World Renowned Flamenco Guitarist Plays the Pit Stop Tonight

If you were wondering what was to come next from the , you may not have bet on one of the world’s foremost Flamenco players taking the stage, but then again maybe you did.

Tonight, Alberto de Almar will play his first Island gig at the Pit Stop. De Almar, who is originally from Miami and who has most recently lived in New Orleans, has been playing music professionally all over the world for 53 years.

While that is an impressive fact in and of itself, the list of who he’s played with in those 53 years is like a who’s who of modern music. Originally discovered by Frank Zapa, de Almar has played with such names as Don Preston, Freddie Hubbard, Jaco Pastorius and Minnie Ripperton. He has headlined bands that opened for the Allman Brothers, the Grateful Dead, Edgar & Johnny Winter, Sly and The Family Stone and many others.

De Almar’s unique Flamenco fusion flavor can be heard on the recordings of numerous artists including Julio Iglesias, Charo, Doug Cameron and Alicia Keys on her remix for “A Woman’s Worth” that she performed at the Grammy Awards. He composed the film score for the Sidney Sheldon mini-series “The Sands Of Time” and has performed his original music on screen in films such as Spike Lee’s “Love and Basketball.”

When de Almar was 11 years-old, his aunt brought his brother a guitar back from Spain, but his brother never played and so de Almar took it and after a few years of lessons began to play on his own. Initially, de Almar focused on rock, jazz and classical guitar styles but was then introduced to Flamenco. His love of Flamenco took him to Spain where he studied under Paco de Lucía, considered to be the best contemporary Flamenco guitarist in the world.

He has performed for the King and Queen of Spain, for Ronald and Nancy Regan and recorded two albums with guitar legend Manolo Sanlúcar, one of which was commissioned by the Spanish government as a national dedication to Pope John Paul II.

So how did he wind up on Martha’s Vineyard in March? A mutual friend introduced him to James Shephard, co-owner of in Aquinnah, who was looking for a Flamenco teacher. Shephard invited de Almar to the Island and de Almar, looking for a change of scene, agreed.

“So far I haven’t been to too many places since I don’t have a car and it’s a little hard to get around,” said de Almar, “There’s not a huge selection of places to play, but I went to Oak Bluffs the other day and it looks promising.”

Last week, de Almar went to the official opening night of the Pit Stop and did an impromptu performance for Nina Violet in the back of the club.

“I booked him right away,” Violet said, admitting that she had no idea of his acclaimed history. “I just knew he was good. Really good,” she said.

De Almar will take the stage at 9 pm this Friday and hopes to play for an hour or so. His plans after that include finding other locations to play until summer when he will play many evenings at Faith’s. He is looking to get involved with as many Island musicians as he can and plans to stick around for a little while.

“I’m looking forward to being here for at least a year,” said de Almar. “I want to do some teaching, find some students and set myself up to teach through the off-season.”

De Almar’s teaching credentials are impressive as well. He taught a series of Flamenco guitar workshops at the Guitar Institute of Technology/MIT and formed the Flamenco Music Society and the Flamenco World Music and Dance Academy. He also taught classical and jazz guitar and music theory at Dade Community College and at the University of Florida.

In addition to playing as many local venues as he can on the Island and finding some new students, de Almar is hoping to do some instruction workshops with the Pit Stop and other locations while he is here. These will feature a software he recently created called “Albonimsky” that allows students to create musical and compound patterns that can be heard at any tempo, seen on a keyboard or guitar display, and then learned.

The name Albonimsky is a combination of de Almar’s name and that of Nicolas Slonimsky, a composer and teacher widely known for his book, Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns, which has influenced many jazz musicians and composers.

“Slonimsky categorized patterns that all the classical composers use. He figured out how to explain and generate patters and he did it all in his head. I did the same thing, but I use my software. He put out thousands of patterns, I’m putting out trillions,” said de Almar.

“Basically, the software allows you to slow down and memorize any pattern or combination possible. It isn’t infinite, but it’s almost infinite. With the software you can create every melody that can possibly be created, slow it down and learn how to play it.”

Other guitar players on the bill tonight include Porchlight and Zachary Sawmiller. Saturday will feature an evening of Island songwriters and singers with Chris Menne. Alex Karalekas, Quiet Persona and some special guests. Doors open both nights at 7 pm; music starts at 8pm. $10, $5 members