Carlos Santana talks about Miles Davis

Miles Runs the Voodoo Down

Carlos Santana talks about the impact that Miles Davis had on his development as an artist.

Though raised and initially trained in music in Mexico, Santana was deeply influenced by artists like B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, and John Lee Hooker.

In San Francisco, he developed a highly original blend of Latin-infused rock, jazz, blues, salsa and African rhythms, taking inspiration from a wide variety of sources.

Bill Graham, rock impresario, was a big fan of Latin music from his younger days at New York City’s Palladium and gave Santana his first commercial opportunities.

References from the interview

Miles Davis at Tanglewood (1970)

Miles with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and Jack DeJohnette

– Ken McCarthy