Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Nearly 50 years into his fruitful career, the renowned saxophonist and clarinetist Ken Peplowski has released over 70 recordings as a soloist and close to 400 releases as a sideman. He is celebrated for his work with a diverse array of artists including Charlie Byrd, Benny Goodman, Hank Jones and Peggy Lee among many others. Facing financial, emotional and physical challenges during the COVID pandemic, he found solace in his music. He started a successful weekly streaming show and recorded dozens of episodes, many of them featuring the ensemble presented on his new album, “Live at Mezzrow.” Recorded at the famed New York City jazz club last year, the band includes pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist Martin Wind and drummer Willie Jones III.
“Reflections in Two Shades” is a major step forward in Lee McKinney’s career for it not only has him playing drums in a world-class quartet but it features his compositions. For the notable project, the Dayton, Ohio-based McKinney was particularly happy to have the great altoist Greg Abate on board. “Greg and I have been friends for over 20 years and he is a masterful player…A piano friend of mine from Oregon, Matt Cooper, was my first choice and was fortunately available…I was also lucky enough to get one of the best bass players in this area, Chris Berg.”
Also this week, “Windows Through Time” is pianist Mariah Parker’s latest exploration into the depths of Latin jazz with her Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble; pianist Sergio Pamies fuses the traditional jazz language with the flamenco music of his childhood in Granada, Spain on his fourth disc as a leader, “Time to Say”; and “You’ll Hear It” captures the rich life and legacy pianist George Colligan has built over thirty-plus years in jazz.