Ron Odrich didn't start the clarinet the way most people do. As a kid, he snuck the clarinet off the stand in his father's house (his dad was a professional doubler), soaked the reed, and taught himself the opening glissando from Rhapsody in Blue entirely by ear. No teacher. No sheet music. No idea what the notes were called.

By the time his father found out, Ron could already play it. His father called in a teacher the same day. That intuitive, ears-first relationship with the instrument never left him. And in this third installment of Jay Hassler's conversation with Ron Odrich, you hear where it led: to first chair at Bryant High School without being able to read clarinet notation, to a meeting with Buddy DeFranco at Birdland at age 12, to serious classical study with Bob Marcellus, playing with the Airmen of Note, to hearing Charlie Parker live at the Three Deuces and eventually meeting Bird backstage, and through a 15-year hiatus before finding his way back through a chance connection with Eddie Daniels.

Along the way, Ron and Jay get into what it actually means to play jazz by ear rather than by formula. What separates the musicians who are "playing the song" from those who are just running patterns over chord changes. And what it feels like to play an instrument so fluently that there are no obstacles. This is the Clarinet Ninja Podcast, hosted by Jay Hassler.

If you're an adult clarinet player looking to get better, check out the Clarinet Ninja Dojo: https://www.clarinetninja.com/dojo-landing

On February 2, 2026, Ken Peplowski played his last notes aboard The Jazz Cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. He was 66 years old, he was in the middle of a comeback, and by all accounts he sounded extraordinary.

The next day, he was gone. In this episode of the Clarinet Ninja Podcast, Jay Hassler sits down with three of the greatest jazz clarinetists alive: Anat Cohen, Paquito D'Rivera, and Evan Christopher. Anat and Paquito were on that cruise. All three played many times with Ken. Anat and Paquito night before he died.

What follows is not an obituary. It is a portrait, built from the memories of people who knew Ken on the bandstand and off it. They talk about his sound, his humor, his Midwestern humility, his extraordinary repertoire, and what it felt like to stand next to someone who made every musician around him better.

This episode covers the final performance on the Jazz Cruise, Ken's tone and technique as described by three world-class clarinetists, his unique place in the long history of jazz clarinet, his years-long battle with multiple myeloma, his planned comeback, and the legacy he leaves for anyone who plays or loves the clarinet. Ken Peplowski recorded more than 70 albums as a leader, played with Benny Goodman, performed at Carnegie Hall and Birdland, and was called by many the greatest living jazz clarinetist.

He was also, by every account in this episode, one of the funniest and most generous people in jazz. As Evan Christopher says near the end of this conversation: "He wasn't trying to sell anything. He was just trying to deliver."

Find Ken's recordings on all major streaming platforms. Start anywhere. You will know within thirty seconds that you are hearing someone who knew exactly what he was doing.

Guests: Anat Cohen, Paquito D'Rivera, Evan Christopher

Topics: Ken Peplowski, jazz clarinet, The Jazz Cruise, multiple myeloma, Benny Goodman Orchestra, swing jazz, clarinet tone and technique, jazz history, jazz tribute The Clarinet Ninja Podcast is hosted by Jay Hassler and covers clarinet performance, jazz history, and the stories of the musicians who dedicate their lives to the instrument. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Lee Mergner: https://leemergner.substack.com/

John Abbot: https://johnabbottphoto.com/

Cory Weeds/Cellar Records: https://www.cellarlive.com/

Clarinet Ninja: https://www.clarinetninja.com/

Clarinet Ninja Dojo: https://www.clarinetninja.com/dojo-landing

What does it take to build a career on an instrument that modern jazz largely left behind?

Virginia MacDonald grew up the daughter of one of Canada's most celebrated jazz saxophonists - sitting in smoky Toronto clubs at age four, surrounded by musicians like Neil Swainson and Pat Larbara as if they were just the neighbors. She picked up the clarinet at six because she thought the keys looked like buttons. Nobody told her the instrument had a problem. By the time she figured out that almost nobody was hiring clarinet players for contemporary jazz groups, she'd already decided she was going to make it work. In this conversation, Virginia talks about growing up in an artistic household, learning jazz by ear instead of out of books, her complicated relationship with her first classical clarinet teacher, and how transcribing Kenny Dorham and Clifford Brown solos, instead of clarinet players, helped her find her own voice on the instrument.

We also dig into her debut album as a bandleader, her collaboration with bass clarinetist/composer Todd Marcus, and the philosophy behind her compositions.

Topics covered:

Growing up in Toronto with a jazz legend father and visual artist mother

Choosing the clarinet at age six ("I thought they were buttons")

Learning jazz by ear and why structured practice felt foreign

The barrage: her first classical clarinet teacher at 15

Why she transcribed trumpet players, not clarinet players Kenny Dorham, Clifford Brown, and the In and Out record that changed her playing

The shrinking clarinet lineage in jazz and what she did about it Her debut album on Cellar Music, including Last Call at Dimitri's and Eternal Return of the Same

Her "Frankenstein" R13 and the crystal mouthpiece she hated for two weeks before never going back

Practicing on the road: why it's a blessing and a curse Links:

Virginia MacDonald's website: https://virginiamacdonald.ca/

Album on Bandcamp: https://virginiamacdonald.bandcamp.com/album/in-search-of

Cellar Music label: https://www.cellarlive.com/

Stream everywhere: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal

Clarinet Ninja Dojo (adult clarinet learning): https://www.clarinetninja.com/dojo-landing

Book a free session with Jay: https://calendly.com/theclarinetninja/30min