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Coming to the Kimmel: A ‘No Name Pops’ tribute to the singular art of Peter Nero

The April concert aims to capture what made the Philly pianist and conductor so special.

The late Peter Nero at Reading Terminal Market with trumpeter Bob Gravner in 2011. He was the founding musical director of the Philly Pops.
The late Peter Nero at Reading Terminal Market with trumpeter Bob Gravner in 2011. He was the founding musical director of the Philly Pops.Read moreLAURENCE KESTERSON / Staff Photographer

The former musicians of the Philly Pops are organizing a tribute to their late founding musical director, renowned pianist and conductor Peter Nero.

Upstart ensemble No Name Pops will perform the April concert at the Kimmel Center featuring Philadelphia pianist George Burton and conductor Carl Topilow, with retired Philadelphia news anchor Jim Gardner as host.

The No Name ensemble has taken on the role of keeper of Nero’s artistic flame, while the Philly Pops, the group he once led, has gone quiet amid financial troubles and lawsuits.

Nero, who died in July at age 89, was a singular figure in American music: classically trained and widely adored as a jazz pianist both tasteful and imaginative; a recording artist with upward of 70 albums to his name; and an internationally recognized star who led the Philly Pops from its inception in 1979 until his split from the group in 2013.

The tribute to Nero is long overdue.

“Nothing like this has been done for Peter,” said Jonathan Fink, a cellist who performed with Nero at the Philly Pops and is one of the organizers of the new group. “We are going to be able to go back into his library and play a lot of things that meant a lot to a lot of people. I think it’ll be fitting and nostalgic.”

No Name Pops performed its Kimmel Center debut in October, and last month took over the Philly Pops’ traditional run of Christmas concerts at the arts center.

Included on the new group’s April program are works associated with Nero: “Mountain Greenery” by Rodgers and Hart, “Sunday in New York,” which was written by Nero, and Gershwin’s Variations on “I Got Rhythm.”

The No Name Pops performs “Timeless: A Tribute to the Legacy of Peter Nero” April 20 at 3 p.m. in Verizon Hall, Broad and Spruce Streets. Tickets are $51-$121. ensembleartsphilly.org, 215-893-1999.