Carlos did a very nice interview last Thursday with Tavis Smiley of PBS. The 22 minute video is online, but so far I can’t get it to play past seven and a half minutes. But at least the audio is available in full.
Here’s a sample from the interview:
Tavis: At 60 years of age now, Carlos, do you feel anything — physically, that is — do you feel at 60, since you play so much, do you feel anything different in your hands at 60 than you did at –
Santana: No. If anything, because I don’t — for right now, this is the peak of my existence because it’s not how fast, it’s how deep. Albert King and Buddy Guy and Jimi Hendrix will tell you that. People who play really fast, it’s like bullets that don’t penetrate paper. But when you go slow and deep, man, people say you touched me in a place I never been touched before.
And they start crying and you go, “I wish I knew what that is.” (Laughter.) Because I have no idea — you’re just channeling it. So no, I’m not there yet but I will know when it’s time for me to pass the guitar to Derek Trucks and brothers like that.
“People who play really fast, it’s like bullets that don’t penetrate paper.”
So true…