Guillermo "Jorge" Santana (13 June 1951 – 14 May 2020) was a Mexican

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

, brother of musician

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) 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 feature ...

Early life

Jorge was born Guillermo Santana on 13 June 1951 in

Autlán Autlán de Navarro is a city and its surrounding municipality of the same name in the Costa Sur region of the southwestern part of the state of Jalisco in Mexico. At the Mexican census of 2005, the city had a population of 53,269. In 2010, th ...

, in

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Gua ...

. His parents were Josefina and Jose Santana. and younger brother of Carlos Santana, Jorge started playing guitar in San Francisco when he was a teen.

Early career

At a young age Santana was in San Francisco based combo "Sounds Unlimited Blues Band" with Tom Lazaneo, Jim Dotson, Fred Pratt and Robert Lazaneo, formed in 1967 and finally calling it quits circa summer 1970, then joined a rhythm and blues band called "The Malibus" which later became just "Malo."

Later career

He was a member of the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

-based, Latin-rock band

Malo Mal, which in Spanish means ''bad or evil'', may also refer to: Places * Malo, Italy, a town *Malo Island, formerly known as St. Bartholomew, Vanuatu * Malo (Solomon Islands), an island * Malo, Washington, Ferry County, Washington, United States ...

, who had a top twenty hit in the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

with " Suavecito" in 1972. He released two solo albums on

Tomato Records The Tomato Music Co. Ltd., also known as Tomato Records, is an American independent record label founded in New York City in 1977 by music manager Kevin Eggers. It was a successor to his previous record labels Utopia and Poppy, the label was self- ...

, '' Jorge Santana'' and ''It's All About Love'', featuring former Malo members. In the mid-1970s he played with the

Fania All-Stars The Fania All-Stars is a musical group formed in 1968 as a showcase for the musicians on Fania Records, the leading salsa music record label of the time. History Beginnings In 1964, Fania Records was founded in New York City by Jerry Masucci, ...

. The band, Malo, which means "bad" in Spanish, played a combination of laid-back fusion of jazz, rock and a variety of forms of Latin music, similar to the sound of Carlos Santana, his brother. The band's debut album, called "Malo" was released in 1972 and included the song "Suavecito". The song, which had a smooth, melodic sound, made it to No.18 on the Billboard singles chart, and became a popular song for fans of Latin rock. Malo played together for four years and produced four albums until they broke up and Santana embarked on a solo career and played with the New York-based band the Fania All-Stars. His distinctive guitar was a green

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously ...

, acquired in the 1970s. After a long split, Santana toured with his brother, Carlos. The album '' Sacred Fire: Live in South America'' was recorded in Mexico City on this tour, featuring Jorge Santana, who played a personalized orange

Paul Reed Smith Paul Reed Smith (born February 18, 1956) is an American luthier and the founder and owner of PRS Guitars, a high-end guitar maker. Early life Smith graduated from Bowie High School in 1974. He also attended St. Mary's College of Maryland where ...

guitar. In 1994 he recorded an album with his brother and Carlos Santana's nephew, Carlos Hernandez, called '' Santana Brothers''.

Sound

According

WBGO WBGO (88.3 FM, "Jazz 88") is a public radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. Studios and offices are located on Park Place in downtown Newark, and its transmitter is located at 4 Times Square in Manhattan. The station primarily plays j ...

radio host, musician and band leader Bobby Sanabria Jorge Santana's sound can be summed up thus:

"Picture Blood Sweat & Tears fused with
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, fused with
Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans or Black Cubans are Cubans of West African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community and the combining of native African and other cultural e ...
rhythms and guitar driven rock. It was Santana on steroids."

Personal life

He died in San Rafael,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

of natural causes on 14 May 2020, aged 68. He was survived by his brother Carlos and another brother, Antonio. He also had four sisters: Lety Santana, Laura Porras, Irma Santana, and Maria Vrionis. He was married to Donna with whom he had a son, Anthony and a daughter, Michelle. He also had one grandson.

Discography

*'' Jorge Santana'' (1978) *''It's All About Love'' (1979) *'' Santana Brothers'' (1994) *''Here I Am'' (2009) *''Gracias Madrecita'' (2011)

Malo

* ''

'' (1972) * ''Dos'' (1972) * ''Evolution'' (1973) * ''Ascension'' (1974)

Santana

* '' Sacred Fire: Live in South America'' (1993)

Fania All-Stars

* ''Latin-Soul-Rock'' (1974)

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Santana, Jorge 1951 births 2020 deaths Santana (band) members American musicians of Mexican descent Blues rock musicians Fania Records artists Hispanic and Latino American musicians Family of Carlos Santana Musicians from Jalisco People from Autlán, Jalisco