Nov. 1, 2007

In conversation, Carlos Santana is truly a man out of time. Proudly identifying himself as a hippie, he constantly peppers his speech with references to his musical heroes (John Coltrane, Miles Davis, B.B. King) and casually tosses off phrases like "consciousness awakening" and "celestial amnesia."

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Musically, though, Santana is timeless -- the sound of his guitar, instantly recognizable for his exquisite tone and glorious sense of melody, is a global treasure. "I can play right here in Central Park, in the middle of 100 people or 100,000 people, and you will distinguish my sound," he says, sipping coffee in a conference room at his label's midtown Manhattan offices. "I can go to Africa, India, anywhere in the world, and I'm not a tourist, I'm part of the collective family."

A new collection, "Ultimate Santana," is the first to compile songs from the two distinct stages of his career: early hits like "Black Magic Woman" and "Evil Ways," recorded by the Santana band when they were one of the world's most popular acts, and more recent smash singles, including "Smooth" and "The Game of Love," that feature the guitarist in collaboration with a battalion of pop stars.

The line separating these eras isn't just a matter of style or sound: Carlos Santana, now 60, was actually without a recording contract in the late 1990s when Clive Davis (who had originally signed the Santana band) brought him to Arista Records and created a new template, which has been copied by many older artists since, with the all-star duets on 1999's "Supernatural." The album went on to sell an astonishing 15 million copies and win nine Grammy awards.

But Santana himself never seemed to change. He remained his ultracool self, playing like his instrument was permanently tapped into some invisible interplanetary energy. His influence on musicians from Prince to Metallica to the entire "rock en Espanol" movement has been critical, yet when he is in the spotlight, he usually uses the opportunity to pay respect to his predecessors and inspirations. "God made the world round," says Carlos Santana, "so we can all have center stage."

MSN Music: This collection is the first time your older hits with the band and the new songs, from "Supernatural" forward, are gathered under one roof. What connects them all? What do the songs share across all these years?

Carlos Santana: There's many components. First, there's God's grace, the intangible. The tangible, physical part is the melodies, my tone, the intentions, the motives, the purpose. And always, there's the connection to Clive Davis, ever since the beginning. He's relevant in today's world, and so am I.

It's very peculiar: On TV the other day, I saw Peter Fonda in this ad selling "music from the '60s generation." And it made me realize that I'm there, I'm part of that, yet I'm part of something that is in the moment right now, in the holy instant right now. Some people don't have that, they stay in one "Twilight Zone" jukebox from the past.

John Coltrane or Bob Marley, the people who stick around -- with all respect, they're more important than anything. The MTVs come and go, but Coltrane is always going to be here. And I want to be part of that. I want to be part of a movement that is beyond music, like what Harry Belafonte or Desmond Tutu or Mother Teresa or Mandela or Martin Luther King do. I try to utilize the music as a voice that reminds people that we can make a difference, that we are capable of creating miracles.

As you listen to all of these songs together, what do you hear changing in your own playing?

When I hear something like "Black Magic Woman," I'm always amazed by what I learned from Miles Davis, even back then, of distilling thousands of notes into just three notes that go straight to the heart. I'm amazed that my brain, or something, was working back then -- because when I try to play it today I go, "Man, how did I do something so simple and so soulful, and brilliant in a way, where that's all that needed to be said?"

I'm amazed that, being so young back then, I had something that was pretty wise. I guess I learned my lessons well from B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, Tito Puente and Miles and John Lee (Hooker), and I'm happy to say that I've done my best to honor all of them.

On the other hand, what do you think your playing has gained through these years of experience?

I learned so much over the years, my body has absorbed so much from Coltrane and Marvin Gaye, Stevie Ray, everyone, that my spirit knows what to play when I play with Smokey Robinson or Alicia Keys or whoever God puts in front of me.

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