Friends Join Guitarist in Fluid, Versatile Tribute to Santana

Forget all the hyperbole that showered Carlos Santana during the speeches at the concert tribute to the veteran musician at the Universal Amphitheatre on Sunday. The moments that mattered most came when Santana spoke back through his guitar.

The four-hour-plus concert gathered musicians as varied as bluesman John Lee Hooker and jazzman Herbie Hancock to play alongside the guitarist, and regularly invoked the images of Haight-Ashbury, Cesar Chavez, Bill Graham and Jimi Hendrix (whose father, Al, waved from the audience). Neither a classic blues player nor a straight-ahead rocker, Santana on Sunday played in a style that was fluid and versatile, incorporating convincing elements of jazz, Latin and rock.

If the concert (which raised $300,000 for the Grammy in the Schools program) seemed stuck early in a mainstream R&B; groove, things quickly took off with the appearance of Hooker, whose mournful cries blended dramatically into the Santana band’s frantic Latin rhythms. At one point there were 10 percussionists sharing the stage (including Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart).

Soon joining him were Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, guitarist Vernon Reid and Dead guitarist Bob Weir for lengthy versions of such Santana hits as “Evil Ways” and “Oye Como Va.”

One highlight came with the spectacularly light touch of blues guitarist Buddy Guy, whose opening salvo of leads was so expressive, funny, serious, delicate and powerful that Santana could at first only sit down and watch. Likewise, Hancock mingled his rich piano melodies with Santana’s supercharged guitar lines for a brief improv session that, like the concert itself, was as energetic as it was sophisticated.