MICHELLE MARGETTS
One of the many things that distinguished Jim’s ability as a photographer, especially in his early years, was his extraordinary knack for recognizing talent very early, gaining the trust of those talented artists and musicians, and forging lifelong connections and collaborations with them. These connections allowed Jim to do what he did best: observe, listen, and then somehow capture still images that had the impact of entire movies, what Jim used to call the “hero shots.” As near as I could tell, what he really meant by “hero” was that, in some nearly mystical way, these images made you feel something powerful. Whether it was in a loud way or a quiet way really didn’t seem to matter to Jim.
Often, it’s a well-timed whisper that gives you that life-saving smack to the solar plexus, or maybe it’s that perfectly framed black-and-white image that comes in at the nick of time to help save your day. I think Carlos Santana has the same approach to his form of creating.
These shots span the first decade or two of Santana’s musical career and showcase both of these young men’s burgeoning talents. In my opinion, where Jim and Santana were concerned, it was definitely a case of “took one to know one.”
Carlos just seemed to bring out the humanity in Jim: I go back a long way with Carlos, to the year 1965. I remember I was sitting in jail on a drug charge, and the bail bondsman who helped me get out was also the road manager for the Santana Blues Band. So he asked me to do him a favor and take a picture of the band. Since then I’ve done a couple of album covers, a lot of magazine work, and a very famous sequence of Carlos in his first recording sessions. I love the guy, and he plays the guitar like nobody else.
CARLOS SANTANA recording his debut album at Pacific Recording Studios, San Mateo, California, 1969
CARLOS SANTANA performing at the Altamont Free Festival, Altamont Speedway, California, 1969
SANTANA performing at Woodstock, Bethel, New York, 1969
SANTANA performing at the Cinco de Mayo Festival, Mission District, San Francisco, 1988
SANTANA performing at Fillmore West, San Francisco, 1969
