Jazz Articles about Ken Peplowski

Ken Peplowski: Taking Back Music

by AAJ Staff
September 2, 2004

Ken Peplowski We live in a time where virtually everything is available to everyone (anytime) at the touch of a fingertip. Because the computer age has revolutionized the speed at which we both process information and produce information, there are a significantly greater number of choices available to the “entertainment consumer". Along with this glut of possibilities, a new way of listening to music has evolved. In the ages-old tradition of putting the cart ...

Ken Peplowski: Easy to Remember

by J. Robert Bragonier
July 18, 2004

Clarinetist Ken Peplowski can be counted on for about one new record a year; it apparently takes him most of that year to decide on material to include on the next album. Peps has been a staple in the jazz world for quite some time, having debuted at age 10 in 1969 in his home town of Cleveland, OH, and toured with Tommy Dorsey's ghost band (led by Buddy Morrow) in the late '70s, before settling in New York. The ...

Ken Peplowski: Easy To Remember

by Mark F. Turner
June 23, 2004

The word “sublime" comes to mind when listening to the new recording by Ken Peplowski. One of today's premier clarinetists, the sound that he creates from his woodwind instrument is simply a pleasant and joyful experience. His new release Easy To Remember finds the clarinetist (and saxophonist) in a quintet setting featuring selections with a relaxed feel, mixing ballads and slightly upbeat tempos. Two vocal selections are included in the title section sung by renowned singer Bobby Short and a ...

Ken Peplowski Quartet: Lost In the Stars

by C. Michael Bailey
October 2, 2002

Straight-ahead clarinet-lead quartet...

One of the finest clarinetists to emerge in since the 1990s, Ken Peplowski has not so much redefined the jazz clarinet as rejuvenate it in the mainstream. The majority of his recent recordings have focused on Benny Goodman and swing-era music (hear last Swing of the Century , Tribute to Benny Goodman Volumes 1 & 2 on Nagel Heyer). He has taken a turn into the more modern sounds, performing with Randy Sandke and his Inside Out ...

Various: The International Allstars Play Benny Goodman, Volume Two

by Dave Nathan
January 1, 2002

This is the other shoe dropping on the International Allstars tribute to Benny Goodman and the various small groups he headed. This album comes from the same live concert in Hamburg that produced Volume 1 released in 2000. Obviously there was enough for two CDs and why they weren't packaged as a 2 CD set is puzzling. But no one can point the finger at Nagel Heyer claiming that they were trying to get 2 CDs where one would suffice. ...

Ken Peplowski: Last Swing of the Century: Big Band Music of Benny Goodman

by Jack Bowers
October 1, 1999

To the question of “why another album of Benny Goodman–style music,” the obvious answer is, “when it’s done this well, no other reason is needed.” Ken Peplowski, who like Benny is a clarinet virtuoso of some renown, assembled an all–star big band to pay suitable homage to his illustrious predecessor on Last Swing of the Century (which may or may not be accurate, as there are a few months left before we usher in the new millennium). Sure, the songs ...

Ken Peplowski: Last Swing of the Century

by C. Michael Bailey
August 1, 1999

Clarinet Marmalade. Eddie Daniels and Ken Peplowski play the tenor saxophone and the clarinet. They are both better known for the latter than the former. Therefore, it is an occasion when either releases a clarinet-only disc. In the present case of Peplowski, add to this pleasure that he is highlighting the music of the Benny Goodman. This is Clarinet Marmalade indeed.

Topic. Born in 1958, Kenneth Peplowski grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Influenced by Benny Goodman and Tony Scott, he ...