Cindy Blackman Santana

We are proud to present one of the most exciting drummers in modern music, Cindy Blackman Santana, in 5 shows exclusive to Bird's Basement. She will be stretching out and jamming with her colleagues from the Santana band, bassist Felix Pastorius (yes, son of the great bass innovator, the late Jaco Pastorius), keyboardist Zaccai Curtis and guitarist Aurelien Budynek.

Cindy has been turning heads in the rock world since she first began touring with Lenny Kravitz in 1992, and again since she began performing with Santana in 2010. Her musical chemistry with Carlos Santana merged into a personal chemistry which saw them marry in December 2010.

Before proving herself as a powerhouse rock drummer, Cindy had already established her jazz credentials in the company of jazz stars like Pharaoh Sanders, Joe Henderson and Wallace Roney. Today, her music and her drumming combine the power and energy of rock with the creative flexibility of jazz.

"I love danceable music, and I love big fat beats and I really dig rock 'n' roll", says Blackman. "But jazz is my heart, it's my love, and I've never left jazz in mind or spirit".

"I think of playing as controlled freedom, and in jazz, especially, that's exactly what you have. I love it," says Cindy. "You know the forms of the songs, but you have the freedom to stretch over them. You want the music to grow and breathe, and you want to invite creativity from all the musicians. As you're going along, you can change the color, the feel, the mood in different ways, or go off the chart and open it up to something new. Controlled freedom is an incredible discipline requiring a lot of focus. Improvisation like that is art in its highest form."