VisLang: Jazz Research

Appearing with his quartet in a swinging, centennial celebration of Benny Goodman, we are happy to present Ken Peplowski, who has recorded nearly 20 CDs with Concord Records. Among others, Ken has worked with Mel Torme, Charlie Byrd, Peggy Lee, George Shearing, Hank Jones, Rosemary Clooney, James Moody, Cedar Walton, Houston Person, Steve Allen, Woody Allen, and Madonna, “Although not necessarily in that order,” says Ken. “When you grow up in Cleveland, Ohio, playing in a Polish polka band, you learn to think fast on your feet!” says Peplowski, who played his first pro engagement when he was still in elementary school. He recalls, “From my first time performing in public, I knew I wanted to play music for a living.”

That’s just what he has been doing, and nobody swings harder than Ken Peplowski! “Since the advent of Benny Goodman, there have been too few clarinetists to fill the void that Goodman left. Ken Peplowski is most certainly one of those few. The man is magic.” - Mel Torme

Ken Peplowski’s

Benny Goodman Centennial Celebration

Fri. Dec. 18, 2009 - 8 p.m.

is in the right place.”

- Herbie Hancock

"These quotes only hint at Ken Peplowski's virtuosity - not only is he an outstanding clarinetist and saxophone player, but he's also a charismatic entertainer who has been delighting audiences for over 30 years with his warmth, wit, and musicianship.

"When you grow up in Cleveland, Ohio, playing in a Polish polka band, you learn to think fast on your feet", says Peplowski, who played his first pro engagement when he was still in elementary school. "From my first time performing in public, I knew I wanted to play music for a living."

Also: I wrote Mr. Peplowski an email and was lucky enough to get a response:

Hello Mr. Peplowski,
I am a student at the Kansas City Art Institute. We have recently been assigned a project to promote this seasons shows at the Folly Theater. Our class was divided up amongst the artists preforming this year. I was lucky enough to have been assigned your poster. That being said, if you could possibly spare a moment of your time, I would like to ask you a few questions.

1- After having read several articles about you, I understand that you have been compared quite often to Benny Goodman. Was he an inspiration for you while you were forming your career as a musician? Who else would you classify as an inspiration?
KP: he was an early inspiration, along with Duke Ellington, Sonny Stitt, and The Beatles.
2- What, if anything, would you like to see on a poster representing you and your show?
KP: Actually, something expressing the joy of this music rather than a depiction of a Benny Goodman tribute-as-history-lesson; I try to do his music in my own fashion when asked to do these tributes, with my own solos and my own take on his music/influence.
3- Would you consider your music to compare more with the classics of the jazz world or do you think of it as a more progressive and current style?
KP: I consider myself, above anything else, as an interpreter of song, so I bristle at putting any time frame to it, like "swing" or "modern" - it's as modern and relevant as anyone wants to make it!!!! I think the problem with jazz is many people treat it like a historical recreation rather than an ongoing, exciting, valid art form!
I hope this helps...Ken