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Memories of Ken Albers -- from the 50th anniversary reunion and more Read comments from fans and Ross Barbour

Ken Albers, Don Barbour, Bob Flanigan, and Ross Barbour (Group 3)

For more on longtime Four Freshman Ken Albers who died April 19, 2007, click here.

Ken Albers attended his first Four Freshmen Convention in 1998 in Las Vegas, for the Freshmen's 50th anniversary. It was the best attended convention and Freshmen reunion ever. Freshmen fan Mike McCoy, who was there, recalls:

"I was very excited about attending this convention because I had heard Ken would be there, for the first time ever. I was told by someone 'in the know' he had turned down invitations to all past conventions because he was concerned he would be pressured to sing and he believed his voice just wasn't what it used to be. Apparently, one of the conditions of his attending the Las Vegas convention was that he wouldn't have to sing.

"Most of the fans (me included) were seated at our tables in the packed concert hall that night. As yet, I had not heard of any Ken sightings at the convention. Had he decided not to come?

"Then, I saw him among the last to enter the room. It took me a minute to confirm it was him because he was some distance away. Even from that distance, I thought he appeared very shy and looking as if he wanted to be seated, near the back, as quickly as possible. Once he was out of my view, I wondered if I'd ever see him again. Was that it?

"We were well into the concert when all of the current and former Freshmen present were asked on stage to sing a Freshmen standard, 'It's a Blue World.' All responded to the call -- except Ken. I believe it was Bob Flanigan who used the mike to urge Ken to come up. It took some encouraging and I recall Bob promising him that Ken didn't have to sing if he didn't want to.

"Ken finally walked to the stage to much applause and the Freshmen and all the fans in the room began to sing 'It's a Blue World' -- except Ken.

"Then, after a few measures, I noticed his lips moving with the rest of the Freshmen and he continued -- to sing? -- the rest of the song, finishing with a smile. It was a precious moment for any fan there."

"After the concert ended, I headed off to find him and was pleased to see a number of fans staying behind to thank him profusely just for coming.

"Ken and the fans around him were about the last people still in the room except for those cleaning up. He was beaming throughout. I thought afterward I should have looked down at his feet. Given the width of his broad and unchanging smile, his distance off the ground must have at least matched it."

PHOTO: Ken Albers (right) is shown at the 1998 50th reunion in Las Vegas. Also shown are Wayne Corey of Madison, Wis. (center) and former Freshmen Ray Brown (rear). Ray was with the Freshmen from 1973-77 (Group 5).

KEN INTRODUCES WRITTEN ARRANGEMENTS TO THE FRESHMEN. Ken Albers is credited by Ross Barbour with making it possible for the Freshmen to meet their record deadlines.

As Ross explains in his book, "Now You Know: The Story of the Four Freshmen":

"Bob (Flanigan), Don (Barbour) and I had never been whizzes at reading or writing music. We could hear a tune a few times and know it, harmonize it by ear and memorize it, but that took so much time.

"Capitol (Records) wanted at least two albums a year, plus some single records, and we also needed to learn new tunes for the shows.

"Ken could write them out. That way we didn't learn only a part of the arrangement, and then forget it before we could finish memorizing it later.

"(Arranger) Dick Reynolds and Ken Albers made it possible for us to keep up with our record deadlines, even though we worked almost all night and traveled all day, sometimes for months at a time. With written notes we had the best of both worlds."

MEMORIES OF KEN FROM A FAN -- AND A FRIEND

California resident and trombonist Bob Jackson, who died in 2007, had many members of Ken which Bob shared with other Four Freshmen Society members. Here are just a few.

"I once was hanging out the guys at the Pier 500 club in Wyandotte, Michigan. They had a request for, 'Tenderly'. Since the Freshmen had no arrangement for it, Kenny played it as a trumpet solo with just bass drums and guitar background. It was the finest trumpet solo I have ever heard.

"The bartender was a lady named Mona Lisa. It was her birthday, so Kenny sang 'Mona Lisa' to for her. I got my Kenny Albers fix that evening. Kenny could do it all. He could play trumpet with the sweetest tone of anyone, yet, he could play all the complex stuff as well as anyone. His arranging was superb also. It was hard to tell his arrangements from Dick Reynolds.

"The only thing that impressed more than his playing was his modesty. He never really believed that he was anything special. The Freshmen have had four outstanding trumpet players, Kenny, Beisner, Grillo, and...Curtis. Kenny, though was special."

(We'll keep adding information here about Ken. If you have any memories of your own to share -- perhaps a concert you attended, a favorite Ken performance on an album, etc. -- please share it with us by sending an email to ffswisconsin@hotmail.com)