Born in Autlan, Jalisco, Mexico, Jorge Santana is the youngest of the three brothers and the second after Carlos to pick up the guitar. Being a part of a musical family and having his ear constantly exposed to music was a definite influence, and Jorge was inspired by the musical activity in the household. However, Jorge hadn't had formal music instruction when he started playing the guitar at age 14 in San Francisco.
At first, Jorge was drawn to the sounds and rhythms of the blues and Carlos' interpretations of that style of music. In fact, he credits Carlos for introducing him to a wide range of music, musical styles, personalities and experiences.
By the late 60's and while still in high school, Jorge was playing with a four piece blues band in local San Francisco clubs. He was asked to join a band called THE MALIBUS'S, a nine-piece R & B group with horns. After a steady club gig which helped the band refine their sound, they changed their name to MALO. And, as part of the active scene in San Francisco in the early 70’s, the band was signed by Warner Brothers.
The group released four albums, with the self-titled debut album their biggest, driven by the single, "Suavecito." By 1974, when the last MALO album was released, Jorge had found a comfortable identity as a career musician and was involved in all aspects of music.
On his own in 1974, Jorge appeared as a special guest with the FANIA ALL STARS in a concert held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This performance has been released as both a video and CD on the Fania label.
After that show, Jorge moved to Mill Valley, California, and devoted his time exclusively to a personal exploration of music. Between 1975 and 1977, when he started putting a new band together, Jorge did little but play the guitar.
That period led to his first solo project for Tomato Records. Titled "Jorge Santana", the album featured his own songs and arrangements. It was produced by Tony Bongiovi of the Power Station in New York and mixed by Bob Clearmountain. The album was well-produced and had a good selection of songs - all in all, a very commercial album.
That album was followed by "It's All About Love", which was produced by Allen Toussaint. His involvement with the two albums kept Jorge busy until 1982, but lacking a good agent and proper management, he decided to take a year's vacation. But, the year hadn't passed before he ended up getting married and moving to Walnut Creek, where he and his wife started a family.
The one year turned out to be seven, during which time Jorge even had a job outside of music. But then, in 1989, Carlos asked Jorge to join the team at Santana Management. He was put in charge of artist relations and his skills and experience led to his involvement in production, music clearances, publishing and a number of other responsibilities and eventually got him on the road with the Santana band.
It was while on the road and as Jorge performed with the band on various dates that the idea for the "Brothers" album came up. Jorge has taken an active role on the album, writing, arranging and producing both his own songs and collaborating with Carlos (and nephew Carlos Hernandez) on others.
The experience with the "Brothers" album has given Jorge additional inspiration to continue his own musical career. Currently, Jorge Santana continues to live in the Bay Area.