Clarinetist tips hat to legends.

Byline: Paul Denison The Register-Guard

Ken Peplowski, a globe-trotting musician from New York City, will pay tribute to swing and big band clarinetists Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Woody Herman tonight, playing with Steve Stone and the Emerald City Jazz Kings in the Shedd Concert Hall, 285 E. Broadway.

Titled "Clarinet Marmalade," the 7:30 p.m. program is part of the Now Hear This concert series presented by the Oregon Festival of American Music.

This will be the fourth OFAM appearance for the 45-year-old Peplowski, who once played in the Tommy Dorsey Band led by Buddy Morrow and a few years later played tenor sax in Goodman's last touring orchestra.

"Benny was very demanding on the musicians and on himself," Peplowski says. "I think he was as great a figure to the clarinet as Louis Armstrong was to the trumpet.

`He was an astounding virtuoso with incredible technique and a thorough knowledge of chords and rhythm. He did a lot of things harmonically that were way ahead of his time."

New York Times critic John Wilson has described Peplowski as "a clarinetist with a Benny Goodman tone and a Buddy DeFranco style." Peplowski has performed and recorded with Mel Torme, Charlie Byrd, Peggy Lee, Hank Jones, Woody Allen and Rosemary Clooney. He also has made 16 solo albums.

For his Concord Records solo debut, "Double Exposure" (1988), he played both clarinet and tenor sax. "The Natural Touch" (1992) was honored as jazz record of the year at the Prises Deutschen Schallplatten Kritik, the German equivalent of the Grammy Awards.

Peplowski's most recent albums for Koch Records are "All This ... Vol. I' and "...And Heaven, Too, Vol. II.' Both CDs were recorded live in London. They were released in January 2001 and January 2002.

CONCERT PREVIEW

Ken Peplowski with Steve Stone and the Emerald City Jazz Kings

When: 7:30 tonight

Where: The Shedd, 285 E. Broadway

Tickets: $22 to $30

CAPTION(S):

Ken Peplowski will solo tonight as the Emerald City Jazz Kings salute the great big band clarinetists.