Ken Peplowski - Live at Mezzrow

"Just like most musicians, when the dreaded Covid, along with the accompanying lockdown, hit in 2020, that was it as far as work was concerned. Like some very dark cosmic joke, I not only had a bad case of Covid in March of 2020, but my beloved dog Honeypie had to be put to sleep in April of 2021. In June of that year I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma."

Facing financial, emotional, and physical challenges, Peplowski found solace in music. He started a successful weekly streaming show, and recorded dozens of episodes, many of them featuring the ensemble presented on Live at Mezzrow. Peplowski eventually adopted a new dog, Corky, and found the hope and strength to fight through his illness. "I realized what a real family we have in the jazz world, and I had so much love and support (and also from the larger community of fans), I managed to get through the worst of everything and come out actually feeling better and stronger as a musician and as a person." Peplowski is now in full remission.

SmallsLIVE owner and pianist Spike Wilner presented the idea of this live album to Peplowski, who jumped at the idea. The acclaimed multi-reedist indicates, "This is my favorite way to record - I like to work on song material for a year or two, find some interesting tunes that are not so often played, revive some tunes that I haven't played in years, and just go in with friends and record in a set up like a band on stage and play through the music, warts and all, and that's exactly what we did."

Ken Peplowski Live at Mezzrow includes unique renditions of jazz classics as well as lesser-known gems, all delivered with an authority and nuance of which only Peplowski and his cohort are capable. Each selection tells a tale of Peplowski’s fruitful musical adventures with architects of the art-form. The live performance is a master-class in interplay, Peplowski’s melodic refrains soaring over Rosenthal’s chordal musings, and well supported by the rhythm section of Willie Jones III and Martin Wind, melodic players in their own right.