Catching Up with Karl Perazzo of Santana and more!

I recently interviewed percussion phenom and timbalero for Santana, Karl Perazzo on my KPFA Radio program Con Sabor.  He is quite a busy man…I caught up to him while he is in Las Vegas for rehearsals for Santana’s upcoming slew of shows at the House Of Blues. In addition to his busy schedule with Santana, Karl has other projects during his spare time that include the SF based all-star Salsa band Karabali as well as guest appearances with Salsa Caliente that kept him busy during the COVID. He also appears on occasion with fellow bongocero Jake Jacobs band VibraSON.  On top of all of that, Perazzo also creates and manages his own line of jewelry.  

Perazzo, a self taught musician who was drawn to the drum and Afro-Cuban music as a young child and started his musical studies at the age of 8.  Karl is a phenomenal percussionist who plays masterful Timbales, Bongo, Congas, cowbell and an impressive array of percussion instruments.  He has been a mainstay in the Santana band for the past 31 years inheriting the Timbales spot from the legendary Orestes Vilato.  Perazzo is still going strong keeping the percussive fire burning on Santana’s latest recording Blessings and Miracles.  The band will be launching a major tour with Pop legends Earth Wind and Fire later this year.  He has his own signature line of Latin Percussion congas and bongos that he designed himself with a distinctive Dia De Los Muertos sugar skull theme to honor the ancestors.  

Perazzo has previously performed with the greats such as Tito Puente who mentored him when he was a young kid along with another fellow kid phenom Gibby Ross. I saw Karl and Gibby playing with Tito on stage-what a sight to see! Karl also played with Sheila E. (as a member of her band in her emergence as a huge star in the 1980’s), Prince, Pete Escovedo, Dizzy Gillespie, Malo, Pacific Mambo Orchestra, Ray Obiedo, Andy Narell, Jorge Santana, Raul Rekow and many others.   Perazzo also formed the popular SF based salsa band Avance which had a long run starting in the early 1990’s. The group disbanded in 2020. Karl has kept himself connected to his roots which is Salsa and Afro-Cuban music but has always kept his hear open to all types of music since his childhood.  He credits his father who always encouraged Perazzo to push himself to be a complete percussionist, to learn how to sing and be a versatile performer.

Perazzo is now launching his own YouTube show “The Backstage Show” on the TBS Music Channel in the next couple of months which will focus on fellow creatives such as musicians, artists, chefs, writers and other notable individuals involved in arts and culture.  Perazzo who is the host of “The Backstage Show‘ told me that the program’s mission is “to turn music into inspiration“. I asked Karl Perazzo what keeps him going. He told me “you have to have passion in whatever you do in life…whether it’s sweeping the floor or playing the drum”. You can feel that burning passion, inspiration and enthusiasm along with those great playing chops whenever you see him play live! You can catch up with Karl Perazzo by following him on Instagram under karlpperc.