Mikael Santana (born December 31, 1957) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

harmonica player and singer-songwriter, who blends the

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...

style with

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

and

West Coast swing West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in Lindy Hop, characterized by an elastic look that results from its extension-compression technique of partner connection (dance), connection. It is danced primarily in a dance slot, slotted area on ...

. He lives in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

, Tennessee.

Early years

Mikael Santana was born in Lakeland, Florida, United States, and lived in Miami from 1960 to 1972. His mother worked as a ticket agent for an airline, enabling the family to travel extensively. Thus, by the time he had reached his early teens Santana had traveled to

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, Chile,

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, Brazil,

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, Spain, and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. His parents divorced in 1972; and along with his mother, sister, and brother, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, all of them living with his grandparents until his mother finished her teaching degree. Having graduated, his mother took a job teaching at Dyersburg Senior High School in Dyersburg, Tennessee. Santana did his senior year of high school there (graduating in 1976), and then returned to Miami. For six years, Santana worked at a variety of jobs (short-order cook, apprentice carpenter, clerk in a bookstore) before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1982. During his stay in the Army, Santana studied the

Mandarin Chinese language Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l= officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretches from Yunnan in the ...

at the

Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

, California. Upon completion of language school, he was assigned to his permanent duty station at

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. While at Ft. Bragg, he received an associate degree in General Aeronautics from

Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs based in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, United States. It is the largest accredited university system specializing in ...

. In 1986, he was received into the

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

, taking the name of St. Mikael the Archangel. He was discharged from the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in 1987.

''Crossroads''

Upon leaving the Army, Santana returned to Miami, where he studied massage therapy and briefly worked as a masseur at a

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

hotel. Moving to

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

; it was there that he watched the film, ''

Crossroads Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet. Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...

'', inspiring him to take up the study of the blues harmonica. Santana moved back to

Dyersburg, Tennessee Dyersburg is a city in and the county seat of Dyer County, Tennessee, United States. It is located in northwest Tennessee, northeast of Memphis on the Forked Deer River. The population was 16,164 at the 2020 census, down 5.72% from the 2010 ce ...

in 1988, and for the next three years studied Medical Laboratory Science at Jackson State Community College. During this time he studied the recordings of such Blues harmonica masters as

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

, and

Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp s ...

and within two years he was serving an apprenticeship under the tutelage of Butch Mudbone on

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, ...

in Memphis, Tennessee. After graduating from college Santana moved permanently to Memphis, and with encouragement from Mudbone, went on to develop his skills as a

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

. Eventually he met guitarist Al Rollag, with whom he formed the band Metropolitan Avenue (along with Steve Earnshaw (electric bass) and drummer Mike Karcz). Using a repertoire built on the traditional Chicago blues style, Metropolitan Avenue incorporated into its sound the jazz, jump blues, and West Coast swing elements of Big Joe and the Dynaflows,

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American blues harmonica player and bandleader who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal figure in helping to revive the Chicago ...

Rod Piazza Rod Piazza (born December 18, 1947, Riverside, California) is an American blues harmonica player and singer. He has been playing with his band The Mighty Flyers, which he formed with his pianist wife Honey Piazza, since 1980. Their boogie sound ...

and the Mighty Flyers, and William Clarke.

Performing

After the release of ''In Transit'', Santana formed The Mikael Santana Band, and using The Black Diamond Club on

in Memphis as their base of operations, they regularly gigged there as headliners, or opened up for such blues musicians as

Little Jimmy King Emmanuel Lynn Gales (December 4, 1964 – July 19, 2002), known professionally as Little Jimmy King, was an American Memphis blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. A left-handed guitarist who played the instrument upside down, he concocted his ...

, Blind Mississippi Morris, Studebaker John,

Sean Costello Sean Costello (April 16, 1979 – April 15, 2008) was an American blues musician, renowned for his fiery guitar playing and soulful singing. His guitar playing on this record was described variously as "incendiary", "searing", and "blistering r ...

, and

Anson Funderburgh Anson Funderburgh (born James Anson Funderburgh; November 14, 1954) is an American blues guitar player and bandleader of Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets since 1978. The band's style incorporates both Chicago blues and Texas blues. Career Funde ...

with

Sam Myers Samuel Joseph Myers (February 19, 1936 – July 17, 2006) was an American blues musician and songwriter. He was an accompanist on dozens of recordings by blues artists over five decades. He began his career as a drummer for Elmore James but was ...

. On June 2, 2000, they opened for

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

at the B.B. King Homecoming in

Indianola, Mississippi Indianola is a city in and the county seat of Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta. The population was 10,683 at the 2010 census. History On June 30, 1874 the town was surveyed and on April 14, 1885 an addition ...

. Metropolitan Avenue reformed in Memphis in 2012 featuring Chuck Sullivan (bass), Al Rollag (guitar), and Jason M. Vawter (drums). The band played around town off and on for another decade with various guitarists. They recorded an unreleased album of Santana's original songs in 2016 tentatively titled "Meet Me at Midnight" with Chris Chatfield on guitar.

Discography

*''Point of Departure'' (1997) *''In Transit'' (1998) *''Night Flight'' (2000)

References

External links

Mikael Santana officialweb site

Mikael Santana MySpace website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santana, Mikael 1957 births Living people Harmonica blues musicians American blues singers American blues rock musicians Defense Language Institute alumni Musicians from Miami Musicians from Lakeland, Florida Military personnel from Miami United States Army personnel Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University Greek Orthodox Christians from the United States