A top clarinetist and tenor player, Ken Peplowski has helped keep the tradition of small-group swing and traditional jazz alive. Emerging in New York in the early '80s, he debuted with 1988's Double Exposure and has performed with a bevy of jazz and pop luminaries including Charlie Byrd, Scott Hamilton, Howard Alden, Nicki Parrott, Cheryl Bentyne, Rosemary Clooney, Benny Goodman, and Madonna. Peplowski has released a string of highly regarded small-group jazz and standards albums, including 1993's Steppin' with Peps, 2001's Sensitive to the Touch: The Music of Harold Arlen, and 2011's In Search Of.... He led a big band on 2018's Sunrise, collaborated with pianist Dick Hyman on 2019's Counterpoint, and brought un-recorded string arrangements originally commissioned by Charlie Parker to life on 2024's Unheard Bird. Born in 1959 in Cleveland, Ohio, Peplowski made his professional debut at ten and played locally in in a Polish polka band with his brother Ted. He stated in interview that it was on-stage with this group that he learned how to improvise. In high school he began experimenting with jazz by playing in the school "stage" bands and jamming with many of the local musicians. Soon he was teaching at the local music store, playing in a family band, and playing jazz gigs around town while still getting up early every day for school. After a year of college, he joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow and spent 1978-1980 touring with them. Peplowski met Sonny Stitt while on the road with the Dorsey band and studied with him. In 1980, Peplowski settled in New York and freelanced in a wide variety of settings, playing everything from Dixieland to vanguard jazz. In 1984, Benny Goodman came out of retirement and put together a new band, hiring Peplowski on tenor saxophone. In 1987 he signed to Concord. His debut for the label was 1988's Double Exposure in a quintet setting. He released ten of his own albums -- including titles with Charlie Byrd, Scott Hamilton, and Howard Alden, and appeared as a sideman on dates by Mel Tormé, Susanna McCorkle, George Shearing, and Hank Jones. His 1992 collaborative set, Groovin' High, with Hamilton and Spike Robinson was critically acclaimed and nominated for several jazz awards, as was his self-titled co-led date with Alden the following year. More albums followed for the label, including 1992's The Natural Touch, 1993's Steppin' with Peps, and 1995's It's a Lonesome Old Town. His final date for Concord was 1999's Last Swing of the Century, a tribute to Goodman. He followed it with the Arbors session The Feeling of Jazz, co-billed to Tommy Newsom. Peplowski spent the next decade and a half touring Asia, the U.S., and Europe, leading his own bands and playing behind other headliners. He spent a great deal of time working as a sideman for other artists and recorded as a leader for a variety of labels including, but not limited to, Victoria Company, Venus Records, and Capri Records. The most notable recordings from the period were 2001's Sensitive to the Touch: The Music of Harold Arlen with Jay Leonhart, Ted Rosenthal, and Grady Tate and 2004's Easy to Remember with Bobby Short for the Nagel Heyer label. In 2006, he joined the Eddie Higgins Quintet for It's Magic, and worked with the pianist until his death in 2009. In 2008 Peplowski appeared on Marianne Faithfull's Easy Come, Easy Go and Marilyn Scott's Every Time We Say Goodbye, he issued his own Gypsy Lamento with the Ken Peplowski Gypsy Jazz Band, and followed it in 2009 with Noir Blue. In 2011, he released In Search Of..., leading a trio with pianist Shelly Berg, bassist Tom Kennedy, and drummer Jeff Hamilton. While Peplowski has always been a favorite collaborator for vocalists, he'd worked with everyone from Peggy Lee and Rosemary Clooney to Madonna and Cuban vocalist Isaac Delgado. Over the next several years he recorded and performed with a number of singers including Carol Welsman, Cheryl Bentyne, Nicki Parrott, and Katie Thiroux. In 2014, he was the recipient of the Sarasota Jazz Festival’s "Satchmo" award for his "unique and enduring contribution to the living history of jazz." He was also the 2015 recipient of HotHouse Magazine's "Fans Decision Jazz Award" as clarinetist of the year. In 2018, Peplowski returned to recording under his own name, leading a big band on the album Sunrise on Arbors, which was issued in March. The collection featured some of his favorite big-band arrangements that he either commissioned or were commissioned for him, along with some favorites he'd never previously recorded but had always wanted to. The following year, Peplowski teamed up with pianist Dick Hyman for Counterpoint, a set of duets of popular Lerner & Loewe tunes. In 2024, he delivered Unheard Bird, which featured a collection of string arrangements originally commissioned by Charlie Parker, but which were never recorded. A concert album, Live at Mezzrow, arrived the same year and found the clarinetist performing at the N.Y.C. club alongside pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist Martin Wind, and drummer Willie Jones III. ~ Matt Collar & Scott Yanow, Rovi

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Ken Peplowski

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