Jazz Articles about Ken Peplowski

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

by Ed Kopp
August 1, 1999

Always a meticulous interpreter of traditional swing styles, clarinetist Ken Peplowski pays respectful tribute to the Benny Goodman big band on Last Swing of the Century.Peplowski played tenor sax in Goodman's last orchestra and admired The King of Swing both professionally and personally, so it's fitting that he should honor the great clarinetist on CD. Recorded during the final concert of a two-week tour of Japan, Last Swing is an exceedingly faithful tribute to Goodman.Peplowski tried ...

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

by Paula Edelstein
July 1, 1999

LAST SWING OF THE CENTURY - Big Band Music of Benny Goodman released on Concord Jazz in 1999 by Benny Goodman Orchestra alumnus, Ken Peplowski, is a heartfelt tribute to The King of Swing and the wonderful arrangements he commissioned in the 1930s and 1940s. Recorded the last night of a 15-concert tour, the CD is the perfect collection of swing standards for those who dance or those that spectate. Ken Peplowski takes 16 essentials, long associated with one of ...

Ken Peplowski: Grenadilla

by Jack Bowers
August 1, 1998

Ken Peplowski, who has done some experimenting of late within the big-band and classical spheres, comes home to a straight-ahead quartet groove for Grenadilla, on which he plays only clarinet (grenadilla is the name of the wood from which the world's finest clarinets are made). This is clarinet all the way, with Peplowski's group augmented by guests Kenny Davern ("Farewell Blues"), Marty Ehrlich ("Copi," “The Reconsidered Blues," “Variations," “The Soul in the Wood"), J. D. Parran and Scott Robinson ("Variations"). ...

Ken Peplowski: A Good Reed

by Jim Santella
August 1, 1998

Featuring the seventeen-minute “Homage Concerto For Clarinet And Jazz Orchestra" with Loren Schoenberg's big band backing clarinetist Ken Peplowski, this session is well-balanced, with four numbers by the leader's small group and four with the large ensemble. Peplowski plays clarinet on three tracks; tenor saxophone on the other four.

His experience with the Tommy Dorsey ghost orchestra under Buddy Morrow's direction, working some with Benny Goodman, and more recently with Rosemary Clooney, Mel Torme, and as a duo with Howard ...

Ken Peplowski: Grenadilla

by Robert Spencer
August 1, 1998

Here clarinetist extraordinaire Ken Peplowski takes on some challenges: alongside his sidemen pianist Ben Aronov, bassist Greg Cohen, and drummer Chuck Redd, are guests Howard Alden on acoustic and electric guitars (on five tracks), Marty Ehrlich on clarinet and bass clarinet (four tracks), Kenny Davern on clarinet ("Farewell Blues"), and Scott Robinson on alto clarinet and J. D. Parran on contrabass clarinet ("Variations"). Ehrlich and Parran have played in recent years with Anthony Braxton, and are not quite the guests ...

Ken Peplowski: Grenadilla

by Jim Santella
August 1, 1998

Ken Peplowski shares his clarinet artistry on Grenadilla, his 15th album as leader for Concord Records; the title comes from the particular type of wood used in making most clarinets. Working with the mainstream piano trio of Ben Aronov, bassist Greg Cohen and drummer Chuck Redd, Peplowski presents an eclectic session. Guitarist Howard Alden guests on five songs and several clarinet virtuosos appear elsewhere. Peplowski works with Scott Robinson, Marty Ehrlich, and J.D. Parran on Greg Cohen's composed piece “Variations" ...