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…
Legendary r&b singer Etta James has canceled a string of tour dates after suffering complications from a mid-June abdominal surgery, Reuters has reported. She remains in stable condition at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
James, 69, was “extremely disappointed” at having to cancel performances, said Lupe De Leon, her manager. “If it had been left solely up to her, she would have checked herself out of the hospital and started the tour regardless of her delicate health. However, her doctor advised that were she to do so, it would put her at very great risk.”
James was scheduled to join guitarist B.B. King and singer Al Green on a tour that began Tuesday, but her illness forced her to cancel dates up to Aug. 23, when she hopes to begin performing again. Vocalist Chaka Khan will substitute for James on most of the tour, with Susan Tedeschi stepping in at the JVC Jazz Festival-Newport.
James’ illustrious career has included hits “Something’s Got A Hold On Me,” “Trust In Me” and her trademark song, “At Last.” The three-time Grammy Award winner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
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…
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Lettuce, from left: Eric Coomes, Adam Deitch, Ryan Zoidis, Eric Bloom, Adam Smirnoff and Nigel Hall
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They were Berklee misfits. Neither jazzy enough for the straightahead crowd at Boston’s highly prestigious College of…