Cindy Blackman Santana
Blue Note131 West 3rd Street, New York 10012
Cindy Blackman Santana brings her own band to Blue Note for an evening led by one of modern jazz and rock’s most forceful drummers. The billed name identifies her as bandleader rather than solely as a sideman: a setting for her original group work, associated with the Cindy Blackman Santana Group and Another Lifetime. Her recent core five-piece has featured Blackman Santana on drums alongside saxophonist Emilio Modeste, guitarist Aurélien Budynek, keyboardist Zaccai Curtis and bassist Felix Pastorius, though the personnel for this date has not been announced.
Blackman Santana began performing on New York City streets in the 1980s and has built a body of work across jazz and rock. Her official biography highlights the “nuances and colors” of her beats and fills, as well as her powerful, soulful playing. She has worked with Lenny Kravitz and Carlos Santana, and her collaborators also include Pharoah Sanders, Cassandra Wilson, Joe Henderson, Don Pullen, Hugh Masekela and Joss Stone. Writing about her 2026 album Coherence, one reviewer heard rock-influenced jazz played with “muscle and finesse”; another called it a “clear throwback to the early days of jazz-rock fusion” with “a real sense of risk.” Bandcamp Daily described the music as “white-hot.”
Blue Note Jazz Club is a dedicated listening room in the heart of Manhattan's jazz district, where the music is the focus and the space is designed to let the sound fill the room. The club features a stage with a small audience area, and the atmosphere is one of quiet concentration on the music. Shows typically begin at 8:00 PM with a second set at 10:30 PM, and the audience sits on chairs close to the stage. The club has a bar, and drinks are available. The experience is primarily about listening to live jazz, with occasional gospel and soul performances, and the audience often stays to talk and enjoy the music after the sets.