CARLOS Santana is more than just a guitar legend, Woodstock alumni and king of the salsa, blues, jazz and Latin rock boogie. He is also a musical messiah with a message.

"We came to unite and bring peace, unity, hope, knowledge and compassion," he told the 8,500-strong crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Monday.

It is his third gig in Singapore, 12 years after the last time he played here.

"You and I," he gestured to the audience, "are architects of a new dawn. Together we can build a world of beauty and grace."

And for more than 21/2 hours, the man led his band through a mesmerising set that made you believe momentarily that yes, the power of music alone can bring global changes.

A 60-year-old veteran, Santana is right up there with all the musical greats that he namechecks during his set - reggae legend Bob Marley, jazz great John Coltrane, The Beatles' John Lennon - a musical savant with a vision, armed with a guitar and talent that has thus far ensured him a spot among the luminaries.

It's a testament to his staying power that more than 40 years after he made his debut in the heady days of the 1960s, he is still going strong.

As a guitarist, he isn't the fastest on the fretboard, nor does he hide behind visual pyrotechnics or effects-laden technology. His solos are mostly simple, he sticks to one soulful guitar tone but that's all he needs. The magic is in his hands, the way he plays, the intensity and the emotions that he emits every time he plucks a string that makes his whole performance a thing of beauty.

It helps that he was backed by a 10-piece band par excellence, including drummer extraordinaire Dennis Chambers and singers Tony Lindsay and Andy Vargas. Santana obviously respected and gave them due credit, letting them have their moments in the spotlight. At one point, he regaled trumpeter Bill Ortiz with flowers, a cake and a birthday song.

Initially, the night threatened to be a downer, no thanks to a perpetual bugbear of the Singapore concert scene - a dull, unresponsive audience.

For the first half hour of the gig, the audience stayed glued to their seats, offering only claps and cheers. This ennui didn't go unnoticed by the Mexican-born virtuoso. "It's okay if you feel like dancing. We won't tell anyone," he assured them.

It was only when he unleashed the first radio hit of the night, Maria Maria, off his 25-million-selling 1999 "comeback" album Supernatural that the more gregarious among the audience got up on their feet to start gyrating to the music. Maybe it was the air-conditioned comfort of the Indoor Stadium - or maybe it was the overzealous ushers who insisted on being party poopers - but they were soon seated again after the number was over, save for a diehard few.

During the last hour of the show, the atmosphere in the stands and in front of the stage truly became as electrifying as the performers on it, when most of the crowd got up once again, and did not stop dancing until Santana and his band ended the show, two encores later.

Perhaps it was the string of hits from Supernatural - Smooth and Corazon Espinado or his timeless repertoire from the 1970s - Black Magic Woman, Soul Sacrifice and his cover of mambo king Tito Puente's Oye Como Va - but it was obvious to the crowd that his music was made to be felt in the bones.

Made up of mostly baby boomers, it was a telling sign of Santana's musical appeal when VIPs like President S R Nathan was right there among the audience.

National leaders and the common populace - his music touched them all. Maybe music does have a chance to change the world after all.