Ken Peplowski, clarinet

Attucks Jazz Series

“Arguably the greatest living clarinetist.”

-BBC2

“Brilliantly entertaining.”

-Downbeat

Ask any jazz veteran to name the top five clarinetists in the business, and Ken Peplowski’s name will come up again and again. This prolific musican cut his teeth playing in the family polka band while still in elementary school in Cleveland; by high school he had caught the jazz bug, and was soon jamming with local musicians and gigging nights and weekends, catching up on homework as he could. After a year of college, Peplowski was invited to join the legendary Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow. Just a few years later in 1984, Benny Goodman came out of retirement and put together a new band, hiring Ken on tenor saxophone. In his star-studded career, Ken Peplowski has collaborated with the greats, from Mel Torme and Peggy Lee to Charlie Byrd and George Shearing, along with fascinating forays into music of all kinds, playing alongside Madonna, Leon Redbone, and Erich Kunzel. Nobody weaves a jazz line around a melody better than this—hear for yourself in this September jazz event!