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Jazz Articles about Ken Peplowski
Marina Pacowski: New Jazz Standards, Volume 7
by Jack Bowers
To those who know--really know--their breathtaking jazz trumpeters, Carl Saunders was definitely in a class by himself. Simply put, there was nothing Saunders could not do on the horn, from nailing seemingly insurmountable high notes to creating intricate and mind- blowing solos, all the while making it seem so effortless that many listeners thought he must have found and harnessed a secret weapon of which others were unaware. What many of his admirers did not know was ...
Continue ReadingKen Peplowski: Live at Mezzrow
by Jack Bowers
When one is diagnosed with multiple myeloma, as woodwind specialist Ken Peplowski was in June 2021, there are basically two alternatives: either accept the decision and throw in the towel or choose to fight and double down on doing what keeps you active and hopeful, in this case making beautiful music that swings. Obviously, as epitomized by the album Live at Mezzrow, Peplowski chose the latter path, and three years on has apparently won the battle, at least for now, ...
Continue ReadingKen Peplowski: Unheard Bird
by Jack Bowers
Even when the recording (in this case, two) is a classic--as, for example, Charlie Parker's memorable Bird with Strings (Mercury Records, 1950)--some songs that deserve better are necessarily left on the cutting-room floor. Some may see that as disappointing, while others--like reed specialist Ken Peplowski--embrace it as an opportunity. On Unheard Bird, Peplowski--with strings and a core quartet--presents a series of fourteen generally likable themes, most of which were destined for Parker's album but were somehow passed over, and three ...
Continue ReadingMeet Ken Peplowski
by AAJ Staff
This article was first published on All About Jazz in August 1998. In numerous rave reviews, critics have exalted Ken Peplowski as the epitome of jazz traditionalism. But repeated listenings of his work reveals that Peplowski is perhaps more experimental and diverse than some have described him. It is worth noting that while Benny Goodman, {{Artie Shaw and Ben Webster are strong inspirations, Ken has also recorded songs by Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane (and even The Beatles). ...
Continue ReadingKen Peplowski: All the Things You Are
by John Chacona
Even if you are new to jazz, you have likely heard “All the Things You Are" dozens of times, maybe hundreds. But you have never heard it like this. Jerome Kern's tour through the circle of fifths, catnip for improvisers, is usually played as a mid-tempo stroll or faster, but it was written as a ballad for the Broadway stage. On Live at Mezzrow (Cellar Music Group, 2024). Ken Peplowski doubles down on the concept, adopting a daringly slow tempo ...
Continue ReadingDavid Larsen: The Peplowski Project
by Jack Bowers
The Peplowski Project was a labor of love for saxophonist David Larsen, a longtime admirer of fellow reedman Ken Peplowski who sits in with Larsen's impressive quartet on each of the album's eleven numbers, playing clarinet on six, tenor saxophone on five. As for Larsen, he plays his Gerry Mulligan-flavored baritone sax on five of the session's first six numbers, then sets it aside in favor of the alto (on Al Cohn's “Jazz Line Blues"), tenor or ...
Continue ReadingSusie Meissner: I Wish I Knew
by Jack Bowers
I wish I knew why the talented Philadelphia-based singer Susie Meissner chose to open her salute to the Great American Songbook with the only tune on the album that doesn't really qualify: Curtis Lewis' “The Great City." It's not a bad song but Cole Porter or Johnny Mandel it ain't. On the bright side, Meissner recovers quickly on the fourth album under her name with a burnished rendition of the title theme, a memorable composition by the legendary Hollywood songwriting ...
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