For Immediate Release: Contact: David Kuehn, Executive Director Cotuit Center for the Arts Phone: (508) 428-0669 Email: [email protected] Website: ArtsOnTheCape.org

Provincetown Jazz Festival at Cotuit Center for the Arts The Provincetown Jazz Festival returns to Cotuit Center for the Arts on Monday, August 14, at 7:30 Pm. The festival, which offers some of the best jazz to be heard anywhere, features Ken Peplowski on clarinet, vocalist Alta DeChamplain, pianist Matt DeChamplain, bassist Ron Ormsby, and drummer Bart Weisman, the founder and executive producer of the festival. “We’re excited to be back at Cotuit,” said Weisman, “There is a great appreciation for jazz across the Cape, and we’re happy to bring some outstanding musicians here to play.” Described by Russell Davies of BBC2, as “arguably the greatest living jazz clarinetist,” Ken Peplowski has performed and/or recorded with such greats as Mel Torme, Rosemary Clooney, Peggy Lee, Woody Allen, Benny Goodman, and Madonna. He travels at least half of every year and has appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival, Hollywood Bowl, and Carnegie Hall. He has recorded approximately 50 CDs as a soloist and close to 400 as a sideman. “When you grow up in Cleveland, Ohio, playing in a Polish polka band, you learn to think fast on your feet,” Peplowski writes on his website. Peplowski played his first pro engagement when he was still in elementary school. “From my first time performing in public, I knew I wanted to play music for a living.” Performing gigs virtually every weekend throughout high school, Peplowksi writes, “That’s where I learned to improvise, ‘fake’ songs, learn about chord changes, etc. It’s exactly like learning to swim by being thrown into the water! “If something interests me, I try to put my own spin on it, without thinking or worrying about playing in any particular style. Basically, I like a challenge, I’m a sucker for a good melody, and I love playing for audiences, big or small.” Peplowski will be accompanied by Matt DeChamplain, Ormsby, and Weisman. Singer Alta DeChamplain and pianist Matt DeChamplain will open the concert. High school sweethearts, their love for jazz brought them together. “We loved the same musicians—Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Jon Hendricks, Na King Cole,” writes Alta, “Jazz was really the foundation of our friendship….and we have had an amazing journey together.” Matt has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz, Berks Jazz Festival, New York’s JVC Jazz Festival, the Berklee Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center and renowned jazz clubs. In 2015, the couple completed their debut album, “Pause,” which features songs from the Great American Songbook. Matt teaches at the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School of Music. Alta teaches jazz voice at Western Connecticut State University. They also present high school and college-level clinics for developing musicians. A portion of the proceeds of the festival will be donated to worthy causes, including Cape Conservatory’s Jazz in the Schools program. Tickets are $30, $25 for members. Premium tables with wine are available. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit artsonthecape.org, or call 508-428-0669. Cotuit Center for the Arts is at 4404 Route 28 in Cotuit. # # # What: Provincetown Jazz Festival at Cotuit Center for the Arts

Where: Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Route 28, Cotuit

When: Monday, August 14, 7:30 PM

Admission: $30, $25 for members

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