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Special Engagement: Ken Peplowski-Katie Thiroux Quartet
December 7, 2019 @ 7:30 pm
110 E Roosevelt St,
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA Buy Tickets
About This Event
ALL SEATS RESERVED: $50 VIP, $41 Preferred, $36 General, $16 Students (25 & under w/ ID, General seating only)
Plus processing costs
Ken Peplowski-sax/clarinet | Glenn Zaleski-piano | Katie Thiroux-bass/vocals | Matt Witek-drums
Since the 1990s, Ken Peplowski has been one of the top clarinetists in jazz as well as a very talented tenor player. He made his professional debut at ten and played locally in Cleveland in a Polish polka band with his brother Ted. After a year of college, he joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and spent 1978-1980 touring with them. Peplowski met Sonny Stitt while on the road with the Dorsey band and studied with him. In 1980, Peplowski settled in New York and freelanced. In 1984, Benny Goodman came out of retirement, put together a new band, hiring Peplowski on tenor saxophone. In 1987 he signed to Concord, for which he released ten of his own albums — including titles with Charlie Byrd, Scott Hamilton, and Howard Alden, and appeared as a sideman on dates by Mel Tormé, Susanna McCorkle, George Shearing, and Hank Jones. His 1992 collaborative set, Groovin’ High, with Hamilton and Spike Robinson was critically acclaimed and nominated for several jazz awards. Peplowski has always been a favorite collaborator for vocalists, working with everyone from Peggy Lee and Rosemary Clooney to Madonna and Cuban vocalist Isaac Delgado. Over the next several years Peplowski recorded and performed with a number of singers including Carol Welsman, Cheryl Bentyne, Nicki Parrott, and Katie Thiroux. In 2014, he was the recipient of the Sarasota Jazz Festival’s “Satchmo” award for his “unique and enduring contribution to the living history of jazz.” (For full artist bio, click here).
A triple threat talent, Katie Thiroux has garnered considerable attention for her bravura bass playing, assured singing and compelling compositions. Her most recent album, “Off Beat,” from Grammy nominated label, Capri Records, collected rave reviews and was awarded a “Best Album Of 2017” by Downbeat Magazine and is featured on Emirates Airlines. With the release of her debut album, “Introducing Katie Thiroux” (2015), her substantial gifts as a bandleader and recording artist came center stage. Audiences and critics agree as the release received many awards including “Debut Record of the Year” from the Huffington Post, All About Jazz, Jazz Journalists Association and “Top 5 Debut Records of the Year” from NPR Jazz Critics Poll. Other accolades include being a 2015 semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk Competition, featured on WBGO’s “The Checkout,” Downbeat Magazine “Player Profile” and NPR feature.
Thiroux’s unique gift of simultaneously balancing sultry vocals and virtuosic bass playing leaves audiences worldwide in awe. In the words of music icon Quincy Jones, “This girl is IT!”
It is her passionate belief that exposure to jazz history, culture and styles is vital in keeping the music alive and thriving. Katie’s swinging bass, clear vocals and inspired instrumental arrangements are reflective of her musical idols both past and present. Katie Thiroux’s knowledge, perseverance and fervor for the music make her a rising star in today’s scene. (For full artist bio, click here).