The Swing of Delight cover art

  Studio Album · No. 10

The Swing of Delight

1980 Columbia Records 9 tracks 57 min

Produced by David Rubinson

Columbia Records Jazz FusionSpiritual Jazz
44%
Authorship
Collaborator

Santana wrote 4 of 9 documented tracks

Authorship Breakdown 4 / 9 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 9 tracks with documented writers, by whether Santana carries a lyricist or composer credit.

44%
4 trackswritten by Santana 5 tracksoutside writers
Santana's roles on this album

Share of the 9 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist44%
Composer44%
Producer0%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

9
Tracks
4
Lyricists
1
Producers
1980
Released
Data Insight

The Swing of Delight is the second jazz double album Carlos Santana issued under his Devadip name, the Sanskrit name given to him by spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy. The record splits its writing between Santana originals such as "Song for My Brother," "Gardenia," "La Llave," and "Golden Hours," three compositions by Sri Chinmoy, and outside pieces including Alex North's "Love Theme from 'Spartacus'" and Wayne Shorter's "Sher Khan, the Tiger." For the sessions Santana surrounded himself with the rhythm section and horns of Miles Davis's classic 1960s quintet, with Wayne Shorter on saxophones, Herbie Hancock on keyboards, Ron Carter on acoustic bass, and Tony Williams on drums. The result is the most straightforward jazz fusion statement of his three Devadip albums, with Latin percussion textures surfacing on "La Llave."

The Swing of Delight is the tenth studio album by Santana, released in August 1980 on Columbia Records and produced by David Rubinson. A jazz fusion double album recorded with four members of Miles Davis's 1960s quintet — Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams — it represents the most explicitly jazz-oriented recording in Santana's catalog. Three tracks are compositions by Sri Chinmoy, the spiritual teacher Carlos Santana followed during this period; the remaining tracks are originals by Santana and Wayne Shorter. The album is entirely instrumental, its tone reflective and meditative rather than the Latin rock electricity of the classic-era albums, and marks a deliberate departure from commercial expectations toward artistic exploration. It reached number 65 on the Billboard 200.

Track Listing & Credits 9 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
Swapan Tari
Sri Chinmoy Sri Chinmoy David Rubinson Carlos Santana (Guitar)
2
Love Theme from Spartacus
Alex North Alex North David Rubinson Carlos Santana (Guitar)
3
Phuler Matan
Sri Chinmoy Sri Chinmoy David Rubinson Carlos Santana (Guitar)
4
Song for My Brother
Carlos Santana Carlos Santana David Rubinson Carlos Santana (Guitar)
5
Jharna Kala
Sri Chinmoy Sri Chinmoy David Rubinson Carlos Santana (Guitar)
6
Gardenia
Carlos Santana Carlos Santana David Rubinson Carlos Santana (Guitar)
7
La Llave
Carlos Santana Carlos Santana David Rubinson Carlos Santana (Guitar)
8
Golden Hours
Carlos Santana Carlos Santana David Rubinson Carlos Santana (Guitar)
9
Sher Khan, the Tiger
Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter David Rubinson Carlos Santana (Guitar)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 5 contributors

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Frequently Asked Questions The Swing of Delight

Sources