Ken Peplowski

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, among many others. 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 never-recorded string arrangements originally commissioned by Charlie Parker to life on 2024's Unheard Bird.