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…
On Monday, Feb. 11, Cuban pianist Chucho Valdes will make a guest appearance with the Village Vanguard Orchestra in celebration of the Village Vanguard’s 67th anniversary. This has the makings of a special event, as Valdes loves playing the venerable New York club, demonstrated on his Grammy winning Blue Note album Live At The Village Vanguard.
The Village Vanguard Orchestra started on Feb. 7, 1966, then known as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. It has grown to be one of the most acclaimed and innovative big bands in jazz history. Throughout the last 36 years the orchestra has toured extensively throughout the world and its offspring, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, performs every Monday night at the club.
The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra will also be honored at the New York Brass Conference, April 12-13, in New York City. Also scheduled for this year, the club and the orchestra are partnering to bring the “Live at the Village Vanguard World Tour 2002” featuring the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and special guest artists.
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…
