by Tyler Schmitz
For the November 2 edition of Scenes from the Saxophone Section, I had a mountain of material to choose from. I decided to go with Ken Peplowski, both a tenor and clarinet player, and if you know anything about this man’s credits or discography, you’d know that the possibilities are virtually endless. Calling him a session musician would be quite accurate, as Peplowski has over four hundred credits to his name. This is a man that’s probably worked with everyone, and as my jazz director would say, “People looking for a tenor player would say ‘get me Ken Peplowski,’” granted, that’s actually a setup to a joke that devolves into, “Get me someone who sounds like Ken P.,” which becomes, “Who is Ken P.?” but I digress. In addition to his mountain of credits as a sideman, he has over seventy CDs as a leader.
The first tune I played was a big band chart titled “Gold Rush.” Normally I make an effort to refrain from big band charts, as I’ve realized it’s harder to get a focus feature of the player, but I believed it important to showcase, as this was the career of Peplowski. The man made a living off working for others, and what better way to showcase this in a big band chart? Not to mention, I picked an interesting tune, as it opened with a string section, something you only find once in a blue moon. The harp plucking away while the band takes the lighthearted head of the piece is a perfect melody for a spring weekend mood; it almost gives off a vaudeville vibe.
Up next was “Gigi,” and this was a proper tune to feature Ken’s play style: a ballad duet, tenor and piano. I like my swing tunes, but I always like playing ballads more during this segment, as it’s actually quite a bit harder to play these slower tunes (I know from experience). However, I actually like this one because it starts slow and then tries to break out of the ballad speed, but hits that sweet spot between ballad and a standard swing speed, or at least it feels that way. It’s a tune that gets going with Peplowski’s riffs but manages to slow back down when he wants to play longer notes. It’s a cool effect that can only be done with that impressive level of control he has.
And finally, “Vignette.” This is a standard swing tune that you could open up the head for any instrument looking to get a hold of the chart, which makes it a good piece to showcase him playing with a proper rhythm section. As for how he does it, he knows he’s the lead, but it doesn’t mean he takes the tune by the horns. No, instead, he uses subtle dynamics to put himself just above the rest of the band and he uses his control to shape his riffs and turns, as well as paint every note a warm color.
Tune in to Sunday Standards every Sunday at noon for more Scenes from the Saxophone Section.
