TICKETS
Reserved: $65, $55.
General Admission: $35 ($30 advance rate until 3/1).
Doors open for seating one hour prior to showtime.
Join us in Side Door for an eclectic mix of Great American Songbook Standards, swing, and jazz re-imaginings of classical melodies performed by the great jazz clarinetist, Ken Peplowski, and leading jazz pianist/composer, Ted Rosenthal.
ABOUT KEN PEPLOWSKI
“When you grow up in Cleveland, Ohio, playing in a Polish polka band, you learn to think fast on your feet”, says Ken Peplowski, who played his first pro engagement when he was still in elementary school. Ken, and his trumpet-playing brother Ted, made many local radio and TV appearances and played for Polish dances and weddings virtually every weekend all through high-school. By the time Ken was in his early teens, he was experimenting with jazz by playing in the school “stage” bands, and also by jamming with many of the local jazz musicians.
After a year of college, Ken joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow. In 1980, Ken moved to New York City, and was soon playing in all kinds of settings, from traditional to avant-garde jazz. Peplowski signed with Concord Records, under the tutelage of Carl Jefferson, the founder and president, and recorded close to 20 albums as a leader, including “The Natural Touch” in 1992 which won Best Jazz Record of the Year by the Prises Deutschen Schallplatten Kritiken, and “The Other Portrait”, recorded in Sophia Bulgaria with the symphony orchestra and highlighting Ken’s classical side. He also recorded two records on the Nagel Heyer label, “Lost In The Stars” and “Easy To Remember”, the latter of which features Bobby Short on his last recording.
The litany of musicians Ken has collaborated with includes: Mel Torme, Leon Redbone, Charlie Byrd, Peggy Lee, George Shearing, Madonna, Hank Jones, Dave Frishberg, Rosemary Clooney, Tom Harrell, James Moody, Cedar Walton, Houston Person, Steve Allen, Bill Charlap, Woody Allen, Marianne Faithfull, Isaac Delgado & Erich Kunzel.
He is currently the artistic director of the Sarasota Jazz Festival, the Newport Beach Jazz Party, and the Oregon Coast Jazz Party in Newport, Oregon. Ken Peplowski has also been bestowed this year’s “Creative Arts Prize In Recognition Of Outstanding Contribution In The Field Of The Creative Arts” by the Polish American Historical Association.
ABOUT TED ROSENTHAL
Ted Rosenthal is one of the leading jazz pianist/composers of his generation. He actively tours worldwide with his trio, as a soloist, and has performed with many jazz greats, including Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, and James Moody.
Winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, Rosenthal has released fifteen CDs as a leader. Rhapsody in Gershwin, which features his arrangement of “Rhapsody in Blue” for jazz trio, reached #1 in jazz album sales at iTunes and Amazon. Wonderland, was selected as a New York Times holiday pick, and received much critical praise. Impromptu, showcases his reimagining of classical themes for jazz trio.
Rosenthal’s orchestral performances include solo and featured appearances with The Detroit Symphony, The Phoenix Symphony The Boston Pops, The Grand Rapids Symphony, The Rochester Philharmonic, The Pittsburgh Symphony and The Fort Worth Symphony. Rosenthal performed Gershwin’s Concerto in F and Rhapsody in Blue for the opening concert of the 92nd Street Y’s 2015-16 season. The New York Times called his playing “notable both for its flair and languid, sultry expressive gestures.” In 2014 Rosenthal performed Rhapsody in Blue at Town Hall in a concert celebrating the 90th anniversary of its premiere and gave many performances of Rhapsody in 2024 celebrating the 100th anniversary.
Rosenthal received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. Active in jazz education, he is on the faculties of The Juilliard School, and Manhattan School of Music, where he also served on their Board of Trustees and received the Presidential Medal for Distinguished Faculty Service. Rosenthal has taught and mentored many of the leading jazz pianists of the younger generation. He presents jazz clinics throughout the world, often in conjunction with his touring. He was a contributing editor for Piano and Keyboard magazine and has published piano arrangements and feature articles for Piano Today, The Piano Stylist and The Juilliard Journal.
Presented by The Palladium at SPC
