**Grammy-winning bassist, composer and educator John Clayton is stepping into the role of interim artistic director for the Oregon Coast Jazz Party this year.** (Oregon Coast Today)

By Oregon Coast TODAY

For more than two decades, some of the brightest names in jazz have converged on the central Oregon coast for a weekend built around one simple idea: put great musicians together and see what happens.

That tradition will continue when the 22nd annual Oregon Coast Jazz Party returns to the Newport Performing Arts Center beginning Friday, Oct. 2, through Sunday, Oct. 4. The event brings 13 musicians together for four sessions of ever-changing ensembles, improvisation and musical conversation. The four sessions begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2; 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3; and 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4.

But this year’s party will have a bittersweet note.

The 2026 event will serve as a tribute to the late Ken Peplowski, the internationally acclaimed clarinetist and saxophonist whose musicianship, humor and ability to bring extraordinary players together helped shape the party for the past five years. Peplowski, 66, died unexpectedly Feb. 1 on the final day a Jazz Cruise ’26 in the Gulf of Mexico.

Grammy-winning bassist, composer and educator John Clayton will step into the role of interim artistic director, leading a lineup that spans multiple generations of jazz musicians.

Clayton will perform during all four sessions alongside pianist Taylor Eigsti, bassist and vocalist Katie Thiroux and drummer Jeff Hamilton.

They will be joined throughout the weekend by flutist Holly Hofmann, clarinetist Jacob Scesney, tenor saxophonist and vocalist Camille Thurman, trumpeters Terell Stafford and Byron Stripling, guitarist Anthony Wilson, pianist Randy Porter, drummer Darrell Green and student tenor saxophonist Kiara Rouse.

For longtime Jazz Party fans, Hofmann’s appearance marks a particularly fitting return. She served as artistic director from 2006 through 2018, then co-led the event with Peplowski in 2019. Peplowski subsequently served as sole artistic director from 2021 through 2025.

Rather than presenting a succession of conventional concerts, the Jazz Party format mixes and matches musicians throughout the weekend, creating different combinations and giving performers room to respond to one another in the moment.

Throughout its more-than-20-year history, the Oregon Coast Jazz Party has attracted jazz lovers from throughout the Pacific Northwest and across the country, pairing nationally and internationally recognized performers with the informal atmosphere that gives a jazz party its name.

This year, that tradition will also provide an opportunity for musicians and audiences to remember Peplowski by carrying forward the kind of musical collaboration he championed.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to coastarts.org/jazz or call 541-265-2787.