The Caravanserai Tour was a series of performances by American Latin rock band Santana in support of their album Caravanserai during 1972 and 1973. It started on September 4, 1972, at the Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival in Griffin, Indiana, and ended on October 21, 1973 at Ginasio Municipal Novo in Brasília, Brazil. This tour could be considered to be the group's most eclectic tour at this point, as the band did concerts at every continent except Africa and Antarctica, including one of the first, if not the first, tours of Latin America by a major American rock act.[1]
The tour was the first and only tour to feature the group's second lineup, "The New Santana Band", consisting of guitarist Carlos Santana, percussionists Armando Peraza and José Areas, bassist Doug Rauch, drummer Michael Shrieve, and Tom Coster and Richard Kermode on keyboards. The group often performed material from Caravanserai along with other improvisations and covers.
Some concerts were recorded and filmed and released as albums and films. The shows on July 3 and 4, 1973 at the Osaka Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan in Osaka, Japan were released as the triple vinylLPLotus (1974). Select concerts during the tour's Latin American portion were filmed and incorporated into the documentary, Santana en Colores (1973).
History
On October 11, 1972, Santana released Caravanserai, a major turning point in Carlos Santana's career. The album aimed towards a more experimental jazz fusion sound, a contrast from the group's earlier releases. In the same year, Santana became interested in the jazz fusion outfit Mahavishnu Orchestra and its guitarist, John McLaughlin. Aware of Santana's interest in meditation, McLaughlin introduced Santana, and his girlfriend Deborah, to his guru, Sri Chinmoy in October. Later in the month, Chinmoy accepted the Santanas as disciples.[2] Santana was given the name Devadip, meaning "the lamp, light and eye of God" in August 1973.[3] Santana and McLaughlin recorded an album together, Love Devotion Surrender with members of Santana and the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1973. After becoming a disciple of the guru, Santana got his hair cut short and he started to dress in white clothes.[4][5]
Some time later, Santana, having obtained legal rights to the band's name, Santana, formed a new version of the band with renowned Latin jazz percussionist Armando Peraza and Nicaraguan percussionist José Areas, Doug Rauch on bass, Michael Shrieve on drums, and Tom Coster and Richard Kermode on keyboards. Dubbed "The New Santana Band", they toured North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania in support of Caravanserai, travelling in a Lockheed L-188 Electra airliner,[6] which generated a lot of buzz in Australia.[7]
At the start of the European tour of 1972, a press conference was held in the afternoon of November 4, 1972, before the concert at London's Empire Pool, where Santana answered questions about his new look and spiritual direction.[8] His devotion to Chinmoy was evident during the press conference, as a picture of Jesus was perched on top of an amplifier next to a photo of the guru during the conference.[9] The band followed this European tour with a North American tour lasting from December 1972 to June 1973.[10] During April to June 1973, the group took a break to record their fifth studio album, Welcome. This album was much more experimental than Santana's previous albums, and did not produce any hit singles. Though the tour mainly promoted Caravanserai, songs from upcoming Santana albums were played during this tour, such as tracks from Welcome: "Going Home", "Samba de Sausalito", "When I Look into Your Eyes", "Yours Is the Light", "Light of Life", "Welcome", and "Mantra".
After the conclusion of the North American tour, an Asian tour started, where the group played in Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia.[lower-alpha 1] The tour of Asia was followed by a tour of Australia and New Zealand. Another North American tour followed, and the group subsequently toured Latin America.
During October 6, 1973, at the Plaza de toros Monumental de Valencia in Valencia, Venezuela, two fans died at the concert, one man committed suicide by jumping from a tall structure located in the bullring, and a woman suffocated.[15] In Caracas, there was a riot between the concert-goers and the police over the constant marijuana usage at the performance which resulted in hundreds of fans being detained and fifteen officials injuring themselves in the fight.[15]
Tour band
Leon Thomas – lead vocals, sound effects, percussion (beginning June 21, 1973)[16]
A 16-date tour of North America started on September 4, 1972, at the Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival, held near Griffin, Indiana on Bull Island and ended on October 30, 1972 at the Academy of Music in New York City. This is a usual set list for this leg (actual set list taken from the October 15 Seattle show):[17]
On the other hand, the concert on September 12, 1972 at the Keystone in Berkeley, California was very different from the usual set list, as more songs from Caravanserai were performed on this date. The set list for this performance was as follows:[18]
"Eternal Caravanserai Of Reincarnation" (Tom Rutley, Neal Schon, Shrieve)
"Waves Within" (Rauch, Rolie, Santana)
"Look Up (To See What's Coming Down)" (Rauch, Rolie, Santana)
"Just in Time to See the Sun" (Rolie, Santana, Shrieve)
"Castillos de Arena Part 1 (Sand Castle)" (Joaquim Young, Santana, Coster, Kermode, Rauch, Shrieve, Areas, Peraza, Corea)
"Free Angela" (Cochran)
"Castillos de Arena Part 2 (Sand Castle)" (Corea, Young, Santana, Coster, Kermode, Rauch, Shrieve, Areas, Peraza)
"Earth"
"La Fuente del Ritmo" (Lewis)
"Welcome" (Coltrane)
"Every Step of the Way" (Shrieve)
November–December 1972: First tour of Europe
The band started a European tour on November 4, 1972 at Empire Pool in London, England, concluding on December 5, 1972 at Philips Halle in Düsseldorf, West Germany. New additions to the set list include "Going Home", which opened every concert during the entire tour, and the instrumental "Samba Pa Ti". Here is a common set list for this leg (actual set list taken from the December 1 Rotterdam gig):[19]
December 1972–June 1973: Second tour of North America
A tour of North America began on December 9, 1972 at Loyola Field House in New Orleans, Louisiana and ended on June 21, 1973 at the Anchorage Sports Arena in Anchorage, Alaska.[10] A new song, "Kyoto", was added to the set list. Here is a typical set list for this leg (actual set list taken from the January 30 San Diego show):[20]
The group started their very first tour of Asia on June 27, 1973 at the Fukuoka Kyuden Kinen Gymnasium in Fukuoka, Japan and ended on July 19, 1973 at Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A live album, Lotus, was recorded during this tour. The album's track listing is as follows:
The group's first tour of Oceania lasted from July 23, 1973 at Brisbane Festival Hall in Brisbane, Australia to August 8, 1973 at Christchurch Town Hall in Christchurch, New Zealand.[21] No set list information exists of this leg, but the set lists were reportedly similar to the previous ones.
August–October 1973: Third North American tour
The band did another North American tour from August 12, 1973 at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey to October 3, 1973 at Estadio Nacional Somoza in Managua, Nicaragua. Mexican television crews taped the shows at the Auditorio de la Reforma in Puebla, Mexico on September 22–23, 1973.[14][22] Here is a typical set list for this leg (actual set list taken from the August 12 Jersey City show):[23]
A series of shows in South America began on October 5, 1973 at Plaza de toros Monumental de Maracaibo in Maracaibo, Venezuela and ended on October 21, 1973 at Ginasio Municipal Novo in Brasília, Brazil. Here is a typical set list for this leg (actual set list taken from the October 19 São Paulo show):[24]
During the band's first North American tour in 1972, it was reported that "the crowds were sparer than expected in a few spots than the last tour, but there were standing ovations in San Francisco and New York, and encores almost everywhere else."[25] However, in a review for The Stanford Daily, reporter Don Tollefson gave their performance at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom on April 6, 1973 a poor review, saying that the talent of the members was underutilized, and one of the other acts on the bill, Focus, delivered a better performance than headliner Santana.[26] Additionally, the band's shows in Venezuela and Colombia were negatively received by the media.[12]
Tour dates
North American leg (September 4 – October 30, 1972)
List of tour dates with date, city, country, venue[27]
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured his melodic, blues-based lines set against Latin American and African rhythms played on percussion instruments not generally heard in rock, such as timbales and congas. He experienced a resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s. In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine listed him at No. 20 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists. He has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, and was inducted along with his namesake band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
Abraxas is the second studio album by Latin rock band Santana. It was released on September 23, 1970 by Columbia Records and became the band's first album to reach number one in the United States.
Michael Shrieve is an American drummer, percussionist, and composer. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band Santana, playing on the band's first seven albums from 1969 to 1974. At age 20, Shrieve was the second youngest musician to perform at Woodstock. His drum solo during "Soul Sacrifice" in the Woodstock film has been described as "electrifying", although he considers his drum solo during "Soul Sacrifice" in 1970 at Tanglewood as being better.
Caravanserai is the fourth studio album by American rock band Santana, released on October 11, 1972. The album marked a period of transition for Santana as it was the band's last to feature several key early members, while shifting in a more instrumental, progressive jazz fusion direction. It sold in fewer quantities than the band's previous chart-topping albums, stalling at No. 8 on the Billboard LPs chart, but has been critically acclaimed.
Welcome is the fifth studio album by Santana, released in 1973. It followed the jazz-fusion formula that the preceding Caravanserai had inaugurated, but with an expanded and different lineup this time. Gregg Rolie had left the band along with Neal Schon to form Journey, and they were replaced by Tom Coster, Richard Kermode and Leon Thomas, along with guest John McLaughlin, who had collaborated with Carlos Santana on Love Devotion Surrender. Welcome also featured John Coltrane's widow, Alice, as a pianist on the album's opening track, "Going Home" and Flora Purim on vocals. This album was far more experimental than the first four albums, and Welcome did not produce any hit singles.
José Octavio "Chepito" Areas Dávila is a Nicaraguan percussionist best known for having played timbales and Conga drums in the Latin rock group Santana in 1969–1977 and 1987–1989. In 1998, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for his work in Santana. In 1997, he performed on Abraxas Pool with other members of the early 1970s iteration of Santana, including Gregg Rolie, Neal Schon, Michael Carabello and Michael Shrieve. Previously, he released an eponymous solo album on Columbia/CBS Records in 1974. La Gigantona, a 1976 collaboration with Nicaraguan singer-songwriter and childhood friend Alfonso Noel Lovo, was reissued by Numero Group in 2012. He was featured along with Richard Bean and Rich Aldana in 2003 CD The Sounds of Santana by "The Tellstars", and he played alongside Michael Shrieve and Rich Aldana in the 2007 CD "Cha Cha Time" by "The Tellstars". Jose Chepito Areas, was the featured artist on, Ray Cepeda’ “The Neo Maya Experience”, 2000, “Solo”, 2012, “Angels over Avalon & Aztlan 2008, Areas of Santaana, 2018, “Areas 51: Return of the Alien” 2019, Ray Cepeda, released on World Rock Records.
Lotus is a 1974 live album by the Latin rock band Santana, recorded at the Osaka Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan, Osaka, Japan in July 1973, during their Caravanserai Tour. The Welcome album recording sessions were completed shortly before this concert, and that album was later released in November. Lotus was originally released in 1974 as a triple vinyl LP in Japan only. This version of the album was later released internationally.
Sacred Fire: Live in South America is an album by Santana, released in 1993. This album is dedicated to the life of Cesar Chavez. "Live in South America" is not correct, since Mexico does not belong to South America.
Armando Peraza was a Latin jazz percussionist and a member of the rock band Santana. Peraza played congas, bongos, and timbales.
Santana is an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1966 by Mexican-born guitarist Carlos Santana. The band has undergone multiple recording and performing line-ups in its history, with Santana the only consistent member. After signing with Columbia Records, the band's appearance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 increased their profile and went on to record the commercially successful and critically-acclaimed albums Santana (1969), Abraxas (1970), and Santana III (1971). These were recorded by the group's "classic" line-up, featuring Gregg Rolie, Michael Carabello, Michael Shrieve, David Brown, and José "Chepito" Areas. Hit songs of this period include "Evil Ways", "Black Magic Woman", "Oye Como Va", and the instrumental "Samba Pa Ti".
"Samba pa ti" is an instrumental by Latin rock band Santana, from their 1970 album, Abraxas. In English, the title means "Samba for You." It was released as a single in 1973. The song charted at No. 11 in the Netherlands, No. 43 on the German charts, and No. 27 on the UK Singles Chart, Santana's first single to chart in the United Kingdom.
The Essential Santana is a compilation album by Santana, released on 22 October 2002. The collection is part of a series of Essential sets released by Columbia Records.
The Welcome Tour was a concert tour by Santana promoting their album, Welcome. The tour began on November 13, 1973 at Colston Hall in Bristol, England and ended on October 29, 1974 at the William P. Cole, Jr. Student Activities Building in College Park, Maryland.
The Supernatural Now Tour was a concert tour by American rock band Santana, commemorating the 20th anniversary of their pivotal 1999 album Supernatural and their appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969. The tour also supports their most recent album, Africa Speaks.
The Spirits Dancing in the Flesh Tour was the twenty-fourth concert tour by Santana in 1990, supporting the Spirits Dancing in the Flesh album.
A 25–Year Celebration Tour was the twenty-fifth concert tour by Santana in 1991, celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band.
The Love Devotion Surrender Tour was a concert tour in 1973 and 1974 by guitarists Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, supporting their album Love Devotion Surrender.
Santana Latin American Tour 2005 was a Latin American concert tour by American rock band Santana in 2005.
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