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…
Terri Lyne Carrington, Artist of the Year
(Photo: Mark Sheldon)The Jazz Journalists Association announced its 2021 winners for its JJA Jazz Awards with drummer Terri Lyne Carrington being named its Artist of the Year and bassist Ron Carter receiving the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Maria Schneider received three awards for Record of the Year with Data Lords, as well as Composer and Arranger of the Year honors. Thelonious Monk, Palo Alto, on Resonance Records, was named Historical Record of the Year. Resonance was also named Record Label of the Year. Pianist Emmet Cohen was named Up & Coming Musician of the Year.
The organization also delivers awards for achievement in jazz journalism with Kevin Whitehead, author and jazz critic for NPR’s Fresh Air and a contributor to DownBeat, receiving the Lifetime Achievement In Jazz Award. Ted Panken, another DownBeat contributor, received the Robert Palmer-Helen Oakley Dance Award for Excellence in Writing for 2020. WBGO DJ Gary Walker received the Marian McPartland-Willis Conover Award for Career Achievement in Broadcasting and Billie, directed by James Erskine, was named Documentary of the Year.
We are proud to note that DownBeat was named Publication of the Year.
For a complete list of honorees, 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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They were Berklee misfits. Neither jazzy enough for the straightahead crowd at Boston’s highly prestigious College of…
