In Search of …

As one of jazz’s front-line instruments, the clarinet—along with the cornet and trombone—came to prominence about 100 years ago most famously in New Orleans’ marching bands. The instrument reached its apogee of fame in the ’30s in the swing-era bands of Benny Goodman, Woody Herman and Artie Shaw. In the ’50s, bebopper Buddy DeFranco revived it while Pete Fountain, operating on a much different wavelength with Lawrence Welk, became a household name. Although the clarinet is still a staple in a plethora of traditional jazz bands, it seldom gets much mainstream attention. One of its current players, however, the 52-year-old Ken Peplowski—who’s recorded more than 30 CDs as a leader during the past 30 years—is doing his best to keep the flame alive. Joined by pianist Shelly Berg, bassist Tom Kennedy and drummer Jeff Hamilton on nine of the disc’s 12 tunes, Peplowski—on clarinet—treats us to such hauntingly lovely tunes as “A Ship Without a Sail” and “With Every Breath I Take.” He plays tenor sax on “When Joanna Loved Me,” a wistful ballad he’d heard sung by Frank Sinatra, and “No Regrets,” a bouncy duet with Greg Cohen from the second three-tune session. This charming CD definitely refutes the classic gripe of “they don’t make music like that anymore.”