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Facebook / Rachel M. Latremore
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Kyle Keener performed with musical partner Polly Harrison for nearly 50 years.
Drummer and vocalist Kyle Keener, a longtime mainstay of the Alamo City jazz scene, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer, according to a post by Rachel Latremore on the
GoFundMe raising money for his family.
As a member of the group Small World, Keener performed with guitarist Polly Harrison for nearly five decades, primarily focusing on jazz standards. In online posts, musicians remembered Keener as generous mentor with a computer-like memory for the lyrics and melodies of classic American songs.
"Like all the best humans, Kyle Keener was not easily distilled," wrote Richard Oppenheim, local president of the American Federation of Musicians, in an
online obituary. "An inherently conservative man with an unfailingly adventurous soul. A man very much of his place and time who held a deep appreciation for those whose personal cultures were very different from his own."
In online comments, players shared memories of their excitement when asked to join Small World for jam sessions, something of a rite-of-passage for local students of the musical form.
“I did a day job one time,” Keener
told Texas Public Radio in 2018. "It only lasted a month! I don’t know, playing music is what it’s all about. It’s in your heart, and you just get out there and do it, and have a great time."
The GoFundMe to benefit Keener's family had raised more than $26,000 at press time.
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