Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Beryl Booker was born on June 7, 1922 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and studied piano as a child. She played with Slam Stewart’s trio in 1946, playing off and on with him until 1951 and accompanied Dinah Washington.
In early 1952, Booker led a quintet that featured Don Elliot, Chuck Wayne, Clyde Lombard and Connie Kay. She recorded several sessions with Miles Davis and by 1953 had formed a trio with two female musicians – Bonnie Wetzel and Elaine Leighton. This group toured Europe in 1954 as part of the show “Jazz Club USA”, which featured Billie Holiday.
After another stint with Dinah Washington in 1959, she slipped into obscurity, however, in the 1970s she re-emerged to play and record with small groups.
On September 30, 1978, swing pianist Beryl Booker passed away at age 56.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Nelson Riddle was born Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. on June 1, 1921 in Oradell, New Jersey and later moved with his family to Ridgewood. He began taking piano lessons at age eight and trombone lessons by age fourteen. After his graduation from high school Nelson spent his late teens and early 20s playing trombone in and occasionally arranging for various local dance bands, culminating in his association with the Charlie Spivak Orchestra.
In 1943, Riddle joined the Merchant Marines, studied orchestration under Alan Shuman, joined Tommy Dorsey in 1941, drafted into WWII shortly before the end of the war. Upon discharge he moved to Hollywood and started his arranging career for radio and record projects.
In 1950, Riddle was hired by composer Les Baxter to write arrangements for a recording session with Nat King Cole, becoming his first association with Capitol Records. He would go on to work with Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Kate Smith, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Keely Smith, Sue Raney, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney, Ed Townsend and Frank Sinatra, who reluctantly but successfully re-launched his career with the Riddle arrangement of “I’ve Got The World On A String”.
Riddle would arrange for such films as High Society with Bing Crosby and Paint Your Wagon with Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg, in conjunction to leading his successful orchestra.
Arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator Nelson Riddle, whose career spanned over four decades, passed away on October 6, 1985 of cardiac and kidney failure at age 64.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Herbie Fields was born May 24, 1919 in Asbury Park, New Jersey and attended Juilliard School of Music. He served two years in the Army during WWII until 1943. He began recording in 1944 with two sides for Bob Thiele’s Signature label and over the next year and a half he recorded for Savoy, and shared a date with “Rubberlegs” Williams that featured teenaged Miles Davis’ recording debut.
Fields replaced Earl Bostic as alto saxophonist in Lionel Hampton’s band and was fluent in a variety of reed instruments, from clarinet to baritone saxophone. In 1945, he won Esquire Magazine’s New Star Award on the Alto Sax. In 1946, RCA Victor signed Fields as leader of his own big band.
Herbie would lead the big band with sidemen Neal Hefti, Bill Evans, Eddie Bert, Manny Albam, Marty Napoleon and Serge Chaloff among others and Dardanella was their biggest hit. He formed a septet in 1949 based in Chicago that backed numerous stage shows and in 1950 accompanied Billie Holiday 3-month East Coast tour.
Fields gravitated toward an R& B conception in the Fifties without success and recorded sporadically. He moved to Miami, Florida, opened a restaurant and on September 17, 1958 alto saxophonist Herbie Fields died of an overdose of sleeping pills at his home.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ken Peplowski was born May 23, 1959 in Cleveland, Ohio. He began playing clarinet and saxophone in Polish polka bands as a child and played his first professional gig while still in elementary school. With his trumpeter brother they played local radio and television shows, dances and weddings all through high school. By his teens Ken was experimenting with jazz, playing in the school bands, jamming with the local jazz musicians and teaching at the local music store.
After a year of college, he joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow. It was during this time that he met Sonny Stitt who became a great inspiration. In 1980 Peplowski moved to New York City and played from Dixieland to avant-garde jazz. He would work for Benny Goodman, recorded some 20 albums for Concord Records, toured around the world, recorded film soundtracks and most recently signed with Nagel-Heyer Records.
His collaborations include Mel Tormé, Leon Redbone, Charlie Byrd, Peggy Lee, Madonna, George Shearing, Hank Jones, Rosemary Clooney, Tom Harrell, James Moody, Cedar Walton, Houston Person, Steve Allen and Woody Allen among others. Jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Ken Peplowski continues to perform, tour, record, conduct student workshops, has been named the jazz advisor for the Oregon Festival of American Music and music director at the Jazz Party at the Shedd.
Clarinetist and tenor saxophonist Ken Peplowski passed away quietly in his cabin on February 2, 2026 while participating in the Jazz Cruise aboard the Celebrity Summit sailing in the Gulf of Mexico.
Daily Dose Of Jazz….
Elaine Leighton was born on May 22, 1926 in New York City and while in high school she was in the same class as Stan Getz and Shorty Rogers. Early in her career around 1949 Leighton worked with Jackie Cain and Roy Kral. She then went to work with Ann Mae Winburn who led the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.
In the mid-Fifties Leighton would play in a trio with pianist Carl Drinkard and accompanied Billie Holiday, recording with her on several sessions including the 1954 Koln live recording. She would be part of an all female trio with bassist Bonnie Wetzel and pianist/singer Beryl Booker. Following a European tour Elaine started freelancing in New York, from 1957 to 1959, then led her own trio.
She has worked with Buddy DeFranco and Red Norvo, was a part of the Jazz USA tour with Clark Terry, Lucky Thompson, Tal Farlow, Kenny Clarke, Terry Pollard, Norma Carson and Mary Osborne, and recorded as a part of the Leonard Feather “Cats vs. Chicks” sessions for MGM. Drummer Elaine Leighton never led a recording session but performed on many classic recording dates but no longer performs at the age of 91.
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