I’ll be honest, I wasn’t (and still am not) too familiar with Al Di Meola’s music.  My friend, Kendall, is a HUGE fan, and over the years he’s always ranting about how great he is.  I’ve heard a little here and there, but it just didn’t move me like some others, so just to get under Kendall’s skin I always tease him about “liking Al Di Meola.”

A couple of weeks ago Kendall was so excited to tell me that Al’s coming to play at the House of Blue on Sunset.  He saw him years ago and he was really excited to see him again.  I had no choice but to go!  Actually, I really love live music of pretty much any kind, so I was looking forward to it.

If you’re not familiar with Al Di Meola, he’s an American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist with a career in music spanning over 30 years.  I wasn’t aware of how influential and highly-regarded he is in the music industry.  According to Wikipedia (maybe Kendall authored Al Di Meola’s wiki page), “Albums such as Friday Night in San Francisco have often been cited as some of the most influential live albums ever recorded. Numerous have earned their place as legendary recordings for the practicing guitarist.”

It goes on to list tons of amazing artist that he’s performed or collaborated with, including Chick Corea (where he first started), Stanley Clarke, Jan Hammer,  Jean-Luc Ponty, Paul Simon, Paco de Lucía, and more.

So needless to say, he’s a very well accomplished performer, and I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to see him perform live and get to know his music.

I’m a big fan of Carlos Santana, and I was surprised to hear a song that Al Di Meola played that reminded me very much of a song from Carlos Santana’s Blues for Salvador disc.  Kendall and I would battle over who’s better, and of course I’d say Santana, even though I never really listened much to Di Meola.  After hearing this performance, though, I’d have to say the Santana got some major influence from Di Meola, because the song Di Meola played was years before Santana’s song!  Also, a disc from the Santana Brothers reminded me a lot of some other Di Meola songs.  I’m not sure if I’d say I like Al Di Meola’s music more than Santana’s music (I’ll have to give it a chance though), but I do believe that Al Di Meola truly has the most amazing command of a guitar that I’ve ever seen.

If you have never heard his music, and you’re open to different types of music, you should give him a listen…he’s really a great talent that I feel fortunate to have seen perform live.  Just goes to show you that we should all open our minds and experience new things…many times we come out much better for it.

He was kind enough to stick around afterwards signing CD’s, meeting his fans and even let us take some pictures with him.  Class act!

So, Al Di Meola, and Kendall…I’m sorry for doubting you all these years!

And if you’ve never been to the House of Blue on Sunset (another first for me), you gotta go.  There’s so many great performers there, and it’s a small venue so you’re gonna get a great show no matter where  you end up.

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House of Blues on Sunset
8430 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 848–5100
Restaurant Host Stand
(323) 848–5136
Restaurant Hours of Operation
Wednesday – Saturday: 6:00 p.m. until close
Sunday – Tuesday: Closed unless there is a concert
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