Santana Accuses media of racism Because of lack of coverage of the death of Elvin Jones

June 19, 2004
From www.EURweb.com

After seeing Carlos Santana at numerous press conferences, and watching him field even the stupidest questions with poise and grace, we've come to expect the musician to be laid back on most subjects. But not when it comes to the legacy of jazz drummer Elvin Jones.

Jones died on May 18 of heart complications, yet none of the major news outlets covered his death in any form. That got Santana, pardon our French, really, really pissed! He expressed his frustration during a recent interview from his San Rafael, California office.

"I'm really embarrassed for this nation, and for MTV and VH1 and Rolling Stone, because it was a very racist thing not to acknowledge this most important musician when he passed," Santana said to the San Diego Union.

"For them to (play up) Ozzy Osbourne and other corny-ass white people, but not Elvin, is demeaning and I'm really embarrassed to live in this country."

Santana said he first heard Jones in 1965 on the John Coltrane Quartet's epic album "A Love Supreme" about a year after he moved to San Francisco from Tijuana and became an American citizen. He was immediately struck by the force of the quartet's music and the impact of Jones' polyrhythmic drumming.

"When that intro comes in on 'A Love Supreme' it's like the gates of heaven opening," Santana, 56, said. "In fact, when I die, if I don't hear 'A Love Supreme,' I'll turn back; I'll know I'm in the wrong place. For me, Elvin was Número Uno, forever, for all ages, for all existence. I miss him terribly; I've been playing his music nonstop since he died, especially 'Agenda' (from Jones' 1969 'Poly-Currents') with Joe Farrell (on sax). He was a supreme drummer who was doing things that were totally different than anyone else.

"When I hear Elvin's music I hear the pyramids, I hear African and pre-Columbian music, and I hear the future. Elvin is the beat of life itself, and his music transcends 'clever' or 'cute' or any superlatives. When he and Coltrane played, and everyone else in the quartet dropped out, that's what Jimi Hendrix would play if he was still alive. That's what John McLaughlin wants to play, and he's alive, because there is nothing more pure or vibrant than Coltrane and Elvin."

The reason for the slight, Santana believes, is a matter of racial and cultural prejudice as far as the guitar great is concerned.

"When Miles (Davis) died (in 1991), for four hours in France they stopped everything on TV and radio – all the regular programming – and just showed Miles for four hours, all through France," Santana recalled. "Here in the US, it's embarrassing (how jazz is treated). People should be ashamed of themselves." MTV and VH1 are virtually jazz-free, and the music has historically been held in much higher esteem abroad than here, in its homeland.

But Santana believes exceptions should be made for musicians as notable as Jones, who Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron hailed as "a major force to be reckoned with" who could "wow the pants off a jazz fan or non-jazz fan" alike.

"America is such an ignorant country. I understand that I'm hard on America, but if you look at all the (alarming) things on CNN, (you'll see) we need to grow up quickly. We need to crystallize our existence because we place economic values over spiritual ones. "I'm hurt. And if I was a little hard or cruel with MTV and VH1, they deserve it. They need to stop showing what they are showing, and show real musicians. Why do they keep showing such stupidity? MTV needs to reassess its priorities."