Clarinettist and saxophonist Ken Peplowski learned how to improvise as a child in a Polish polka band in Cleveland, Ohio, not in a jazz basement in Chicago or New York. Maybe the experience sharpened both his musical reactions and his sense of humour, because Peplowski has been one of the most popular jazz-playing entertainers on the mainstream-to-bebop circuit for more than three decades. He learned to play clarinet in the richly melodic style of Benny Goodman and the veteran Goodman even hired his young clarinet heir when he came out of retirement to tour in 1984. Peplowski has played on Woody Allen movie soundtracks, on recordings with Peggy Lee and many more. This tour's pairing with British multi-reeds star Alan Barnes joins not only two jazz virtuosos, but two consummate deadpan wits as well.
• Pinner Parish Church, Harrow, Sat; Pizza Express Jazz Club, W1, Tue; The Y, Leicester, Wed
