Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-07-31
Cindy Blackman Santana - photo by Paul Mann
Cindy Blackman Santana has always played with fire, precision, and purpose, but her forthcoming album Coherence reaches for something even larger: unity. Out July 31 via Mack Avenue Records, the album brings together her touring band, Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, Matt Garrison, Ray Angry, Dave Eggar, and others in a wide-ranging musical conversation rooted in jazz, funk, rock, spiritual improvisation, and the belief that music can dissolve boundaries. The new single “The Message Is Love,” featuring Carlos Santana and a special introduction from Snoop Dogg, makes that mission plain, joining seemingly different musical worlds in a groove-driven statement about connection, intention, and love without agenda. In this conversation with Grateful Web, Blackman Santana talks about the meaning behind Coherence, the first-take energy of “Illumination,” creating space for Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, and what she hopes listeners feel when they experience the album from beginning to end.
GW: Coherence is described as a record about unity, connection, and everything in creation coming together. When you first began shaping this album, did that idea come before the music, or did it reveal itself through the playing?
Cindy Blackman Santana: The idea of Coherence came before the music because the coming together of all things is a message that wanted to send out and share. Everything aligned after that initial thought.
GW: “Illumination” has such a live, immediate feeling, and you’ve said it was the band’s first time ever playing the piece. What do you hear in that first-take energy that might have been lost if the song had been worked over too much?
Cindy Blackman Santana: I hear fresh excited energy and that’s what I wanted. I feel the energy of a live concert!
GW: Your drumming has always balanced power, precision, and emotional depth. On Coherence, how were you thinking about the drums — as the foundation, the lead voice, the storyteller, or all of those things at once?
Cindy Blackman Santana: Thank you. I was thinking of all things at once because that’s what drums are to me and that’s what the music needed.
GW: “The Message Is Love” brings together your New York jazz and funk energy, Carlos Santana’s guitar, and a special introduction from Snoop Dogg. What did that combination open up for you musically?
Cindy Blackman Santana: That combination for me is a coming together of energies — it’s unity — it’s coherence! It’s knocking down walls that separate and allowing seemingly different worlds to join in creating something hip and cool.
GW: You’ve described love as something without agenda — love for love’s sake. How do you translate an idea that spiritual and emotional into rhythm, groove, and improvisation?
Cindy Blackman Santana: I translate that by my intention and my energy. When you do something because you love it and only because you love it, you feel that emotion in the music.
GW: Carlos Santana appears throughout Coherence, and your musical relationship with him is clearly very deep. When the two of you are playing together, how much is spoken beforehand, and how much happens purely through feel?
Cindy Blackman Santana: Ha, we go over forms and arrangements but otherwise, we just play, feel and vibe over and through songs.
GW: “Guitar Love” features both Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, two players with instantly recognizable voices. From behind the drums, what was it like creating space for that kind of musical conversation?
Cindy Blackman Santana: Oh man, so cool to accompany each and just listen and complement based on where John or Carlos went musically. And they are both amazing so it was awesome for me!
GW: You recorded the album with your touring band — Emilio Modeste, Aurelien Budynek, Zaccai Curtis, and Felix Pastorius — along with guests including Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, Matt Garrison, Ray Angry, and Dave Eggar. How important was trust in making a record this expansive work as one complete statement?
Cindy Blackman Santana: Trust is SUPREMELY important as is choosing musicians who play great, have great ears and are musical! That’s what makes it all work and of course you have to have a direction in mind so, when great players have all of that and a map, you just trust that the music will flow.
GW: You’ve mentioned inspirations like Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, and Tony Williams. What do those artists continue to teach you about freedom, structure, and fearless improvisation?
Cindy Blackman Santana: Great question! They teach me EVERYTHING about it because they are the masters of it! They know the rules and they know the forms so well that they play on, through, around them and can stretch a song at any point in a given song! They are supremely genius! And of course we can not forget about people like Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and John Coltrane. Wow!
GW: Coherence arrives nearly four decades after your debut as a bandleader with Arcane. When you look at that full arc, what feels most different about the artist and bandleader you are today?
Cindy Blackman Santana: Ha, well, I’m still learning which is a good thing but, I have more experience now.
GW: You are widely known as a powerhouse drummer, but your solo work also highlights you as a composer, vocalist, and bandleader. Do you feel listeners are now getting a fuller picture of your creative identity?
Cindy Blackman Santana: Yes I do because I think I’m getting better at expressing things.
GW: You’ve played with an extraordinary range of artists — Santana, Lenny Kravitz, Pharoah Sanders, Cassandra Wilson, Joe Henderson, Vernon Reid, John McLaughlin, and many others. What has moving between jazz, rock, funk, and spiritual music taught you about staying true to yourself?
Cindy Blackman Santana: It’s like there’s a center of gravity or a core and that core is me. So, my goal is to give to the music without compromise BUT, still be me without compromise.
GW: You’ll perform at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! on July 24, then continue a busy summer with Santana and The Doobie Brothers tour, Detroit Jazz Festival, Keystone Korner, and the Santana residency in Las Vegas. How do you keep your own musical center while moving between so many different stages and settings?
Cindy Blackman Santana: It’s easiest for me to focus on the music of the moment and be true to that moment which means giving the music that I’m playing what it needs.
GW: Your appearance with Snoop Dogg and Chris Stapleton on the Monday Night Football reimagining of “In the Air Tonight” brought your drumming to a huge audience in a different context. Did that experience influence the way you think about reaching people outside traditional jazz or rock spaces?
Cindy Blackman Santana: Such an amazing thing to be a part of and yes, it did and does! From the music to the production it’s reaching people in epic proportions! I love that!
GW: When people sit with Coherence from beginning to end, what do you hope they feel — not just about the music, but about themselves and the world around them?
Cindy Blackman Santana: I would love them to feel creative and sovereign. To feel inspired to do great — positively great things. To love our differences but to embrace the sameness that we all share at our core. I want them to feel The Universal Coherence of all things!
Coherence arrives July 31 via Mack Avenue Records. Pre-save / pre-add the album HERE.
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