Carlos Santana came to prominence in the late ’60s and quickly pioneered a powerful blend of blues-rock and Latin influences. The appeal of this fusion continues to this day with an impressive career that continues to thrive. Carlos is also a musical adventurer and even made an album with his longtime friend, jazz-rock pioneer John McLaughlin.
Another notable collaboration was his appearance on John Lee Hooker’s comeback album, . One of Carlos’ early influences was British blues great Peter Green. Green’s classy and vocal phrasing, combined with a detailed understanding of modern blues language made him a powerful example for a young player.
Many have tried to emulate Carlos’ distinctive approach, but to get a grasp of his style it’s important to have an understanding of minor key harmony. A casual listener might think that Carlos is playing out of the Aeolian (natural minor) scale with a little blues scale action mixed in. A closer look reveals a more sophisticated approach to minor key harmony.
Carlos has an unusually detailed method of addressing the V chord in the minor key, considering that he’s seen as a blues-rock kind of soloist. In a minor key, the V chord will generally have altered extensions, commonly a b9 and b13. In the key of A minor the V chord (E7) may have F and C notes in its voicings.
To fully observe the minor key harmony, the best way to create lines and chord voicings for E7 resolving to the tonic A minor in this key would be to use the no.