CARLOS SANTANA & ALICE COLTRANE: ILLUMINATIONS

As he began taking an even more jazzy turn to his musical style, Santana became more spiritual. This is evident by the time of 'Caravanserai', but 'Illuminations' is when he finally culminated his new less-latin+jazz+spiritual+groovy sound. The album starts with 'Guru Sin Choy Aphorism', which is basically Carlos making the sound of the universe (om) with some stuff about how love is God at the end. This "song" is only about one minute long, so you don't feel weird for too long. Then there is 'Angel of Air'. It opens with some great flute. After about forty-five seconds other instruments are introduced, creating a beautiful symphony that paves the way for a smooth Santana guitar solo. This feeds into 'Angel of Water with some absolutely mesmerizing instrumentation that genuinely feels like water with flowing, rising and falling intensity. Then the scene changes to a more somber atmosphere. The rising and falling section repeats itself. Then it gets slow again. Guitar and what sounds like harp interplay beautifully, with the orchestra booming in the background. The song ends, leaving you in a trance. 'Bliss: The Eternal Now' starts pretty intense with some odd orchestral instrumentation. There is some great piano, but Carlos is definitely taking the stage with his guitar. Alice Coltrane's harp is beautiful, syncing perfectly in harmony with the orchestra. This song is beautiful. 'The Angel of Sunlight' starts pretty weird. Carlos Santana dominates, but some real odd stuff is going on in the background. I still love it all the way. The song picks up two minutes in; the percussion getting harder, the guitar more aggressive. The scene changes about three minutes in, taking a more funky atmosphere, with aggressive stand-up bass and guitar that pans from left to right, giving a crazy, warped sound to it. About five minutes and a half in, the soprano sax takes the stage, acting like a complete lunatic. Then Alice Coltrane and her Wurlitzer come in, making the scene crazier than ever. Aggressive, confusing, emotional, everything. Damn! Then the sax and the guitar play together and everything just blows you away. I'm getting weak typing this in right now. Then the guitar goes full circle, repeating the opening riff. Damn, this is just so well executed. I can't think of what else to say. 'Illuminations', the closer, takes a different turn, sounding less intense and more romantic. Coltrane's piano and harp, Santana's guitar, and the orchestra take the stage together, each playing every measure in perfect harmony. Coltrane's smooth playing here reminds me of Herbie Hancock and 'Crossings'. Close to the end, the orchestra and harp get a bit crazy, but they return to eternal bliss for the last few notes. Great jazz album, highly recommend. Prog on, jazz on, rock on, funk on.

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