Katharine Whalens Jazz Squad - Lets Get Lost: Songs Chet Sang

Katharine Whalen of Squirrel Nut Zippers fame, makes a triumphant return with her Jazz Squad featuring Austin Riopel on guitar, Danny Grewen on trombone, and the great Griffanzo on piano. This time the chanteuse delivers an entire album of breezy west coast jazz sounds in the form of a tribute to Chet Baker.

It was around 1996 when Katharine Whalen first made her grand entrance onto culture’s collective radar as the sultry, yet effervescent voice of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, where she remained until their initial disbandment around the turn of the century. In addition to the Zippers putting dixieland jazz on the pop charts in the 1990s, they sneakily introduced an unsuspecting "alternative" crowd to jazz music. Her cultural impact was also felt when she voiced the song "You You You You You" a standout track from Stephin Merritt's (The Magnetic Fields) project titled The 6ths. That song would also find its way into commercials and the film Pieces of April.

After recording one solo album for Mammoth Records shortly after leaving the Zippers, Whalen stepped out of the public eye. However, she’s remained very much in the spotlight of one unique small town; Hillsborough, NC, which has been referred to as Twin Peaks meets Northern Exposure. It’s a surreal literary, liberal Mayberry. If you find yourself in this Southern portal, you can find Katharine Whalen's Jazz Squad playing monthly in a cocktail bar appropriately named Yonder. On most nights, the Modern Harmonic staff is in attendance. Katharine's Squad is the always–stellar crew of trombone player Danny Grewen, guitarist Austin Riopel, and the colorful Griffanzo on piano.

Prior to this album, the Jazz Squad had recorded a largely self-released album that, by chance, turned out to be mostly Billie Holiday covers. This Chet Baker-centric album happened quite the same way. Katharine has always had an affinity for Chet's take on songs and took inspiration from him on some of her own takes. It wasn't until sitting down to decide on song selections for the recording session that it was discovered that all of the compositions were ones that Chet had also either sung or played. It sort of happened on its own in this strange little town down yonder.

Almost next door to their monthly jazz hole is Mayor Tom Steven's art gallery. It too feels like David Lynch lore, as the walls are covered with nude paintings by the former mayor; one might be of your cashier at the local grocery co-op, or your neighbor. It was in this odd little studio in this odd little town that the cover photo was taken. The album itself was recorded in an old chapel in Hillsborough by North Carolinian royalty, Jerry Kee (Polvo, Superchunk, The Kingsbury Manx). The church now calls itself Eno House — with how peculiar this town is, you might think it'd be named after Brian Eno, but it's actually due to its proximity to the Eno River. Each song was recorded with the band all playing together in the same room, the way the old jazz records used to be put to tape.