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…
Terence Blanchard—who won a Grammy in the category Best Instrumental Composition for “Blut Und Boden (Blood And Soil),” a work featured in Spike Lee’s 2018 movie BlacKkKlansman—composed the score for the filmmaker’s latest effort, Da 5 Bloods.
(Photo: Henry Abenejo)In the pantheon of collaborative triumphs, musical partnerships like Billie Holiday and Lester Young or Miles Davis and Teo Macero are easy to reference. At some point, though, jazz historians are going to need to survey the work that trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard has done with filmmaker Spike Lee.
The director’s latest endeavor—a Netflix feature called Da 5 Bloods—recounts the story of a cohort of Black war veterans who travel back to Vietnam in an attempt to recover a fallen friend and find buried gold. In part, it’s a genre picture, a combination of war movie and buddy flick, with the onetime soldiers trekking into the jungle and dealing with the past.
For Blanchard, who spoke to DownBeat recently from his home in New Orleans, the past and America’s endlessly problematic origin story seem to have been on his mind. His own previous leader dates have explored gun violence and police brutality, and his latest film score (set alongside a bevy of Marvin Gaye tunes) isn’t wholly divorced from those ideas, elevating Lee’s feature in the process.
During a wide-ranging conversation, Blanchard discussed his working relationship with Lee, other projects that are continuing despite the pandemic and President Donald Trump’s prospects in the November elections.
“If people of color come out to vote in this country,” Blanchard said, “he’s sunk.”
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.
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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.
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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.”
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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…
