the
John Coltrane Quartet's epic album "A Love Supreme," about a year after the
teenaged Santana moved to San Francisco from Tijuana and became an American
citizen. He was immediately struck by the force of the quartet's music and
the impact of Jones' polyrhythmic drumming.
"When that intro comes in on 'A Love Supreme' it's like the gates of heaven
opening," Santana, 56, said. "In fact, when I die, if I don't hear 'A Love
Supreme,' I'll turn back; I'll know I'm in the wrong place. For me, Elvin
was Número Uno, forever, for all ages, for all existence. I miss him
terribly; I've been playing his music nonstop since he died, especially
'Agenda' (from Jones' 1969 'Poly-Currents'😉 with Joe Farrell (on sax). He
was a supreme drummer who was doing things that were totally different than
anyone else.
"When I hear Elvin's music I hear the pyramids, I hear African and
pre-Columbian music, and I hear the future. Elvin is the beat of life
itself, and his music transcends 'clever' or 'cute' or any superlatives.
When he and Coltrane played, and everyone else in the quartet dropped out,
that's what Jimi Hendrix would play if he was still alive. That's what John
McLaughlin wants to play, and he's alive, because there is nothing more pure
or vibrant than Coltrane and Elvin."
It is because he holds Jones in such high esteem that Santana was angry at
the absence of media tributes to the masterful drummer, who was 76 when he
died and kept performing until just weeks before his death.
The reason for the slight, Santana believes, is a matter of racial and
cultural prejudice.
"When Miles (Davis) died (in 1991), for four hours in France they stopped
everything on TV and radio – all the regular programming – and just showed
Miles for four hours, all through France," Santana recalled. "Here in the
U.S., it's embarrassing (how jazz is treated). People should be ashamed of
themselves."
MTV and VH1 are virtually jazz-free, and the music has historically been
held in much higher esteem abroad than here, in its homeland.
But Santana believes exceptions should be made for musicians as notable as
Jones, who Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron hailed as "a major force to be
reckoned with" who could "wow the pants off a jazz fan or non-jazz fan"
alike.
"If I would've been running MTV, I would've stopped all the corny stuff they
show and shown one of Elvin's (drum) solos. Because he represents the
highest level of creativity, like Duke Ellington," Santana said.
"America is such an ignorant country. I understand that I'm hard on America,
but if you look at all the (alarming) things on CNN, (you'll see) we need to
grow up quickly. We need to crystallize our existence because we place
economic values over spiritual ones.
"I'm hurt. And if I was a little hard or cruel with MTV and VH1, they
deserve it. They need to stop showing what they are showing, and show real
musicians. Why do they keep showing such stupidity? MTV needs to reassess
its priorities."