Al Vega

I went to see the Al Vega at Les Zygomates on Saturday night. I hadn't seen in in five years. I need to get out more.

Al is an 86 year old jazz man and local legend. I first started to see him play almost ten years ago during my East Boston days. Back then he played in this little club called Cafe Italia which was just down the street. He struck me as one of those guys who had the choice of staying home and being a family man or entering the top tier of entertainment which would require an untethered life of hotels and suitcases. Al stuck around Boston and you have to respect that. From what I can gather, his wife passed away a few years ago and since then Al has ramped up his schedule and can be found playing out around town 3 nights a week or so. I love people like this. Many people pack it in at his age and here he is playing to a crowd at midnight in a night club.