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…
Italian jazz producers Giampiero Rubei and Regione Lazio have announced JazzItaliano in New York, a festival that will feature the most important jazz musicians from Italy performing at various New York City jazz clubs March 1 through 6.
The artists scheduled to perform are: pianist Enrico Pieranunzi, the No. 1 jazz pianist in Italy; saxophonist Rosario Giuliani; trumpeter Flavio Boltro; trombonist Fabrizio Bosso; guitarist Fabrizio Sotti; pianist Riccardo Biseo; and the Fabio Morgera Trio.
Venues will be Birdland, Cornelia Street Café, Jazz Gallery, Smoke, Sweet Rhythm and the Zinc Bar. It is the intention of this festival to create a cultural bridge between Italy and the U.S. by presenting not only these incredible jazz talents to US audiences, but also the long and rich cultural history of the Regione Lazio. Producer Giampiero Rubei puts it this way. “The Italian Jazz Experience is now decidedly ripe and artistically relevant. It has exhibited the surprising capacity to unite in a new and stimulating way the traditions of jazz with the Italian popular and educated cultural roots.” “Today the Italian Jazz scene notwithstanding the dreadful conditions of the national musical market is in an exceptionally blooming phase; that¹s why it is our intention to export it, and make it known in the rest of the world.”
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…
