MUSIC SCENE: Ken Peplowski Returns to Suncoast Jazz Festival Nov. 21-23, 2025
Season 2, Episode 821, Jun 17, 06:02 PM
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In this episode of Music Scene, host Nanette Wiser catches up with the legendary jazz musician and composer Ken Peplowski, who returns to the Suncoast Jazz Festival Nov. 21-23, 2025. With the passing of Brian Wilson, we talked to Ken about Wilson's legacy and genius as well as Ken's passion for the Beatles! Mel Torme once said: “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.” And yes, he is magical both as a musician and a conversationalist with a flair for deadpan humor. He recently performed at The Palladium in the spring and will appear with La Lucha in Oregon this fall. Recording at Clearwater's legendary Arbor Records, Ken shares a close tie with the Tampa Bay jazz scene. (Photo by Stephen Splane)
ABOUT THE ARTIST Ken Peplowski has recorded over 70 CDs as a soloist, and close to 400 as a sideman – some of the artists he’s performed/recorded with include Charlie Byrd, Mel Torme, Rosemary Clooney, Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops, Hank Jones, Peggy Lee, Bill Charlap, Woody Allen, Benny Goodman, and Madonna. He travels at least half of every year, playing clubs, concert halls, colleges, and pops concerts. He has headlined the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Birdland Jazz Club, the Blue Note, and Dizzy’s Club amongst many other venues. Ken’s CDs on the Capri label, “Noir Blue”, “In Search Of”, and “Maybe September” were released to great critical acclaim and massive airplay. He has recorded music as diverse as Italian and French folk songs, avant-garde jazz, pop, and classical music; he recorded the Darius Milhaud Clarinet Concerto with an orchestra in Sofia, Bulgaria, and was a featured soloist (playing Mozart) in 2015 at the Siletz Bay Music Festival in Oregon, where he premiered a new concerto in 2016, written for him by Dick Hyman. Ken was the musical director of the Oregon Festival Of American Music (OFAM) for eight years, and is a longtime performer/consultant to The Jazz Cruise, where he was elected into the Jazz Cruise Hall Of Fame in 2013. “Mr. Peplowski sounds the way (Benny) Goodman might if he had kept evolving, kept on listening to new music, kept refining his sound, polishing his craft, and expanding his musical purview into the 21st century.” – Will Friedwald in The Wall Street Journal, December 2012.
LEARN MORE about Ken Peplowski here.
Upcoming Tour Dates Follow him on Facebook.
#kenpeplowski #clarinet #musician #jazz #musicaldirector #oregonfestivalofamericanmusic #birdland #music #composer #nanettewiser #musicscene #lalucha #suncoastjazzfestival #stpete #stpetefl #tampabay #radio #radiostpete
ABOUT THE ARTIST Ken Peplowski has recorded over 70 CDs as a soloist, and close to 400 as a sideman – some of the artists he’s performed/recorded with include Charlie Byrd, Mel Torme, Rosemary Clooney, Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops, Hank Jones, Peggy Lee, Bill Charlap, Woody Allen, Benny Goodman, and Madonna. He travels at least half of every year, playing clubs, concert halls, colleges, and pops concerts. He has headlined the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Birdland Jazz Club, the Blue Note, and Dizzy’s Club amongst many other venues. Ken’s CDs on the Capri label, “Noir Blue”, “In Search Of”, and “Maybe September” were released to great critical acclaim and massive airplay. He has recorded music as diverse as Italian and French folk songs, avant-garde jazz, pop, and classical music; he recorded the Darius Milhaud Clarinet Concerto with an orchestra in Sofia, Bulgaria, and was a featured soloist (playing Mozart) in 2015 at the Siletz Bay Music Festival in Oregon, where he premiered a new concerto in 2016, written for him by Dick Hyman. Ken was the musical director of the Oregon Festival Of American Music (OFAM) for eight years, and is a longtime performer/consultant to The Jazz Cruise, where he was elected into the Jazz Cruise Hall Of Fame in 2013. “Mr. Peplowski sounds the way (Benny) Goodman might if he had kept evolving, kept on listening to new music, kept refining his sound, polishing his craft, and expanding his musical purview into the 21st century.” – Will Friedwald in The Wall Street Journal, December 2012.
LEARN MORE about Ken Peplowski here.
Upcoming Tour Dates Follow him on Facebook.
#kenpeplowski #clarinet #musician #jazz #musicaldirector #oregonfestivalofamericanmusic #birdland #music #composer #nanettewiser #musicscene #lalucha #suncoastjazzfestival #stpete #stpetefl #tampabay #radio #radiostpete