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…
This year’s Syracuse Jazz Festival, which will be held from June 23 to 25 at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y., will salute three American cities.
On Friday, June 23, the festival will start with a “Salute To Detroit,” with headliners David “Fathead” Newman’s Tribute To Ray Charles (featuring Howard Johnson and Detroit’s Marcus Belgrave) and The Funk Brothers of Motown Records fame. Saturday’s concerts will pay tribute to New Orleans with C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Marcia Ball and Dr. John. Cornell Dupree and Les McCann will close out the festival on Sunday with an homage to Memphis.
“By creating dedicated theme nights at the 2006 festival that celebrate and salute three of America’s most renowned musical hubs, we were able to put together a diverse musical lineup that doubles as a history lesson in American popular culture,” said Syracuse Jazz Fest founder and artistic director Frank Malfitano.
For more information go to
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…
In other news... DownBeat's Most Read Stories
In Memoriam: Ken Peplowski, 1959–2026
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
The Living History of Andrew Cyrille
Wynton Marsalis to Step Down as JALC Artistic & Managing Director
Lettuce: Keepers of the Funk