INFORMATION FOR
Saxophonist and clarinetist Ken Peplowski, one of the virtuoso woodwind players in jazz today, brings his trio to William Paterson University in Wayne for the opening concert of the fall 2024 Jazz Room series on Sunday, September 29.
The concert begins at 3 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing Arts on campus. The Jazz Room, William Paterson University’s long-running performance series, will feature a wide variety of today’s most exciting jazz musicians during the fall season. Upcoming performances include Victor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers on Friday, October 4; New York Voices with the William Paterson Jazz Orchestra on Sunday, November 17; vibraphonist Warren Wolf on Sunday, November 24; and pianist Oscar Hernandez and Alma Libre on Sunday, December 8.
Peplowski has performed on the world’s jazz stages for many years, and he continues to come up with fresh, new versions of the popular song and jazz standards that have made him so well known. His early studies were with the legendary saxophonist Sonny Stitt, and his early touring was with the Teddy Wilson Trio and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra led by Buddy Morrow. He has been a headliner at the Newport Jazz Festival, in Las Vegas venues, and at many European festivals, and has played soundtracks to numerous Woody Allen movies. Peplowski has collaborated with Cedar Walton, Tom Harrell, Madonna, Steve Allen, James Moody, George Shearing, and many others. This drummer-less trio presents Peplowski in an almost chamber music setting, in the style of such historic clarinetists as Benny Goodman, Buddy DeFranco, and others.
The concert will be preceded by “Sittin’ In,” the Jazz Room’s accompanying “meet the artist” concert preview featuring interviews with jazz artists and guest speakers. This informal discussion, free to all Jazz Room ticketholders, begins at 2:00 p.m. in the Shea Recital Hall.
Tickets are $20 for the general public, $18 for WP faculty, staff, alumni, and senior citizens, and $10 for non-WP students. WP students are admitted free with ID. For tickets or additional information, visit wp-presents.org, or contact the Shea Center Box Office at 973.720.2371 or boxoffice@wpunj.edu.
William Paterson University’s Jazz Room series is the longest-running program of its kind in the United States. Launched in 1978, the Jazz Room has welcomed more than 500 jazz legends to the stage, including Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Joe Williams, Marian McPartland, Slide Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett, Clark Terry, Michael and Randy Brecker, the Vanguard Orchestra, and more. Concerts have encompassed the entire spectrum of jazz, from early jazz and swing to avant garde, and from intimate solo performances to big bands.
The performance series provides support for the University’s internationally renowned Jazz Studies Program, founded in 1973. The program draws students from across the United States and abroad under the current direction of Grammy Award-winning pianist Bill Charlap.
The Jazz Room at William Paterson University has been made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
