Schon found fame as a member of Santana when he joined in 1971, at the age of 15. He appeared on their second and third albums alongside vocalist and keyboardist Gregg Rolie, before the pair left to form Journey in 1973.

But he's been talking up a new project for some time, and now Santana has told how it came about. He tells Artisan News: "Neil pursued me like a guided missile for about a year and a half. Everywhere I went he was there: 'Carlos, everything about me tells me that I need to do this thing with you.' I'm like, 'What?'

"Next thing I know I said, 'Neil, I appreciate your diligence. I'm going to do something with you. But let's invite Gregg Rolie, Michael Shrieve and Michael Carabello - let's get the original Santana band who did the first three albums, and call it Santana IV."