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…
Harpist Brandee Younger is among the performers on the program for this year’s Hyde Park Jazz Fest in Chicago.
(Photo: Erin O’Brien)The 18th Annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival will be held on 13 unique stages across Chicago’s Hyde Park, Kenwood and Washington Park neighborhoods on Sept. 28–29. The festival lineup features more than 36 free performances and includes visiting national artists alongside some of Chicago’s brightest lights. Venues include The Smart Museum, International House, Rockefeller Chapel, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, Hyde Park Bank, Hyde Park Union Church, The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, Augustana Church, Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, Hyde Park Art Center and the Midway Plaisance.
Drummer and composer Nate Smith, who fuses his original compositions with an eclectic mix of music, will join this year’s lineup for a solo performance. Harpist Brandee Younger and pianist and MacArthur Fellow Courtney Bryan will present a special collaboration. Drummer Willie Jones III’s quintet featuring Jeremy Pelt will present “Our Man Higgins” in tribute to the prolific drummer Billy Higgins. Flutist/saxophonist Anna Webber and clarinetist Ben Goldberg will travel to Chicago to join Geof Bradfield’s (reeds/mbira) new project Colossal Abundance. Anna Webber will also perform a duo set with pianist Matt Mitchell.
Guitarist Jeff Parker and drummer Jeremy Clemmons will join Chicago pianist Justin Dillard for a new trio, The Wherewithal. The Boston-based Makanda Project will collaborate with Chicago vocalist Dee Alexander. Pianist Craig Taborn brings his trio with cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Ches Smith. And guitarist Bobby Broom will present his trio with visiting drummer Kobie Watkins, a long-time colleague. The annual Rockefeller Chapel performance to close Saturday night’s activities will feature a solo performance by trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire.
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival will celebrate the 100th anniversary of African American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin’s birthday (born Aug. 2, 1924) with a performance in collaboration with the Hyde Park Art Center and Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young and de deacon board ensemble. The performance will be set amid artist Robert Earl Paige’s exhibition “The United Colors of Robert Earl Paige.”
The festival has also added a video project, “Rob Mazurak Exploding Star Orchestra, Live at the Adler Planetarium,” which documents a singular performance that featured original images by Mazurek projected onto the planetarium’s domed ceiling during hypnotic interpretations of music from the most recent Exploding Star Orchestra album, Lightning Dreamers (International Anthem).
The Hyde Park Jazz Festival is free to the public, but attendees are asked to consider a $10 per person donation. For additional information, CLICK HERE. 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…
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