Katharine Whalen

Singer, banjo, and ukulele player Katharine Whalen is recognized for her smokey, Billie Holiday-esque vocals, both as a solo artist and founding member of the 1920s jazz and swing revival group the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Whalen and the Zippers hit the zeitgeist in the '90s, charting on the Billboard 200 and scoring the hit "Hot." At the same time, she launched a solo career, interpreting standards with her group Katharine Whalen's Jazz Squad, and on pop albums like 2006's Dirty Little Secret and 2011's Madly Love. She has also recorded with Andrew Bird and Stephin Merritt, and continued to lead her Jazz Squad, as on 2021's To Hide a Heart That's Blue and 2024's Chet Baker-inspired Let's Get Lost: Songs Chet Sang.