Born in 1983 in the San Francisco Bay area, keyboardist Salvador Santana carried forward a potent artistic lineage as the son of guitarist Carlos Santana and poet Deborah Santana. Piano lessons began for him at age five, followed by enrollment at the San Francisco School of the Arts High School, where timpani also entered his instrumental training. He continued his studies at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. His abilities led to a contribution on “El Farol,” a track from his father’s 1999 album Supernatural. In 2004 he assembled the Salvador Santana Band, recruiting Emerson Cardenas on bass, Quincy McCrary on keyboards, Woody Aplanalp on guitar, Tony Austin on drums, and José Espinoza on saxophone and percussion. The group issued its eclectic album SSB in 2008 and then disbanded. Santana next unveiled the solo album Keyboard City in 2010, co-writing and co-producing the project with Money Mark to create a fusion that wove funk together with jazz, hip-hop, and soul.
