CONCERT REVIEW: CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA AT JIMMY’S JAZZ & BLUES CLUB

On October 19, 2025, Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club in Portsmouth, NH, welcomed the all-star jazz drummer Cindy Blackman Santana. An American jazz and rock drummer performing since the 80s, Blackman was the drummer in Lenny Kravitz’s band, performing through multiple world tours and hit albums. In 2010, she was part of the all-star line-up performing “Bitches Brew”, a tribute to Miles Davis’ seminal album staged at the San Francisco Jazz Festival and NYC Winter Jazz Fest.

 Blackman released her first album in 1987. The album was a tribute to her inspiration Tony Williams. Lifetime featured Mike Stern on guitar and organist Doug Carn. As guest musicians appear Joe Lovano, Patrice Rushen and Vernon Reid. She appeared at the 2011 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, where she played drums for her husband Carlos Santana reunited with John McLaughlin. In 2020, she released a 17 track album titled Give The Drummer Some. The album included performances by John McLaughlin, Mathew Garrison, Vernon Reid, Keik Hammett, Bill Ortiz, and Neal Evans.

Blackman has recorded several jazz albums and has performed with Pharaoh Sanders – Sonny Simmons- Ron Carter – Sam Rivers – Cassandra Wilson – Angela Bofill – Bill Laswell – Lenny Kravitz – Joe Henderson – Jone Stone and Carlos Santana. She released a 17-song tour de force album on Sept 12, 2020. The album highlighted Cindy’s incredible talent both behind the drum kit and in front of the microphone and featured a list of songs with some famous guitarists, including eight songs with Carlos Santana, two songs with John McLaughlin, three songs with Vernon Reid, and one song with Keik Hammett. Produced by Grammy Award-Winning Narada Michael Walden, the album is an electric mixture of old school funk and rock/pop combined with rock and jazz instrumentals.

At Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club in Portsmouth, NH, Blackman is terrific. She performed with a group of talented musicians including JD Allen on Sax, Benny Rietveld on bass, Aurelien Budynek on guitar, and Zaccai Curtis on keys.

With drinks and a food menu in a snazzy room, plus inside tables, it was a fun night of live music. As the group finished their set, the devoted fans demanded an encore and that attitude left Blackman very emotional.