Santana to Perform 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' With Oakland Symphony

Posted on Nov 19th 2010 2:57AM by Benjy Eisen
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Lester Cohen, WireImage

Ace guitar-slinger Carlos Santana has collaborated with a staggering number of artists from an impressive variety of genres over the years, ranging from jamming onstage with the Grateful Dead to cutting radio hits with Rob Thomas. This weekend, Santana will take the stage with stranger company yet – the Oakland East Bay Symphony.

"Carlos is all about the music and bringing people together," conductor Michael Morgan tells Spinner, reflecting on the rehearsals. "The more different the media ... the better. He sees it all as one big art form. His ideas are so big, the trick [was] us fitting into his concept. He fits in anywhere and everywhere."

Indeed, the program for the shows – scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, Calif. – features a commissioned piece by Santana's friend and fellow Grammy winner, Narada Michael Walden. The program also includes a rearranged, orchestrated version of the Beatles' 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps.' Longtime Santana bandmember and star in his own right, Karl Perazzo, will guest on percussion. Expect both evenings to be black tie-die affairs, so to speak.