"Uncle Albert" was my guitar teacher, mentor(and frequent tormentor), and friend for nearly a quarter century. I met him at his little space in the Berkeley Flea Market one sunny Saturday morning--within about two minutes, he handed me a guitar and we started playing--which we did on and off up until I saw him the last time, in February.

He taught me all the stuff an old school working jazz guitarist needed to know, from reading charts to playing(and working out) chord melody arrangements(he'd worked with, and was close friends with Barney Kessel). He taught me Bossa Nova(he had worked with Bola Sete), and all that practical theory: chord substitutions, transpositions, how to create playable lead sheets, and tons of other stuff.

He taught me that the most important part of being a musician was being organized, and that it is harder to play the melody than to "improvise" over the chords. Mostly though, he taught me to be positive(a big change for me, a former angry young folk rocker) and to take the rough parts, in the music and in life, in stride.

He had had a number of health problems, including a recent stroke, but was still playing, and working out new material. I'll miss him a lot, but he'll be with me every time I play, as he has always been.