Umbria Jazz (and Latin Fusion)

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Tuesday
Lunch was finely sliced Parma ham from the deli in the Coop, with melon. For supper, we cooked local courgettes and aubergines from the market with fresh pasta, and diced some pears to accompany the pecorino.

When we reached the arena, it was still an hour before the scheduled start of the gig, but already the tiered concrete seats at the rear were full and a large crowd was sitting on the boards in front of the stage. The seating had been removed. We found a space near the centre and settled down with beers and water. After a few minutes, and still long before the start, people stood up and surged forward, closing ranks. There was a slight breeze but the heat would have been debilitating except for the anticipation of the music.

Santana played for three hours. They acknowledged the Italian audience by quoting from Time To Say Goodbye (on bass), Cinema Paradiso (on piano) and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (on Carlos' guitar). Carlos linked St Francis of Assisi with the name of his home, San Francisco. As well as most of their hits, there were snatches from Satisfaction, Eleanor Rigby and the James Bond Theme, a full performance of Cream's Sunshine of Your Love, and two Coltrane numbers: Naima and part of A Love Supreme. Carlos signalled to the band to lower its volume while he introduced "Mr Fuji", who appreciated Coltrane "not 100 per cent, but 1,000 per cent". When the camera picked him out, we saw on the screens a Japanese photographer dancing joyfully in his Coltrane t-shirt.

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