Cindy Blackman Santana – We Came To Play (Featuring John McLaughlin) & Everybody’s Dancin’ (Featuring Carlos Santana)

– IMPACTING NOW –

Out September 18, the album features Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, Kirk Hammett, Vernon Reid and Producer Narada Michael Walden. 

On September 18, renowned virtuoso drummer, songwriter and singer Cindy Blackman Santana will release her astonishing new solo album, Give the Drummer Some. Three years in the making, the record is a rapturous testament to Blackman Santana’s unparalleled musicianship and compositional mastery, featuring 17 tracks (both instrumentals and vocal songs) that take listeners on an exuberant, compelling and beautifully sustained journey that will leave them breathless.

Working as her own producer as well as with multiple Grammy and Emmy-winning hitmaker Narada Michael Walden (Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey, among others), Blackman Santana welcomed a brilliant array of musicians to her sessions, including an eye-popping host of guitar titan guest stars, such as Mahavishu Orchestra legend John McLaughlin, Living Colour’s Vernon Reid and Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. As one might expect, the drummer, who for the past decade been a mainstay in the band Santana, features the unmistakable artistry of her guitar icon husband Carlos Santana, on a generous number of cuts.

“If I had any kind of agenda at all, I wanted this album to be all-encompassing,” says Blackman Santana. “Pop, funk, rock, jazz – I embrace the creativity in all of it, and I feel so inspired when I play it. That’s what I wanted people to feel when they listen to the album – inspired.”

On the epic instrumental “We Came to Play,” Blackman Santana creates a gargantuan groove while engaging in a riveting musical conversation with John McLaughlin and bassist Matt Garrison; on top of which Neal Evans adds an amazing palate on organ providing warm, textured undertones. “This track kept building and building, and things got very fiery,” says Blackman Santana. The title sums up the vibe: ‘This is us, we’re playing, and if you don’t like it, go home!’”

“Everybody’s Dancin’” is a hook-filled, deliciously vibey treasure that features a mega-searing guitar solo by Carlos. As Blackman Santana explains, the song came about following a remark that producer Walden made about her hair: “Narada loves my Afro – he said it was electric,” she laughs. “That really sparked the idea for the song. We wanted something that united people, something fun and universal that would be a joy for them to sing. It certainly was for me.”

“It was a lot of fun to do so many vocal songs on this album,” she says. “I am, and always will be a drummer, but it’s also exciting to showcase the singer side of me. I want people to have a great time listening to it. I set out to make a record that was fun and uplifting, but more than that I wanted the messages to matter. If people come away from it feeling all that I put into it, then I’ve done my job.”

Contact:

Elliot Kendall: *********@***.***