Santana totally changed his style early on after studying with Babatunde Olantungi from Nigeria. The man who brought us the old rhythms played on goat and cow skin drums from Africa in the 50's. My early learning of playing the African drums is of the Babatunde style. I hear Babatundes rhythms very clearly in Santana's music. Micky Heart of the Grateful Dead was also one of his student-fans. If you're interested here is a video of Micky Heart and Carlos Santana talking about Babatunde. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=128&v=JF1dnAFjT6s