Event
Ken Peplowski
All That Jazz
with the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra
Ken Peplowski, clarinet
Luciano Morello, founding producer
Lew Del Gatto, artistic director, tenor saxophone
James Suggs, trumpet
Mike Harvey, drums
Kevin Mauldin, bass
Jerry Stawski, co-bandleader, vocals, piano
From the moment he first stepped on stage as a member of an Ohio-based polka band, jazz clarinetist Ken Peplowski knew he wanted to play music for a living. In the years that followed, he and his trumpet-playing brother performed on local radio, made TV appearances and often spent parts of their weekends in high school playing Polish dances and weddings. It was there he learned the art of improvisation.
But while polkas were putting food on the table, jazz music interested Peplowski even more. Throughout college, Peplowski continued his jazz performances and, upon graduation, joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, where he played lead alto sax and clarinet with the rhythm section.
Over the years, Peplowski played tenor sax for a band Benny Goodman put together after coming out of retirement in the early 1980s. He has recorded over 70 albums as a soloist, including 1992’s The Natural Touch, which won Best Jazz Record of the Year by the Preis Deutschen Schallplatten Kritiken. And he has performed on such prestigious stages as The Hollywood Bowl, at prominent festivals like Newport Jazz and collaborated with musicians ranging from Mel Tormé and Madonna to Leon Redbone and Woody Allen.
