Ken Peplowski wasn’t just a giant in the jazz world, he
was a giant mensch, and one of the funniest people I have ever had the
pleasure to call a friend. I’m truly shocked by his sudden passing. He
had been battling cancer, but it was in remission. He was on a jazz
cruise and was scheduled to hit the stage, but he never showed. He was
found in his cabin. They are saying it was a heart attack.
I
met Ken at at the shop back in the 90's. He was a regular, a lover of power pop, The Beatles, Elvis
Presley, and curiously, a Joe Cocker completist. But the best part was that we couldn’t be in
each other's presence for more than 10 seconds without laughing
hysterically.
In
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the band I was playing
with at the time, The Cool Jerks, set up a benefit for New Orleans at a club in Tribeca. Both Ken and another
late, great jazz legend, drummer Joe Ascione, jumped at the chance to perform. Tony Award winning actor, and another friend of the shop, Ruben Santiago-Hudson brought his blues harp and his friend, blues great Bill Sims. It was a special night. But before Ken played a note
on his clarinet, he stood up at the mic and said, "Hi everybody! Forgive me. I'm flop-sweating like George Bush at a spelling bee." He won the crowd over as he had won everyone over. He only needed seconds.
But the hardest I ever laughed was when he smacked me down,
deservedly. Ken had a hard time with computers and was struggling to
master iTunes and importing CDs into his iPod. He would call me twice a
day and ask the same questions. I was surprisingly patient. But one
day he called and I had not been in a great mood. Pick your reasons. He asked the same questions again, and I exploded.
"You just asked me this question! How many more times do I need to say this to you? You need to import the CD first! Once it’s imported, then you drag it into your iPod. DAMN IT! It’s not that difficult!"
"You just asked me this question! How many more times do I need to say this to you? You need to import the CD first! Once it’s imported, then you drag it into your iPod. DAMN IT! It’s not that difficult!"
He calmly replied, "Play anything on the
clarinet."
Just retelling
that story is hurting my heart.
Listen to Ken's music. He was something else.
9 comments:
So sorry for your loss of a great friend!
😔The photography speaks for itself..... The eyes reflect the soul
So sorry for your loss Sal.
As I have been saying way too much lately, this death shit is really starting to piss me off. So sorry for the loss of your friend.
What a great tribute to a clearly great (and funny) guy. I love his retort! He had that in his back pocket, ready for you. :) And damn, Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Bill Sims. Sorry I missed that show!
Sorry for your loss. That is a great story you tell about your friend - speaks volumes.
Nice story, we all need friends like that.
Randy
Over the past several years, he had been doing a lot of work in Barcelona with Joan Chamorro. Chamorro is the founder of the Sant Andru Jazz Orchestra which specializes in nurturing young jazz musicians (somewhat like Blakey and the Jazz messengers, but the musicians are even younger). He will be missed.
One of my favorite stories. So sorry to hear about the loss of your friend.
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