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…
Cyril (left), Aaron, Charles and Art Neville, of the Neville Brothers, pose in a publicity portrait. Charles died on April 26 at age 79.
(Photo: Guzman/A&M Records/DownBeat Archives)Charles Neville, the saxophonist who achieved fame alongside his siblings in the Neville Brothers, died on April 26. He was 79. In January, the New Orleans native revealed that he had been battling pancreatic cancer.
His brother Aaron, a renowned vocalist, paid tribute on Facebook. Here are selected excerpts from his post: “My dear brother Charlie the horn man, just want you to know that if I would’ve had the choice of picking my brothers, I would definitely choose you. You were a great brother. You’ll always be in my heart and soul, like a tattoo. You helped to mold me into who I am today and I’ll always be thankful. I’ll always see your special infectious smile on the stage next to me, it would always give me a smile. …
“I know you have a spot in the heavenly band next to James Booker, James Black, Herbert Hardesty, Fats Domino, Johnny Adams [and] all the jazz bebop players who you turned me on to. Dizzy, Charlie Parker, Miles and the list goes on. …
“So dear horn man you take your well deserved rest with God in Heaven and play with the heavenly band. I know that you’re whole again.”
The Neville Brothers won a Grammy for the 1989 track “Healing Chant” in the category Best Pop Instrumental Performance. The track appears on the band’s album Yellow Moon, on which Charles contributed saxophone, percussion and vocals.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which opens today, is an event with which the Neville family has been synonymous for decades.
This year’s festival—which runs through May 6—will, undoubtedly, include various tributes to a member of one of the most iconic families not only in New Orleans, but in all of popular music. DB
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…
“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…
Lettuce, from left: Eric Coomes, Adam Deitch, Ryan Zoidis, Eric Bloom, Adam Smirnoff and Nigel Hall
Feb 17, 2026 11:05 AM
They were Berklee misfits. Neither jazzy enough for the straightahead crowd at Boston’s highly prestigious College of…
