Customer Reviews

Santana: Hymns For Peace - Live at Montreux 2004

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I saw Shorter/Santana on this tour, still have the T-shirt to prove it. It was an awe-inspiring moment in music history. Santana had been doing his brand of jazz-rock fusion since the '70's, but had taken a detour into the pop world. Santana's "Lotus" and "Caravanserai" are masterpieces, not to mention Carlos' work with Alice Coltrane. The reviewer has quite obviously not done his homework, as Leon "Ndugu" Chancler worked with Santana in 1974-1976, *before* joining Weather Report (Chancler was in Weather Report in 1975). Santana has been friends with Wayne Shorter for many years, recorded "The Swing of Delight" with Shorter in 1980, which may have been a bit ambitious and fell fairly short of their potential.

However, any professional music reviewer that truly believes that drummer Chester Thompson switched to keyboards for this tour is a bumbling idiot. Chester Thompson, the keyboard player, has been playing with Santana since 1983, as well as being a *major* name in Hammond organ players, having been the main keyboard player for the Tower Of Power for 10 years.

Chester Thompson, the drummer, played with Weather Report for one year, in 1976, but was the long-time touring drummer with Genesis. He's a great drummer, but he'll never be a keyboard player at the level of his namesake in the Santana band.

This tour was an amazing feat, and while Shorter has a much richer history in the jazz-rock world than Santana, their playing seemed to be the perfect complement to each other. I eagerly await the next time Carlos decides to take such a risk and leave the comfortable pop world to explore jazz textures with Shorter.

Santana also performed a kickin' version of Miles Davis' "In A Silent Way/It's About That Time", of which the former was written by future Weather Report keyboardist/leader Joe Zawinul. The Weather Report/Shorter connection goes much further back and is much stronger than our friend Sam would have us believe.

It seems inevitable that Wayne Shorter and Carlos Santana would team up. They seem to have similar sensibilities, and they share a passion for expressive music. Shorter's jazz credentials are indisputably top-of-the-line, and his time spent with Miles Davis and Weather Report proved that his rhythmic intuitions were impeccable. Santana's rock chops go unquestioned, but his jazz sensibilities are almost equally as impressive. As John Mayer said, the mark of a great player is that "they're all stuck on what they're seeking, not where they are." Is there a better way to describe the combined work of these two men? Come to think of it, it seems incredible that we waited until 1988 for this to happen, and it's surprising that the tag team didn't last longer than it did. Released almost two decades after they toured together, this CD and DVD release make it possible for the unfortunate many who could not see these shows to find out what they missed.
Together onstage, Santana and Shorter are like two great explorers seeking out new territory, using a vast, deep and almost superhuman percussion/rhythm section as their Sacagawea. The rhythm section for this show leads the players to places that most human beings could only experience through witnessing it, because it is almost impossible for an average player to interact with musicians of this caliber. Their interplay is generous, but intensely accurate and precise, never crowding the soloists but constantly prodding them to push further. The only relief comes when the band winds down for a blues progression, or some relaxed reflection. The dual keyboards fatten the overall sound, but the Yamaha DX7 sound samples date the proceedings to the mid-`80s era of synthesized plastic, providing the only false note of the performance. This is unfortunate, because the playing of soloist Patrice Rushen (remember the pop song "Forget Me Nots"? It turns out that she's a killer keyboardist!) has a delicious Cuban feel that suits the music brilliantly.
Both Shorter and Santana are restless spirits, so it was inevitable that this pairing could not last forever. Nevertheless, they achieved quite a bit for the time they spent. Judging from this performance, it was an experiment that worked magnificently, and an experience that all fans of interpretive jazz, rock and fusion will appreciate immensely.
A- Tom Ryan

For those of us who enjoy jazz rock music, the pairing of Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter is a match made in heaven. For anyone who is even vaguely familiar with these two artists, then it should be quite obvious that a live concert featuring them would be great and this concert certainly is.

My criticism is twofold: First, the menu options on the DVD are limited at best. The only selections are: Play All, Interviews, Concert, and Audio Set Up. This DVD was released way after the practice of listing the song selections was the norm. Second, the director falls into the all too common pattern of keeping the shots brief. Most shots do not last longer than four seconds. Every time the shot changes, you have to reorient yourself. This is terrible when you're trying to watch an artist develope a solo. Also, I wish I knew what posses the overuse of the close up. I can almost see its use in movies but for concerts? Please! I really wish directors would realize that when they zoom in that close, they take away the audience's choice. When we attend a live concert, we sit in our seats and look at whatever we want. So, please, please, get the camera out of the performer's freakin' nose and let US decide what we want to look at.

I know that this doesn't bother most people. If you're one of them, then by all means, enjoy this DVD. However, if you feel as I do, you may only want to listen rather than watch.

Having seen most of the Santana concert DVDs and also having seen him this last Summer at the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine, I was pleasantly surprised by this DVD. Carlos seems to have gone more in the pop vein in recent years and his current fan base seems to support this, but this concert on this DVD is magnificent and heavily influenced by the genius that is Wayne Shorter! Carlos surrounds himself with some of the finest musicians available and it shows in the sensitivity of interaction among the soloists and the musicians providing the musical ride. This is the 1st time I had at hearing/seeing both Patrice Rushen, Alphonso Johnson and Leon "Ndgugu" Chancler play live and they are such integral reasons why I love this DVD so much. Chester Thompson is like the left hand to Carlos' right, so there's the complete interplay almost of one mind with those two. One can see and feel the influence Wayne Shorter had on EVERYONE in the band simply because one can see each musician intensely LISTENING as well as interacting with each other!!! I love this DVD so much I am going to buy extra copies and give them to the other members in my band so they too can experience what a concert has the capabilities of being in terms of musicality and creativity. I highly recommend this DVD to anyone.

What a combination. This is a marvellous treat for both rock and jazz fans with two giants both with their very distinctive sound which melts into a very wonderful treat.

This is not the audio-visual equivalent of Supernatural or Shaman!

Not surprisingly, as others have pointed out, the results are mixed. But the "upside" is quite stunning. After all, the guests aren't popsters being trotted out to "connect" for demographical purposes. We're talking musicians of the highest order - McLaughlin, Shorter, Corea, Ravi Coltrane, Herbie, etc. And fine singers like Angelique Kidjo.

So on the plus side, you get great musicians clearly having fun. Highlights include Afro Blue done with a light groove, with relaxed solos from the key players. Jazz classics like In A Silent Way and Love Supreme are given great workouts, the latter with Ravi Coltrane ripping away.

And then there's Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord, with Santana and McLaughlin squaring off once again. Is it just me, or is Carlos making the best of finally getting to be Big Dog with the mighty Mahavishnu, knowing that he can shred without being upstaged by McLaughlin, who plays in a quieter style these days?

Even if the musicians are on a slightly shorter leash than usual, they know how to hit the spot where lesser lights wouldn't make half as much out of twice the time.

Kidjo's songs are particularly good, especially Redemption Song and What's Going On.

On the down side, you simply don't follow Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord with ... The Banana Boat Song. It's just not right.

People who liked the collaboration between JohnMcLaughlin and Carlos Santana-e.g. "Love, Devotion, Surrender"
will have a chance to see both of the reunited many years later - and even performing compositions from that album. "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord" and "A Love Supreme" really stand out! The addition of Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock from the "electric" Miles Davis era is an extra treat!

I am ordering a copy now as I watch it on NetFlix. I didn't even know this existed and this coming from someone who owns 20+ Montreux DVD's. What a great addition to my collection. Carlos' playing is superb as always. Wayne never lets me down. I am enjoying this very much.

Excellent! I love this mix of musicians and music ,I've allways been a Santana fan and to me this is a timeless piece of art.
Thank you Carlitos God bless you

It the editorial review above, they state that Chester Thompson plays keys here and played drums with Weather Report. This is incorrect.

The Chester Thompson that played drums with Weater Report also played drums with Genesis.

This Chester Thompson only plays keyboards and did a stint with Tower of Power before joining Santana, I believe he's been well known on the San Francisco scene for decades.

Also, if you like this, try to dig up a copy of Santana's "The Swing of Delight" from around this period...it features Wayne, Herbie Hancock and I believe Johnson is on it too (or perhaps Jaco).