Shape Shifter is the first recording for Carlos Santana’s new label Starfaith Records. The 13-song album is fundamentally a set of instrumental pieces, although one song features vocals by Santana’s lead vocalists Andy Vargas and Tony Lindsay. Shape Shifter features Chester Thompson on keyboards, Dennis Chambers on drums, Benny Rietveld on bass, Salvador Santana on keyboards, Raul Rekow on congas and Karl Perazzo on percussion.
The new album comprises mostly original compositions that Carlos Santana has been setting aside for such an instrumental project. Carlos dedicated the album to American Indians, acknowledging Australia’s 2008 apology to the Aborigines, and President Obama’s signing of the 2009 Native American Apology Resolution. He says, “I encourage any and all countries (that have not as yet done so) to acknowledge the first people of their land, and make this a collective global effort.”
On the Shape Shifter Tour 2012, Santana and his band will play selections from the new album, as well as classics from the group’s more than four-decades-long career. Also this year, on May 2nd, Carlos Santana begins a two-year residency performing at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Shape Shifter tour dates:
July 7 – Grand Casino Mille Lacs, Hinckley, MN
July 9 – Ravinia Festival, Highland Park, IL
July 12 – Fraze Pavilion for the Performing Arts , Kettering, OH
July 13 – Soaring Eagle Casino Resort, Mount Pleasant, MI
July 14 – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, West Toronto, ON
July 15 – DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI
July 17 – Bank of America Pavilion, Boston, MA
July 18 – Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion, Gilford, NH
July 20-21 – Borgata Spa & Resort Event Center, Atlantic City, NJ
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
