Review: Reunited musicians jam, winningly, on 'Santana IV'

After 45 years apart, how do you just pick up where you left off? If you're Santana — the band, that is, in the classic incarnation last featured on the 1971 album Santana III — you do it with wailing bursts of guitar and a lean, deep groove. And an organ riff that nods to Duke Ellington's It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing).

That's the basic recipe for Yambu, the opening track on Santana IV (* * * out of four stars), out Friday.  The album brings Carlos Santana back in the kitchen with fellow guitarist Neal Schon, keyboardist Gregg Rolie, percussionist Michael Carabello and drummer Michael Shrieve — and in case you have any doubt, they've still got it.

Bandleader Santana's distinctive blend of classic rock and Latin textures and rhythms, an enduring influence, has taken him in slightly different directions through the years. 1999's pop-savvy Supernatural, featuring guests such as Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill and Rob Thomas, introduced the group to fans who didn't necessarily remember Evil Ways or Woodstock.

Santana IV, in contrast, was clearly not crafted with radio play in mind. The melodies are generally subtle, serving best as showcases for the arrangements, which simmer and burn and jam, reaffirming Santana's musical range and camaraderie with his reunited colleagues in addition to current band members Karl Perazzo and Benny Rietveld.

Santana plays lyrical, impassioned Spanish guitar on the gently pining instrumental Sueños, then shows a muscular rapport with Schon on a number of tracks, from the blistering, horns-laced Caminando and scorching All Aboard to the breathless Echizo — which segues from Schon's typically nimble, keening work to Santana's distinctly warm, shimmering tones — and the bluesy Shake It.

Filmore East is a nostalgic reverie with whispering percussion, while Choo Choo offers a crisper, more danceable beat and funky guitar peals, along with playfully sensual lyrics ("When you eat, I love to watch you chew"). Anywhere You Want To Go begins with a laugh and a come-on, then segues into a sultry cha-cha reminiscent of Oye Como Va.

Santana IV also evokes the unabashed social and spiritual yearning we associate with the band's formative era. The great Ronald Isley lends his voice to two tracks, including Love Makes The World  Go Round, on which the soul survivor sings, "We will heal the planet, and the human race." It's a lofty goal; but for some old fans, no doubt, this album itself is a small step in the right direction.

Playlist: Echizo, Love Makes The World Go Round, Caminando