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Ken Peplowski

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American jazz clarinetist, tenor saxophonist and jazz band leader (born May 23, 1959, Garfield Heights, Ohio - died February 2, 2026 in the Gulf of Mexico). Coming from a musical home (his brother Ted playing trumpet and his father leading an amateur Polka band including both his sons from early age), he briefly studied at Cleveland State University and began playing local jazz gigs, including one at the Cleveland Jazz Festival in 1980 before joining Tommy Dorsey's touring orchestra. He also studied saxophone with Sonny Stitt. In 1984, he joined the last band of clarinet legend Benny Goodman as a tenor saxophonist and remained a member of the group until the bandleader's death in 1986. Peplowski then made his first album as a leader for Concord Records, his label home from the late-1980s through the ‘90s. He released more than 70 recordings as a leader on various jazz labels and played on more than 400 albums, working with Hank Jones, Charlie Byrd, Rosemary Clooney, and Mel Tormé, besides others. He also was a Music Director for the Oregon Festival of American Music (OFAM) in Eugene from 2007 through 2014.