BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT Cindy BLACKMAN
It was long overdue for me to do a record,” says Cindy Blackman Santana. “The energy was at such a build-up that if I didn’t put something out, I felt like I would have probably imploded somehow.”
It’s been a decade since Blackman Santana’s last album as a bandleader. Her 2010 release Another Lifetime was a celebration of Tony Williams’ music, an album of hard-hitting fusion, but with her new release, Give The Drummer Some, Blackman Santana gives free rein to her creative impulses with a record that spans funk, hip-hop, rock, instrumental jazz and fusion.
On top of the sheer breadth of musical styles on display, the album sees the drummer step into the limelight as a vocalist, working with Narada Michael Walden, a renowned drummer in his own right and a producer who’s worked with such heavyweights as Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, and Ray Charles.
He’s not the only big name involved with Give The Drummer Some, which features Blackman Santana’s husband, Carlos Santana, on eight tracks, and guest appearances from John McLaughlin, Kirk Hammett, and Vernon Reid, who previously played with Blackman Santana in the Spectrum Road fusion supergroup.
On the line from Hawaii, the drummer gives Rhythm the lowdown on this exciting new chapter in her storied career.
How have you coped with being off the road for so long?
“That’s been difficult, in terms of being able to do what I love best, which is play music, play drums,
