Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Kenny Poole: Heritage

43

Kenny Poole: Heritage

By

Sign in to view read count
Kenny Poole: Heritage
Kenny Poole was a guitarist's guitarist. He never sought the limelight that others with his talents achieved, but his much admired jazz chops attracted musicians in the know. He performed with such luminaries as Jack McDuff, Tal Farlow, Joe Pass, Howard Alden and Jack Wilkins. Sadly, Poole lost his fight with cancer in 2006. But with the release of Heritage, a collection of his live solo performances at Cincinnati's Heritage Restaurant, Poole's soulful and sophisticated finger-style arrangements are available for the everyone to admire.

The tracks included on Heritage are a marvelous cross-section of Poole's interest in American Songbook and bossa nova styles. It kicks off with his grooving, upbeat take on Sergio Mendes' "Mas Que Nada," aptly winding his way through the tune, interweaving melody and improvisation while never losing the rhythmic bounce. Again, on Antonio Carlos Jobim's "If You Never Come To Me," Poole gives the beautiful melody the space to breath and develop while never loosing the feel of its bossa roots, adding his own imaginative flair but never smothering the melody.

On tunes like George Gershwin's "I Can't Get Started" and "Our Love Is Here To Stay," Poole's indebtedness to George Van Eps is both apparent and transformed. Van Eps (to whom Poole recorded a tribute album) was the innovator extraordinaire of jazz finger-style guitar and, while Poole demonstrates his mastery of the Van Eps technique, his melodic understandings are more complex and informed by modern styles. This readily apparent on Poole's wonderfully agile take on Count Basie's "Jive At Five," where the guitarist moves between integrate phrasings and brooding bass lines.

Heritage was recorded, organized and produced by two Poole devotees: Tom Anthony and Marcos Sastre. Additionally, the liner notes by guitarist Andy Brown add context and insight to Poole's style and musical interests. Together they have done a wonderful service to the talents and memory of Kenny Poole, and given uninitiated listeners a taste of the beautiful music we missed.

Track Listing

Mas Que Nada; Django; If You Never Come To Me; Voce e Eu; Our Love Is Here to Stay; Little White Lies; Jive At Five; The Song Is You; A Pele Do Marfin Skin of Ivory; Where Are You; Brazil; I Can't Get Started; Calcutta.

Personnel

Kenny Poole: guitar.

Album information

Title: Heritage | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Stork Music Productions

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.