The album Carlos Santana dedicated to Miles Davis and John Coltrane
There aren’t many other guitarists in the world who have had quite the illustrious career as Carlos Santana has as a result of playing a fusion of genres, mixing together elements of his Latin jazz background with blues and psychedelic rock.
One might think that casting the net this far and wide would only allow someone’s music to be appreciated and accessible to a small and niche audience, yet Santana and his eponymous band became a worldwide phenomenon, appreciated by listeners and peers from all over the musical map. Not only were his genre-blending exercises thoroughly impressive, but the deft skill that he injected into his playing style has always been nothing but a marvel to witness.
Having recently been announced as one of the artists to receive a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the 2026 Grammy Awards, it’s clear that Santana is a well-respected figure within the music industry, and it hasn’t come as a result of good fortune that he’s managed to achieve this.
It was only in 2000 that he set a joint record for the highest number of awards received at a single Grammys, when he took home the ‘Album of the Year’ gong for Supernatural as well as triumphing in seven other categories. This doesn’t happen without merit, and given how long he’d been an influential presence in the wider music world, one might argue that this level of acclaim was long overdue for an artist of Santana’s calibre.
However, it was during this particular awards evening that he chose to pay tribute to two of his own biggest inspirations; a duo of closely-linked individuals whose careers he had followed closely and who had inspired his forays into jazzier territory through constant reinvention of the genre’s possibilities.
According to saxophonist Wayne Shorter, who collaborated with Santana on a number of occasions, including during a legendary appearance at the 1988 Montreux Jazz Festival, Santana had always been a vocal supporter of the works of John Coltrane and Miles Davis, and chose to dedicate the award-winning album to them and their impact. “When he got all those Grammys, he held up some of them, and said, ‘This one’s for John Coltrane! This one’s for Miles!’” Shorter explained.
He would go on to expand on his close friend and collaborator’s appreciation for jazz in general, stating that it was an ever-present force within his life that guided him towards becoming a more adventurous performer and improviser.
“I know Carlos is really into Miles and John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk, the whole library of modern or-what do you call it – contemporary jazz, which has made an impact in the hearts of people,” Shorter continued. “I don’t think Carlos was looking at record sales from the jazz tree, or branch, of music; I don’t think sales impressed him at all. It was the spiritual embodiment that you present, whether it’s jazz or the music that he’s playing. Whoever played jazz that moved people, that’s who moved him.”
Given how Shorter, a giant within the jazz fusion scene, had become such a close companion of Santana’s, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that he’s always been a great supporter of both Davis and Coltrane, and since they’re arguably two of the most original minds to have graced the world of jazz and were constantly aiming to work in a greater range of influences into the genre, you can’t blame Santana for wanting to honour their legacy.
