Cincinnati jazz guitarist Kenny Poole played with a number of jazz greats including Mark Murphy, Jack McDuff, Herb Ellis, and Joe Pass. To honor Poole on the anniversary of his passing, friends and fellow musicians join Lee Hay for a special two hour jazz special to celebrate his music. Performers include local jazz musician, Steve Schmidt, as well as Chicago guitarist Andy Brown. Among others sharing stories will be Fred Hersch, Larry Kinley, Phil DeGreg, Larry Goshorn, Bob Nave, April Aloisio, Larry Nager, and Phil Burkhead.

Program Summary:

The first hour starts with a roundtable discussion recorded in WVXU’s studio. Larry Nager moderates the panel that was made up of Kenny’s fellow musicians: Wayne Yeager, Katie Laur, Andy Brown, and Marcos Sastre. They will talk about his legacy and various performances including one with Joe Pass at Xavier University in 1991, and provide lots of stories about some of his gigs. Larry Goshorn also talks about giving Kenny Poole his first guitar lessons.

Musical selections in the first hour will include “Joy Spring” with Mr. Poole and Wayne Yeager, plus a couple of unreleased songs recorded by Marcos Sastre. There will also be songs from Kenny Poole’s tribute to George Van Eps; “Shiny Stockings” on Philip Paul’s album “It’s About Time;” “Nice Work If You Can Get It” which was recorded live at Jimmy D’s Steakhouse in 2003; an in-studio performance by Andy Brown; “The Big Hurt” which Kenny recorded with Cal Collins; and “Deep Water” performed by Katie Laur, featuring Kenny on guitar.

The second hour of the tribute will continue the roundtable discussion and include tributes by some of his friends including April Aloisio, Phil Burkhead, Bob Nave, Larry Kinley, Phil DeGreg, Fred Hersch, and Jim Anderson. Steve Schmidt, who also came into the WVXU studio to talk about Kenny Poole, performs in his memory.

Also featured are Poole’s work on J-Curve Records; “Love For Sale” which he recorded with Liz Antony; and a track from the “Custom Blend” CD with Tom Schofield and Lynne Scott.