Alex Kluft Photography

Alex Kluft Photography

Alex Ligertwood spent a lifetime in front of a microphone, from the clubs of his native Glasgow to the stage at Live Aid. On November 5, Hollywood’s Catalina Jazz Club paid tribute to the singer, who died April 30, 2026, at age 79.

Ligertwood fronted Santana through much of the 1980s, including the 1982 US Festival and 1985’s Live Aid. He also sang with the Jeff Beck Group and Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express. Since 2011 he had been the voice of The Magic of Santana, a tribute act of its own. He played his last show on April 10 in Apple Valley, Minnesota, less than three weeks before his death.

A jazz supper club on Sunset Boulevard, open since 1986, is a fitting setting for his catalog. Ligertwood’s career ran through jazz-fusion and Latin-tinged rock, and he co-wrote Santana songs including “Brightest Star,” “E Papa Re,” “Make Somebody Happy,” “Somewhere in Heaven” and “The Nile.”