You know Craig Poole runs the Doubletree by Hilton in downtown Reading, but did you know he also owned one of top 100 jazz clubs in the world? James Street Jazz Club in Pittsburgh was Craig’s home for 16 years. Craig recalls those memories and likens the scene to Penn Street.

The impact of jazz and jazz clubs in an urban neighborhood is the ability to bring everybody in, it’s very eclectic, multi denominational, multi-generational and it’s safe. He says Jazz is something that just ‘happens’. You have to be there to truly enjoy it and see it happen. It brings people together.

Craig calls Jazz “the great equalizer… You could be president of company , a professor in college, or somebody that doesn’t have a dime. Jazz brings people together and they are all equal for a period of time… enjoying the same thing, in the same spirit and in the same time”. Hear some of Craig’s stories from the jazz scene and what he is looking forward to at this year’s Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest.