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Gig Details
| Gig Time: |
7:30 pm |
| Cover Charge: |
$20.00/Door |
| Online Ticket Sales Link: |
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| Gig Info/Notes: |
Legendary jazz clarinetist 2 shows:
7:30 & 9:30 |
| Map Link: |
Click here for map and directions. |
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| Band Website: |
http://www.kenpeplowski.com |
| Band Contact Name: |
J. Chriss & Co. |
| Band Contact Email: |
info@jchriss.com |
| Band Contact Phone: |
(212) 353-0855 |
| Band City: |
New York |
| Band State: |
NY |
| Band Info/Notes: |
The late Mel Torme´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. "The New York Times pronounced a concert of Ken's "Goodman Straight Up, With A Twist Of Lightning. "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."
Ken, and his trumpet-playing brother Ted, made many local radio and TV appearances and played for Polish dances and weddings virtually every weekend all through high-school. "That's where I learned to improvise, 'fake' songs, learn about chord changes, etc.- it's exactly like learning to swim by being thrown into the water!"
By the time Ken was in his early teens, he was experimenting with jazz by playing in the school "stage" bands, and also by jamming with many of the local jazz musicians. "By the time I
hit high school, I was teaching at the local music store, playing in our family band, and playing jazz gigs around town while still getting up early every day for school."
After a year of college, Ken joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow. "Buddy heard me with my quartet at a Cleveland jazz festival along with Teddy Wilson's trio and the Dorsey band, and made an offer right then and there for me to not only play lead alto, but to have a feature spot on the clarinet with the rhythm section. It was a great 'road-school' - we learned the discipline that goes with playing one-nighters every day for 48 weeks out of the year, and Buddy was a great, very generous bandleader."
Peplowski met Sonny Stitt while on the road with the Dorsey band, and studied with him. "He was, and is, an inspiration to all of of us who make a living 'on the road' - I've never heard anybody play with such amazing consistency as Sonny, through all kinds of settings."
In 1980, Ken moved to New York City,and was soon playing in all kinds of settings, from Dixieland to avant-garde jazz. "Everything's a learning experience in jazz music - there's always an element of the unpredictable." In 1984, Benny Goodman came out of retirement and put together a new band, hiring Ken on tenor saxophone. "I think Benny was as great a figure to the clarinet as Louis Armstrong was to the trumpet. He was an extremely tough band leader, but he was as demanding on himself as he was on us - if you showed him respect and were there to play his music for him, he respected you back, and I have yet to work with anyone else that could get such great results out of a band. Part of the key to unlocking the enigma of Benny was that he thought about music pretty much 24 hours a day, and sometimes that was to the exclusion of personal relationships. I liked him a lot, though, and he actually tried to get me signed to a record deal (with him as producer!) before I'd signed with anyone else."
Peplowski wound up signing with Concord Records,under the tutelage of Carl Jefferson, the founder and president, and recorded close to 20 albums as a leader, including "The Natural Touch" in 1992 which won Best Jazz Record of the Year by the Prises Deutschen Schallplatten Kritiken, and "The Other Portrait", recorded in Sophia Bulgaria with the symphony orchestra and highlighting Ken's classical side. His last two records were "Lost In The Stars" and "Easy To Remember" (on Nagel Heyer Records), the latter of which features Bobby Short on his last recording. "I loved Bobby Short's approach to the American songbook, and we'd talked about doing a record together for a while - I'm glad we got this one 'in the can.'
"What's in the future? "Who knows? I love all kinds of music, and I'd like to find more oppurtunities to bridge the gaps between different musical styles - I consider myself an interpreter of material - if something interests me, I try to put my own spin on it, without thinking or worrying about playing in any particular style. Basically, I like a challenge, I'm a sucker for a good melody, and I love playing for audiences, big or small."
And he has certainly achieved these goals, be it in small clubs, the Hollywood Bowl (where he played a sold-out concert), headlining in Las Vegas, the Newport Jazz Festival, pops concerts, European festivals´ clubs, or at home in NYC doing everything from playing on the soundtracks to Woody Allen movies, to taking on the role of music director for interactive French and Italian cookbooks ("Menus And Music").
The litany of musicians Ken has collaborated with includes:
Mel Torme, Leon Redbone, Charlie Byrd, Peggy Lee, George Shearing, Madonna,Hank Jones,Dave Frishberg,Rosemary Clooney,Tom Harrell, James Moody,Cedar Walton,Houston Person,Steve Allen Woody Allen, & Erich Kunzel. ("Although not necessarily in that order," says Ken).
Peplowski also does many workshops for students of all ages - "My goal is to get the students to learn how to teach themselves, and to learn how to bring out their own best qualities; after all, jazz is about individuality-first you learn the rules, then you break them. I would like to think that I never stop learning, myself!"
To quote the Jazz Journal International, "Ken Peplowski is one of those fine young Americans who are currently setting so much of the pace in all that's good in jazz.
Ken Peplowski is a Buffet-Crampon artist, and plays the R-13 clarinet,with a Portnoy mouthpiece and Van Doren German-cut reeds. He also plays a Yamaha tenor sax and a Berg Larsen mouthpiece.
"Ken's next CD will be a ballad record on tenor sax and clarinet for Venus Records, and is coming out soon.
Ken's new releases include "Memories Of You" on Venus Records, and 2 upcoming releases "Little Dogs" with Greg Cohen and a 2-CD set on Venus Records.
He is receiving a lifetime acheivement award at the Elkhart Jazz Festival and is musical director for "The Jazz Cruise", the Oregon Festival of American Music, and the Eugene Oregon Jazz Festival. |
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| Venue Website: |
http://www.fireflyclub.com |
| Venue Contact Name: |
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| Venue Contact Email: |
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| Venue Contact Phone: |
(734) 665-9090 |
| Venue Fax: |
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| Venue Address1: |
637 S. Main St. |
| Venue Address2: |
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| Venue City: |
Ann Arbor |
| Venue State: |
MI |
| Venue Zip: |
48104 |
| Venue Country: |
USA |
| Venue Info/Notes: |
Opened in 2000, the Firefly Club is an award-winning, intimate jewel-box of a jazz and blues room. It has received such honors as 2003 "Best Jazz Club" by HOUR Detroit magazine, 2004 "Best Jazz Club in Metro Detroit" by The Detroit Free Press, 2004 "Best Blues Venue" by the Detroit News Reader's Poll, "Best Jazz Club to See a Grammy Winner" by the Detroit METROTIMES, and was voted both "Best Jazz Club" and "Best Blues Club" by Ann Arbor's CURRENT Magazine annually from 2004 to 2007. Additionally the club has received AOL's "City's Best" Award for three years running and was included in Downbeat Magazine's presti-gious list of the "100 Great Jazz Clubs of the World" for 2007! The Firefly Club features live music seven nights a week, offering the full spectrum of jazz from Dixieland to avant garde, Latin jazz to swinging big band sounds, as well as authentic electric and roots blues. It has hosted such luminaries as Arturo Sandoval, Maynard Ferguson, Wynton Marsalis, Larry Coryell, Brian Auger, Mulgrew Miller, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Big Bill Morganfield, Buster Williams, Karrin Allyson, Janis Siegel, Hank Jones, Mose Allison, Patricia Barber, David Liebman, Maria Muldaur, Cyrus Chestnut, Cedar Walton, and many more. Stellar local and regional performers such as Paul Keller, Ellen Rowe, Marcus Belgrave, Rick Roe, Rodney Whitaker, Johnnie Basset, Tom Saunders, Claudia Schmidt, Sunny Wilkinson, Alberta Adams, Mr B (Mark Braun), and James Dapogny regulary grace our stage. Seating 195 people, the Firefly Club offers a cozy, "deep purple" listening-room setting for the enjoyment of jazz, blues and cocktails. Our spacious dance floor provides ballroom and Latin style dancers a marvelous platform to showcase their skills. The bistro-style kitchen offers a delightful menu of appetizers, homemade soups and salads, sandwiches and desserts, and can also provide buffets - from simple or elegant appetizers to full dinners. The full-service bar provides an extensive array of specialty martinis, domestic and imported beers, and a wide selection of single malt scotches, top-shelf tequilas, whiskeys, cognacs and vodkas. The club is available for private event rentals and regularly hosts birthday and anniversary parties, intimate wedding receptions, as well as corporate parties, film locations and business seminars. |
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