Feb 3, 2026 12:10 AM
In Memoriam: Ken Peplowski, 1959–2026
Ken Peplowski, a clarinetist and tenor saxophonist who straddled the worlds of traditional and modern jazz, died Feb. 2…
Bassist Dennis Irwin, a mainstay at the Village Vanguard Monday nights starting in the 1980s in New York, died Monday from liver failure caused by cancer. He was 56.
The Jazz At Lincoln Center was to have a benefit concert yesterday for Irwin to help raise money for health care costs. The concert’s focus shifted to a tribute concert for the bassist. Tony Bennett, Mose Allison, John Scofield, Joe Lovano and others played for Irwin. Money raised from the concert will go toward covering Irwin’s health expenses and the Jazz Foundation Of America, which helps provide uninsured musicians with healthcare costs.
He was born on Nov. 28, 1951, in Birmingham, Ala, but was raised in Atlanta. Irwin attended North Texas State University studying classical music and playing clarinet in the orchestra. Drummer John Riley and bassist Marc Johnson helped expose Irwin to jazz and the upright bass.
Guitarist John Scofield brought Joe Lovano, Bill Drewes and Steve Slagle to Irwin’s loft in New York in 1976. The group stayed close after that summer.
Irwin went on to play with Art Blakey, Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Johnny Griffin and Horace Silver. He was the bassist of choice for vocalists Jackie Paris, Betty Carter and Mose Allison,
Irwin is the father of trumpeter/bassist Michael Irwin.
Peplowski first came to prominence in legacy swing bands, including the final iteration of the Benny Goodman Orchestra, before beginning a solo career in the late 1980s.
Feb 3, 2026 12:10 AM
Ken Peplowski, a clarinetist and tenor saxophonist who straddled the worlds of traditional and modern jazz, died Feb. 2…
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Richie Beirach was particularly renowned for his approach to chromatic harmony, which he used to improvise reharmonizations of originals and standards.
Jan 27, 2026 11:19 AM
Richie Beirach, a pianist and composer who channeled a knowledge of modern classical music into his jazz practice,…
“I play what I want and what I like,” said Andrew Cyrille. “I use my knowledge artistically and professionally.”
Feb 3, 2026 12:15 AM
Midway through August, a few days after concluding a week at the Village Vanguard with the quartet that Andrew Cyrille…
Marsalis will, if he chooses to use it, have a strong voice in perpetuating his vision through a role in choosing his successors.
Feb 3, 2026 12:09 AM
For the better part of a year, rumors have been swirling that Wynton Marsalis was going to step down as artistic and…
