Playing drums for rock legends like Lenny Kravitz and Carlos Santana requires exceptional skill and talent. Cindy Blackman Santana will be showcasing her prowess at The Carlyle Room in Northwest D.C. this Friday and Saturday.
“We have quite a few original pieces and some compositions by artists like Wayne Shorter that we’ve reimagined, giving them a fresh twist,” Blackman Santana shared with WTOP. “This band is phenomenal; everyone has a keen musical ear, allowing us to explore various musical journeys and infuse the music with excitement and energy. Each member brings a unique sound to their instrument.”
Born in Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 1959, Blackman grew up immersed in a diverse range of musical genres including funk, jazz, classical, and rock ‘n roll. After her family relocated to Connecticut, she pursued music studies at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford and the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Eventually, she left her studies to join the renowned doo-wop group The Drifters.
“That experience provided me with some stability and the opportunity to earn some money… and to consistently perform gigs, even though it wasn’t the genre of music I initially desired to play. It was a valuable experience,” she expressed.
In 1993, following her move to New York City, Cindy received a call from Lenny Kravitz, inviting her to Los Angeles to audition for his music video “Are You Gonna Go My Way.”
This marked the beginning of her nearly two-decade tenure as his touring drummer, a journey captured in the concert documentary “Alive from Planet Earth,” recorded live in Australia.
“I was introduced to Lenny through a mutual friend who mentioned that Lenny Kravitz was in need of a drummer. I asked, ‘Who’s that?’
He replied, ‘The guy who was previously married to Lisa Bonet,'” she recalled. “I went for the audition where there were around 40 drummers. After my performance, Lenny stopped the auditions and declared, ‘No, I choose Cindy.’… Seventeen years of touring was an incredible journey.”
While performing alongside Kravitz at a music festival in Germany in 2005, Cindy Blackman Santana crossed paths with her future husband, Carlos Santana. “I was touring with Lenny Kravitz, and Santana was performing—they were on first,” Blackman Santana recalled.
“I had the opportunity to meet him, but there weren’t any immediate romantic sparks. I was already in a relationship, and I believe he was as well. Fast forward five years later… he was in need of a substitute drummer. Carlos and I connected on a musical level initially, and as we conversed, we discovered a deep spiritual connection.”
Carlos Santana proposed to her in a grand gesture onstage during a concert in Chicago on July 9, 2010.