Santana pays homage to Michael Jackson with “Stranger in Moscow”
Multi-Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Carlos Santana has announced that his passion-filled retrospective album, Sentient, will be released via Candid Records on March 28. The album is available for pre-order now. Paying homage to Michael Jackson he proudly releases his live, instrumental version of Jackson’s “Stranger In Moscow,” which features Santana’s soaring guitar and beautiful melodic phrasing.
Sentient is composed of 11 dazzling tracks – three of them previously unreleased – compiled by the virtuoso guitarist, remastered and sequenced in a way that allows a new and dramatic story to emerge. As is often the case when the spark of musical magic strikes, Santana was surprised, delighted and receptive. “I’m always driven by passion, emotion and inner instinct,” he says. “When I first heard these tracks floating around in the house, I said, ‘Why don’t we put these all in one place?’”
Listeners will be captivated as they experience a live instrumental take on Michael Jackson’s haunting ballad, “Stranger in Moscow,” officially released for the first time.
Recorded in 2007 with producer and drummer Narada Michael Walden’s band, it’s a devastating masterclass performance – Santana’s guitar playing is by turns soulful and poetic, blitzing and blinding, and always breathtakingly imaginative.
“Narada knew that I loved the song, so he arranged it with his band,” Santana remembers. “I showed up and we played it with no rehearsal. I’m basically singing it with my guitar. I’m visualizing Michael Jackson and what he would do – I got pretty close. I think when Michael listened to it, wherever he is, he smiled and said, ‘Yeah, that’s it.’”
The songs that make up Sentient are complex compositionally, but they float by like a dream. There are brilliant collaborations with Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Miles Davis, Paolo Rustichelli, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and Cindy Blackman Santana, but no matter the mood or genre – whether it’s lush pop or high-intensity cosmic jazz – it’s all part of a common thread. As Santana says, “From Stravinsky to James Brown, it’s all the same song, meaning it’s all connected to the umbilical cord of humanity and planet Earth.”
“Get On,” a jazz-groove masterpiece from renowned composer Paolo Rustichelli’s lauded 1996 album Mystic Man, featuring the extraordinary collaboration of Santana with the iconic Miles Davis, will be released to radio for the first time on March 17.
2025 Oneness Tour North American Dates:
Wednesday, April 16, 2025 – Highland, CA – Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel
Friday, April 18, 2025 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Saturday, April 19, 2025 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Tuesday, April 22, 2025 – San Antonio, TX – Majestic Theatre
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 – Sugar Land, TX – Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
Friday, April 25, 2025 – Thackerville, OK – Lucas Oil Live at WinStar
Saturday, April 26, 2025 – Tulsa, OK – River Spirit Casino Resort *ON SALE 2/18/25
Tuesday, April 29, 2025 – Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle
Thursday, May 1, 2025 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival @Jazz Fest
2025 House of Blues Las Vegas Residency Dates:
Wednesday, May 14 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues Las Vegas
Thursday, May 15 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues Las Vegas
Saturday, May 17 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues Las Vegas
Sunday, May 18 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues Las Vegas
Wednesday, May 21 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues Las Vegas
Thursday, May 22 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues Las Vegas
Saturday, May 24 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues Las Vegas
Sunday, May 25 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues Las Vegas
2025 Oneness Tour Europe & UK Dates:
Monday, June 9, 2025 – Lodz, Poland – Atlas Arena
Wednesday, June 11, 2025 – Budapest, Hungary – MVM Dome *ON SALE 2/13/25 AT 1PM
Friday, June 13, 2025 – Berlin, Germany – Uber Arena
Sunday, June 15, 2025 – Hamburg, Germany – Barclays Arena
Wednesday, June 18, 2025 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Thursday, June 19, 2025 – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Saturday, June 21, 2025 – London, UK – The O2
Monday, June 23, 2025 – Paris, France – Accor Arena Paris
Tuesday, June 24, 2025 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
Thursday, June 26, 2025 – Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpaleis
Saturday, June 28, 2025 – Zurich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion Zürich *ON SALE 4/11/25
Monday, June 30, 2025 – Vienna, Austria – Wiener Stadthalle
Wednesday, July 2, 2025 – Mantua, Italy – Piazza Sordello – Mantova
Wednesday, July 16, 2025 – Rosenheim, Germany – ROSENHEIM SOMMERFESTIVAL 2025, Mangfall Park
Friday, July 18, 2025 – Montreux, Switzerland – Montreux Jazz Festival
Saturday, July 19, 2025 – St. Julien, France – Guitare en Scène *ON SALE 12/19/25
Monday, July 21, 2025 – Nimes, France – Festival de Nîmes
Wednesday, July 23, 2025 – Monte-Carlo, Monte-Carlo Summer Festival *ON SALE 12/18/25
Friday, July 25, 2025 – Marciac, France – Jazz à Marciac Festival
Sunday, August 3, 2025 – Marbella, Spain – Starlite Occident Festival
Friday, August 8, 2025 – Cologne, Germany – Lanxess Arena
Saturday, August 9, 2025 – Hanover, Germany – ZAG Arena
Monday, August 11, 2025 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena
