown’s bass rumbling throughout. Chepito’s metallic timbales slice thru the frenzied haze with the precision he was famous for. Santana ran into problems shortly after, constant touring, plus mismanagement, with subsequent disagreements on musical direction crippled one of the truly great music acts.
Times changed for these musical revolutionaries, caught up in a roller-coaster ride lasting just three or so years. However, the years have been good to the original Santana’s legacy, with their inspired music standing the test of time by remaining timeless.

Jim McCarthy
San Francisco
November 2005

Jim McCarthy (with Ron Sansoe) is the author of Voices Of Latin Rock,
an in-depth look at Santana and the Latin Rock revolution.
(Published by Hal Leonard Corp).

This piece originally was the CD liner noted for the
2 x CD Sony/Legacy Extended Edition
Of Santana 3 or the Third album. (2005)

Tags: Carlos Santana, David Brown, Gregg Rolie, Jose Chepito Area, Michael Shrieve, Mike Carabello, Mission District

Douglas Haywood Rauch
(14 September 1950 ­ 23 April 1979)
was an American bass player most famous for his work with Carlos Santana
during his fusion-period 1972-73.

Pre-Santana Years: Rauch was born in New York. Prior to joining Santana, he
worked with several New York-based acts like Buzzy Linhart, Voices of East
Harlem, Bunky&Jake…etc Rauch appears on Bunky&Jake’s 1969 L.A.M.F ­ album.
The collaboration with Buzzy Linhart also resulted in an album: ²Music² in
1971. He also played one track on Carly Simon’s debut album the same year.
Accepting an invitation from Santana drummer Michael Shrieve Rauch moved to
San Francisco in 1971 where he worked with the band Loading Zone which also
featured future Santana bandmate Tom Coster. Rauch and Coster also worked
briefly with guitarist Gabor Szabo during this period.

Santana Years 1972-73
Doug Rauch teamed up with Santana in 1972 replacing Tom Rutley. He made his
first appearance with the band in early 1972 Rauch shared a mutual admirance
for the music of The Mahavishnu Orchestra with his new bandleader, and was
an important element in shaping the more jazz/rock/fusion-oriented sound of
The New Santana Band. He appears on the albums Caravanserai, Welcome, Love
Devotion Surrender and Lotus. During the Santana years Rauch also played
with a third edition of Tony Williams Lifetime which also featured Japanese
guitarist Ryo Kawasaki.
After Santana 1974-79 (David Bowie, Lenny White, Billy Cobham & George Duke
Band, Jan Hammer).
Doug Rauch played his last show with Santana on New Year’s Eve -73/74. He
was replaced by returning original bassist David Brown. Later that year
Rauch teamed up with David Bowie for his Diamond Dogs-tour for a month in
sepember 1974. In July-August 1975 Rauch worked with Lenny White on his
Venusian Summer – solo release.
The same year Rauch joined the Cobham & Duke Band.
This collaboration was, however, short-lived due to D.R’s
increasing substance abuse problems.
His collaboration with the Jan Hammer Band was also short-lived
and he was replaced by Fernando Saunders in late 1975.

Death
Doug Rauch died of a drug overdose in San Francisco, aged only 28.

Style:
One of the key elements of his style was his unique use of his thumb in a
down and upward-motion. This technique is now commonly referred to as
²double thumbing² and used by several high-profile bass players, most
notably Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten. The earliest recorded examples of
Doug Rauch using this approach is the ²Attitude² on the ²Giants²-album
(released in 1978, but recorded in 1971) and ²Look Up……. from Santana’s
Caravanserai-album 1972. Another key element of his sound is his frequent
use of a phase-shifter. Rauch still used a good amount of conventional two
finger right hand technique during his Santana-years.
But with Lenny White, Cobham & Duke-Band it was thumb style more or less
exclusively.

Equipment.
Doug Rauch main bass was a heavily modified pre-cbs era Fender Jazz Bass.
The bass had an additional Gibson EB-pickup (a.k.a “mudbucker”) in the neck
position. The original jazz bass neck pu was replaced with a P-bass pickup.
It also sported some additional non-original knobs and switches. He also
used a stock pre-cbs era Precision Bass for some of his work with Santana.

Discography:
Bunky & Jake: L.A.M.F. (1969)
Music: s/t (1970, re-released as “Buzzy Linhart is Music)
Carly Simon: s/t (1971)
Papa John Creach: s/t (1971)
Giants: (recorded 1971, released 1978)
Santana: Caravanserai (1972)
Betty Davis: Betty Davis (1973)
John McLaughlin & Carlos Santana: Love Devotion Surrender (1973)
Santana: Welcome (1973)
Santana: Lotus (1974)
Jose Chepito Areas: s/t (1974)
Shigeru Suzuki: Bandwagon (1975)
Lenny White: Venusian Summer (1975)
Billy Cobham: Life & Times (1976)

Tags: Add new tag, Carlos Santana, Columbia Records, Columbia Studios, Doug Rauch, Tom Rutley, Voices of Latin Rock

CD Review: Naked Lunch.
Released early 2009
(World In Sound Records)

This is a real curio and a must for Latin Rock completists everywhere.
Comprised of a few live tracks from the little known Naked Lunch and the
remainder culled from Abel Zarate¹s follow up project called Banda de Jesus.
Naked Lunch grew out of the heaving Bay Area confluence of the late 1960¹s.
They were notably absent at the time from getting a major record label
release but this live CD soundboard recording (recently and luckily salvaged
from an almost forgotten reel-to-reel recording) is a testimony to their
strength. It is interesting to note that although Chicago had an album
release at this time, the first Santana album had not been released as yet.

The sound is clear and punchy, if a little trebly and the CD leads off with
³Love Is Everywhere,² with a robust, soulful vocal from Abel Zarate with
back up from saxophonist Robert Olivera, the band is a stylish crossover,
attempting a big band sound with their seven members. Zarate¹s vocals are
really good and one wonders why he hasn¹t exercised this area of his talent
more. The band are positioned by way of their sound somewhere between The
Rascals and Chicago and an original Santana vibe. The musical flavor is horn
driven with Jose Marrerro¹s congas driving the beat along with future Malo
member on drums, Richard Spremich. The young and precocious Abel Zarate on
guitar is both a powerhouse playing big chords and some chunky rhythm
playing. It is worth bearing in mind that Zarate and Murray, both joined in
time for Malo¹s debut recording as well as Spremich, under the behest of
producer David Rubinson.

³Changes² features some lyrical Zarate guitar followed by some funky riffing
from the guitarist. Essentially a blues song, the piece chugs along at
mid-tempo with a grinding funk base. Zarate had started playing guitar at
the age of thirteen, turning himself onto Gabor Szabo in the process. He
spent time in the Bernal Heights area of San Francisco, hanging out with
doo-wop corner vocalists. Even here at this fairly early stage in his
development, he shows a confident up-front style to his playing. Jose
Marrero, hailing from Puerto Rico, shows a down-home street conga style with
similarities in his playing method, to another Puerto Rican called Mike
Carabello, who went onto international fame with Santana. Marrerro reaches
out with a pleasing conga outing, playing a solo, drenched in ambience and
power. ³Changes² also features a mighty Hammond organ solo and fills from
Ludwig ³Fist² Stephens.

The San Francisco Bay Area at this time was host to so many guitar
prodigies; Zarate was already in the company of Carlos Santana (their paths
had crossed already, with both auditioning for The Righteous Ones, with
Zarate winning out on this occasion). Also present during this time period
or coming up were Neal Schon, Mike Suzaki, Ray Obiedo, Jorge Santana, Oscar
Estrella, Steve Busfield and other less known players like Tony Juncal and
who both played on Jose ³Chepito² Areas solo recording issued in 1974. Amid
this heady brew of musical cohorts or competitors, Zarate had a distinctive
aspect to his playing, both blues and soul-filled but with jazz-like,
lyrical facets re-occurring strongly. The young player was always on the
lookout for opportunities and Naked Lunch grew out of the ashes of The
Righteous Ones, who also sported Richard Bean on lead vocals and saxophone,
who famously went on to write Malo¹s only Billboard hit, the Latin lover¹s
anthem, ³Suavecito.²

³Endless Night² starts off with a more relaxed Rascals-like vibe with some
relaxed trumpet from Roy Murray. Some tasty harmony vocals augment the
song¹s summery feel.
It¹s under laid tastefully with some cool organ washes and sax trills.
³Virgin Woman² has a full on Latin cha-cha vibe with nice conga flams from
Marrero. Roy Murray adds hot trumpet here and solos over Zarate¹s chiming
rhythm and stirring solo playing. Sounding heavily influenced by Carlos
here, this could be a cut from the first Santana record. The guitar outing
is followed by a superb Hammond solo by ³Fist² Stephens. The parallels with
Santana¹s ³Evil Ways¹ are readily apparent, perhaps not surprising,
considering the esteem with which the Willie Bobo sound was held, amongst
the nascent young Latino rock fraternity.

³Your Song/Time Trip,² starts with a mighty organ swell; that shakes the
venue¹s rafters. It breaks into a heavy, attacking Abel Zarate guitar solo
followed by the horn anthem to the song, which itself evolves into swing
timing over which there is further Zarate soloing in a hot, bluesy vein. The
song halts with a heavy bass reminder of the main riff, then it¹s a drop
down into the Time Trip, which is a free form organ drone followed by some
Richard Spremich drum explorations, that rounds out this performance.
³Encore² follows and guess what? ­ it is the encore. More heavy and churning
riffing ensues with Abel blowing more fuses in his amplifier. Real
free-form, gut-bucket stuff!!

My only real criticism of the young band would be a lack of light and shade
in the music but I¹m sure had they gone on further these aspects would be
resolved.

The rest of the music here is comprised of cuts from Banda de Jesus. David
Rubinson, the hot-shot producer who imported himself into the Bay Area
scene, took an interest in this Zarate project. The sound is again fresh,
with a pop and jazz feel and Abel Zarate¹s playing has also evolved in step
with the music. ³Better Days² is not dissimilar to Naked Lunch but the songs
are more cohesive and the horn arrangements more solid and structured. The
song goes thru fairly rapid changes in tempo. ³Lovely Day² exemplifies that
titles feeling in an positive manner, with that sound, peculiar to Latin
style projects started in San Francisco at that time, upbeat and with
excellent backing and harmony vocalising.
The song heads into 6/8 territory with a cooking riff by Zarate and tricky
horn charts, with a smoking sax solo from Robert Olivera. It further locks
into a rim-shot led samba beat, backed by the funky soul brother hand
clapping, prevalent at the time.

³Living Is Funky,² allows Abel to hit some lovely guitar runs over a Latin
cha-cha beat. Zarate further hits in with some great funk licks and reminds
us all that living is indeed funky!
Another version live is included here of ³Ozone.² This is more up-tempo and
sporting the same arrangement, with excellent conga from Marrero, who enjoys
himself on two conga breaks here. The songs owes more than a little to ³I¹m
A Man,³ by both The Spencer Davis Group and Chicago.
The song features an ending that will be instantly familiar to ALL Malo
fans, Abel Zarate judiciously used it again as the explosive coda to ³Peace²
on the debut Malo recording.

The CD is further served by having a twenty-page CD booklet with detailed
and lovingly recreated liner notes from conguero Jose Sierra. It has good if
indistinct live shots of the two bands and the graphics are befitting the
time and era. The notes also let you know what the players are up to now and
Roy and Abel, close them up with a little spiritual food for those of you
that are so inclined.
All in all, a welcome addition to the San Franciscan Latin rock discography
and a hot snapshot of bands playing for the sheer hell of it, whether they
made it or not!

Jim McCarthy.
East Sussex. England.
March 2009.

CD Total playing time = 57.08

Questions for Abel and Roy?????????????

(1) Abel, tell us how the group met and was formed??
The band started off called ‘Brown Magic’, with myself, Bob Olivera, Jose
Marrero, and Rick Tiffer… Spremich was added on drums a few weeks into the
project … we were turned on to the ‘Mu House’ in the Haight by Bernardo
Quintana, who fancied himself our manager for awhile. It was there that Roy
Murray, and Ludwig Stephens joined the group and we became NAKED LUNCH. By
the way; the lead vocals on the Naked Lunch CD are done by me

(2) Roy, what are your influences, as a horn player??
Horn influences: Since I’m really a multi horn player my influences were a
long line of both saxophone and trumpet big band players plus the Coltrane
and Miles

(3) Roy, say something about The Motivations?
In the Motivations (Philadelphia) was future Santana & Weather Report
bassist Alphonso Johnson, future Buddy Miles, Azteca & Loading Zone
guitarist Steve Busfield (he was the one who encouraged me to make the trip
to San Francisco, Linda Creed who co wrote over ten top ten hits, Duane
Hitchings who played with Rod Steward and also Heart (keyboard), myself and
of course several others.

(4) Abel, tell me how you experienced the Mission at that time?
My family lived in the Fillmore district, and then we lived for a time near
Mission High School, until we finally settled in the heart of the Mission by
Precita Park … I grew up with all my Latin brothers, and soaked in the
culture and music, which was close to my own Filipino heritage. Most of my
friends who were 5 – 6 years older than me all went to school with Carlos
Santana.

(5) Roy, tell me about Wendy Haas and Western Addition group??
When I arrived in San Francisco (May…1969) the first band i joined was the
Western Addition with Wendy Hass (future Azteca & Santana vocalist). These
were great days!! Nobody knew what was to come or that we would all be
playing a role in music that would live on for 40 yrs. afterwards. What we
lacked in finesse we made up for well in fun and all learning to put it out
there.
Next I replaced Chepito Areas in the Aliens at The Nite Life for almost two
months.
After that I formed a band called Stone Creation. A part time player with
Blue Cheer that also had several future Azteca players. Then into Naked
Lunch for a good 15 months before Malo. When I actually joined Naked Lunch
the Santana LP had not yet been released and we were playing those songs.

(6) Any stuff Abel you may wish to add??
Where is Jose Marrero now??
The last time I saw Jose Marrero was in the late 90’s. He was very much
settled into his family life with wife and children, and retired from the
music scene.

Tags: Abel Zarate, Carlos Santana, Chepito Areas, Naked Lunch, Robert Olivera

Singled Out Classics: Black Magic Woman

02/25/2009 

(antiMusic) We have a very special edition of Singled Out for you today! Legendary rocker Gregg Rolie (founding member, lead singer and keyboards for Santana and Journey) checks in with the inside story of one of Santana’s biggest hits “Black Magic Woman” which Gregg sang lead vocals on. You can hear and see him sing the classic tune on his forthcoming live DVD- more on that later, but right now here is Gregg with the story behind “Black Magic Woman”:

Black Magic Woman is still one my favorite songs to sing and perform even after almost 40 years. It took me about a year to convince the band that we should do this song. It was one I had a passion for and I knew I could sing it. Some songs are made for you and other songs you just sing. This one was made for me. A little known fact is that Mike Shrieve (drummer for Santana) turned me on to Black Magic Woman. He knew I was a big Peter Green fan from his involvement with John Mayall’s Blues Breakers where Peter took Eric Clapton’s place as the lead guitarist and played on the album “Hard Road”. Mike gave me the Fleetwood Mac album with lead guitarist Peter Green and I found Black Magic Woman penned by Peter. It became a #4 Hit for Santana and one of the most recognizable Santana songs for decades to follow. I’m sure glad Mike gave it to me.

Now about that DVD. Here is the official announcement: You’ve heard his voice and keyboards on such classic Santana hits as “Black Magic Woman”, “Evil Ways”, “No One To Depend On”, “Everybody’s Everything” and “Oye Como Va”, now legendary Santana / Journey founding member, and Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Gregg Rolie is preparing to release a DVD of his band in concert at the Sturgis Motorcycle Ralley in 2007. Shot with 17 cameras, the Gregg Rolie Band whip up an exciting memorable performance featuring all the beloved Santana hits, as well as tracks from his 2001 critically acclaimed solo CD ‘Roots’.

Along with preparations for the new DVD release, Gregg Rolie will be featured on the PBS special Trini Lopez Presents The Legends of Latin Music. Filmed at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles last October, the program will be aired in March 2009.

Celebrating its 40th Anniversary, this year Warner Home Video’s will be releasing a Blu-ray and DVD Ultimate Collector’s Edition with high definition picture and sound of ‘Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music’, which will also feature two hours of bonus material, some of it newly-discovered. Much to th e elation of fans worldwide, extra footage of Santana’s historic Woodstock performance will be included. Held at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas on Saturday March 23, along with Santana alumni Michael Shrieve, Gregg will reside on a discussion panel of performers, filmakers and key technicians who helped create the timeless music classic and Oscar winning ‘Best Documentary’ Woodstock.

“The first time I played with Gregg everything just clicked. In a humble way, it was very much like McCartney and Lennon. You know when there’s chemistry there. Drummers came and went; congeros came and went, but his feeling and my feeling…sometimes it was hard to tell who was the needle and who was the thread.” Carlos Santana

Gregg Rolie is responsible for co-founding two phenomenally popular, multi-platinum super groups – Santana and Journey. In 1998, the world class keyboardist/vocalist/producer was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame as part of the original Santana band. Formed in San Francisco in 1969, the multi-cultural ensemble produced three groundbreaking hit albums which yeilded several FM staples. “There’s one unique ability of the band,” Gregg told music critic Ben Fong-Torres, “and that was that it created music that there is no name for… Santana’s music is such a jell of different material that there just is no name for it, and there’s no one that plays it like Santana does.” Departing after the pioneering jazz fusion offering ‘Caravansarai’ in 1972, both band members Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon went on to form quintessential 1980s hit-makers Journey. After co-writing and producing the band’s first 7 albums, along with constant touring, Gregg decided to leave Journey once the hugely successful 1981 live double LP ‘Captured’ was issued. During the ’80s Rolie wrote, produced and played on the Santana albums ‘Shango’ and ‘Freedom’, and released his debut, self-titled 1985 solo album and its 1987 follow-up ‘Gringo’, before co-founding the all-new Journey-esque rock group The Storm at the tail end of the decade. The Storm released two albums: ’92’s eponymous disc that yielded the #13 Billboard Hot 100 hit “I’ve Got A Lot To Learn About Love” and ’96’s ‘Eye Of the Storm’. That same year, Rolie, along with five other original Santana members, formed Abraxas Pool, a spirited collaboration that resulted in the 1997 critically acclaimed album of the same name.

Thirty-five years after Gregg and Carlos met in San Francisco, 2001 marked the release of Rolie’s third solo album ‘Roots’. The first-ever release on Bay-Area based Tower Records’ new proprietary label 33rd Street, ‘Roots’ finds Gregg revisiting the incredible brew of sounds he helped conjure up in the late 60’s. Rolie calls Roots’ twelve original selections “Latin rock plus”; the instrumentation is Latin percussion, with organ, guitar, horns, and lots of great solo work and songwriting”, adding that “I really wanted to go all the way back to my Santana roots”.

The Gregg Rolie Band consists of founding Santana member Michael Carabello on Congas, Adrian Areas (son of original Santana percussionist Jose Chepi to Areas) on Timbales, drummer Ron Wikso (who was also in The Storm), Kurt Griffey on guitars, internationally acclaimed bassist, Chapman Stick artist and Santana alumni Alphonso Johnson and former Jean Luc Ponty keyboardist Wally Minko. “If you are having a good time at anything you do, you are going to do a good job at what you do,” Gregg recently told music critic Jim Harrington. “That’s really where the key to this band is. We really just enjoy each other a tremendous amount and have a lot of fun with this. We will get up to playing about 50 dates a year, and really that’s about all I want to do.” The Gregg Rolie Band will be performing throughout 2009 with tour dates listed on his official website.

For more information: www.GreggRolie.com

Tags: Black Magic Woman, Carlos Santana, Gregg Rolie, Mike Shrieve, Woodstock

Paul Liberatore
Posted: 01/17/2009 03:08:35 PM PST

Rita Gentry, executive assistant to Carlos Santana, sorts memorabilia

Rita Gentry has worked quietly behind the scenes In the Bay Area rock music business for 40 years, the past eight as executive assistant to Marin’s Carlos Santana.
Now the modest Novato resident is being honored as one of the Women of Latin Rock at the Voices of Latin Rock concert, the fifth annual benefit for autism awareness at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre on Jan. 24.
The 61-year-old Gentry is the only non-performer being recognized for her contributions to the Latin music scene, including helping to organize this show. Her fellow honorees are singers Lydia Pense and Linda Tillery, percussionist/drummer Sheila E. and singer/pianist Wendy Haas.
For 12 years, Gentry worked for legendary rock impresario Bill Graham as his secretary and as a production assistant. After Graham was killed in a 1991 helicopter crash, she stayed on with his company for another eight years. She is on the board of the Bill Graham Foundation.
Gentry, who is single, moved to Marin in the early ’70s, raising two children while working in various office capacities for the Grateful Dead, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, Commander Cody and the Sons of Champlin, among others.

Q: In your resume, you mention that you’re a native of San Francisco and “a participant in the Summer of Love.” Were you born into the counterculture?
A: I graduated from high school in 1965, so I was right in the heart of it. I went to shows at the Fillmore that cost $3 for three great acts. I wouldn’t trade that
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time for anything. It was fabulous. You just can’t put in the paper what was so fabulous about it.

Q: Why did you get into the administrative side of the music business?
A: My background is in dance. My mother is 83 and still teaching dancing five days a week. I grew up being a dancer – tap, ballet, jazz, you name it. From the time I could walk, I danced, that’s why I love music. But dancing wasn’t as popular as it is now, and I couldn’t be a dancer and support myself. So, instead of being on stage, I became the person behind the scenes or in the office. I’ve been a hard worker, but I’ve been blessed to be in the right place at the right time.

Q: How did you get started?
A: I wasn’t the kind to go to college, so I learned shorthand and secretarial skills. I didn’t want to work in the regular business world. I wanted to do something theatrical. So I started at 680 Beech St. in San Francisco, working for an independent company that booked shows in Tahoe and Vegas. That’s when I learned how to do artist contracts. Since I knew how to do contracts, that’s what I did. I did contracts for all the bands. I made my little travels from group to group, band to band.

Q: What brought you to Marin?
A: In the late ’60s and early ’70s, I lived in a house in Noe Valley with six people and dogs and cheap rent. One of the guys in the house got a job at Out of Town Tours, a booking agency for the Dead that Sam Cutler ran in Marin. They needed someone who knew how to do contracts, so I went to work for them in an office at 1330 Lincoln Ave. in San Rafael. The New Riders, the Dead and Out of Town Tours were all on the same floor.

Q: Wow. What was that like?
A: The early days were outrageous. If my parents saw where I was working and who I was surrounded by, they wouldn’t have been too thrilled. (Laughter) But there was so much freedom and so many opportunities for women. As opposed to a woman working in the straight world, you had more of a chance of making your own decisions as a woman working in the rock music business that was being created then.

Q: How did you get the job with Bill Graham?
A: I always wanted to work for the wonderful Mr. Bill Graham. So I went and interviewed and ended up going to work for him on Feb. 26, 1979. And I quit on Feb. 26, 1999. I was his secretary, but my favorite job was in the production department, the creative side of the shows. I would coordinate with the stage managers, starting with Days on the Green and going on to other large productions. I was always the person behind the desk making sure all the people did what they were supposed to do, from making laminates to making sure someone had their hotel, taking care of transportation, etc.

Q: Graham had a reputation as a fire-breathing dragon. What was it like to actually work for him that closely?
A: Even though people say he was so mean, the truth of the matter is that in all the years I spent with him, not one time did he ever raise his voice to me or be rude to me. He was very caring to the women who worked in his office. And he also gave women a chance to work. He always gave his employees the chance to do what they could do best, male or female. Basically, it was take the ball and run with it. If you can do it, great. If you can’t, step aside.

Q: It must have been terrible for you when he died.
A: It was the absolute worst. It was the closest thing to my father passing. For me, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him. He was the guru, the creator of the rock ‘n’ roll show as we know it. The best part about him was that he cared about the fans, the person going through the doors, and the artist. The patron and the artist came first, pretty much in that order.

Q: And now you work for Carlos Santana, who has a history with Graham as well.
A: He and Bill were very close. We can speak about Bill and we understand each other’s feelings. There’s that bond between us. Through Carlos I got involved in the Voices of Latin Rock. After the first year, I decided I’ve got to get involved. I thought, ‘This is fabulous. It’s like a Bill Graham thing.’ I’ve been in my usual role as the woman behind the curtain. In this show you’re seeing artists from every generation in the Latin music scene. And the money is actually going to a worthwhile cause, benefiting schools in the Bay Area dealing with autism.

Q: How does it feel to be getting this recognition from your peers?
A: I’m flattered, but I’m almost embarrassed to be honored for doing a job that was in my heart, that I’ve always loved and that I hope to stay in until the day I drop.

Tags: Carlos Santana, Rita Gentry, Women of Latin Rock