Al played with Vereins Musikanten for a long time, starting in the mid 90s. He continued playing with us after he lost his sight (he could still play along), up until he couldn't safely deal with our stages. You could tell he liked to play trombone, and he was always in good spirits and up for fun. His favorite song was "Too fat polka", which he would often dedicate to someone. He had a favorite chicken hat, which he wore on even the hottest evenings.

I met Al at the Mount Community Concert Band in 1993. The band later changed to the Westside Community Band. After Al suffered a stroke and was unable to drive, I started taking him to and from band rehearsals so he could enjoy a night of playing trombone instead of alone in his apartment. He often retold the same stories and I listened to them as if hearing them for the first time, though I could probably recount the stories in great detail myself. He loved his time at Elder High School, playing with Richie and the Students, Vereins Musikanten, and the Westside Community Band. He had an unusual trait of mentioning someone's name, but often getting the name slightly wrong, like John Petty instead of Tom Petty. If you happened to correct him, he would argue vehemently that he was right and I would suck it up and keep quiet, knowing that I was right. It was amazing how many famous names I heard him say wrong over the years, but let it slide, not worth the trouble, and there would always be trouble. He was very stubborn. I enjoyed my time as his taxi driver and our conversations were always interesting. Al once asked me if I could drive him to Donauschwaben for their fifth Friday celebration so he could perform with the Vereins Musikanten German band. I knew it wasn't a fifth Friday, but he insisted they were performing. I drove him to the venue and there were zero other cars or people anywhere. He insisted that we go to see if the building was open, which of course it wasn't. Once I convinced him there was no gig there, I took him out to eat, and, as usual, I was buying. I was glad to help take care of him and help brighten his life in a small way. He didn't have a lot of family and he could be difficult, but he was fun in his own peculiar way. I'm glad he's at peace and free from all ailments that he struggled with late in life. RIP Al

Photos below were taking at the Tall Stacks festival at Cincinnati's riverfront. The Mount Community Concert Band was performing a concert there and Al dressed as a riverboat gambler. Several years ago I gave him a print of these photos and he was tickled to see them.