by Dave Nathan
As the clarinet slowly but surely creeps back into the favor of jazz fans and musicians alike, Ken Peplowski should be given no small credit for the black stick's revival. Along with Eddie Daniels, Kenny Davern, and, more recently, Allan Vache and Don Byron, Peplowski has been leading the way for the resurgence of the clarinet as it regains its viability as an important instrument in jazz. The center piece of this album is James Chirillo's "Homage Concerto for Clarinet and Jazz Orchestra." Really a suite rather than a concerto, this 17-plus minute excursion takes on a pseudo classical approach to jazz, showing off Peplowski's virtuosity on the instrument. But even virtuosity can't redeem this composition that suffers the same fate as other so-called jazz clarinet concertos, like Artie Shaw's "Concerto for Clarinet" and Igor Stravinsky's "Ebony Concerto" written for Woody Herman. Their attempt to meld jazz and classical forms once more reveals this marriage rarely works because the two musical genres are built upon entirely different and conflicting musical objectives. The foundation for jazz is improvisation, while classical rarely strays from the written note. Despite Peplowski's masterful playing and Loren Schoenberg's solid backing with his all-star band, the piece crashes on the rocks of pretentiousness. Another original, Ben Aronov's "Deep," is far more interesting featuring Peplowski's tenor, not his clarinet, that is featured on this piece. The highlight of the album, however, is "Royal Garden Blues" with Schoenberg's group roaring behind Peplowki's hot clarinet, jam session style. This piece also gives some members of the band a chance to shine with each of the trombonists -- especially the ageless Eddie Bert -- getting some solo space along with the trumpet of John Eckert. Duke Ellington's 1962 "Purple Gazelle" offers imaginative exchanges between Peploswki's clarinet, Schoenberg's tenor, Chuck Redd's drums, and Aronov's piano. But overall this album falls short of what we have come to expect from a Ken Peplowski session.