Clarinetist and saxophonist
Ken Peplowski has been a first-call sideman for decades, appearing on albums by the likes of
Hank Jones,
Leon Redbone,
Charlie Byrd,
Peggy Lee,
George Shearing, and even
Madonna. He has also recorded something like 30 albums as a leader, many of them brilliant. It will be hard for him to top this one, however. Supported by a trio consisting of pianist
Shelly Berg, bassist
Tom Kennedy, and drummer
Jeff Hamilton,
Peplowski gently but firmly establishes his mastery of multiple modern jazz genres without coming across as a show-off or sacrificing taste and musicality. The album's opening track, "The Thespian," serves almost like an opera overture, summarizing the stylistic themes to come: opening in a soft ballad mode, it suddenly and seamlessly shifts into straight-ahead bebop, then veers off into modal, almost impressionistic territory before coming back to earth on the out chorus. When
Peplowski begins trading fours with
Berg, it sounds like a genial but spirited conversation between old friends, which, in fact, it is. That track alone is nearly worth the price of the CD, but others follow that are just as good: the quietly soaring "Love's Disguise" (to which
Peplowski's clarinet provides a particularly lovely note of melancholy grace), a handful of utterly gorgeous ballads (including "When Joanna Loved Me" and "A Ship Without a Sail"), and the light and lively "Peps," written by
Berg for
Peplowski. Oddly, the last three tracks on the program were pulled from a self-produced recording he made in 2007; one is a duo with bassist
Greg Cohen, one a trio number with
Cohen and vibraphonist
Chuck Redd. But the final track is the funnest of them all: a duo version of "Rum and Coca Cola" played in homage to
Professor Longhair at a benefit show shortly after Hurricane Katrina. It features
Peplowski accompanied only by drummer
Joe Ascione, and the variations he spins on this simple tune over the course of more than five uninterrupted minutes are a wonder to hear. It's a sweet, charming, and jaw-droppingly virtuosic finale to a brilliant album. ~ Rick Anderson