Santana's "Samba Pa Ti" Expanded My Idea Of What A Guitar Can Do

My all time favorite guitar solo was discussed on this blog a long time ago. It's Terry Kath's great one from the album version of Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4," a truly exciting performance that still holds a place in my heart all these years later. However, even though it's the highlight of a fun, high-energy, rock anthem, Kath's playing isn't the only element that makes the song a stoned cold classic.

Another astounding track, released later the same year (1970) as Kath's signature solo, is from Santana's greatest album, Abraxas. "Samba Pa Ti" (in English it means "Samba For You") allowed me to understand what the guitar was capable of for the first time. Until I heard this tune I only thought of the electric guitar the way Kath used it, as an instrument that supported a vocalist, blasted out riffs, or rocked hard in a jam session or instrumental break. "Samba Pa Ti" proved that rock's premier, non-vocal attribute could also be the reason for a song's existence instead of simply being in service to one. It could be tasteful, delicate and tuneful.

Santana believed that this piece was the first time he was able to truly express himself in the studio. Let the axeman speak for himself in a 2008 interview with Britain's Mojo Magazine. "I remember being alone one evening - until then when I heard my records it was like seeing myself in the mirror and there was no me there, only a lot of other guitarists' faces: B.B., George Benson, Peter Green. That evening I heard "Samba Pa Ti" on the radio and I looked in the mirror and it was my face, my tone, my fingerprints, my identity, my uniqueness. Because when I recorded it I was thinking of nothing, it was just pure feeling. I have a suspicion it came from stuff bottled up inside me, that I didn't know how to express or articulate. I get angry because, 'Why can't I say what I really mean?' Then "Samba Pa Ti" comes out of me. And everybody understands it."

Carlos Santana is definitely a hall of famer, and "Samba Pa Ti," his only solo composition from this vintage LP, made me appreciate the guitar's virtues more than I ever had before. After hearing it I never again viewed electric, rock guitar as an anti-establishment, flamethrowing instrument designed to annoy our parents. Instead, I heard musicianship.