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After years of being the star of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Katharine decided it was time for a side project. The wonderful result is a CD called Katharine Whalen's Jazz Squad. She picked some great chestnuts, assembled some excellent musicians and the best engineer/producer and produced a chestnut herself. Then in the summer of '99 the band did a couple of tours and had a absolute ball playing great music and arrangements - not to mention that Katharine thrilled us every night. The musicians included fellow Zippers bassist Stu Cole and guitarist/husband Jimbo Mathus. Drummer Ted Zarras, who had been playing with Stu Cole in the Chicken Wire Gang for years, did a great job of groove control and showcasing the excellent arrangements. Cecil Johnson from Les Brown's Band of Renown was our featured soloist on saxophone. John Kennedy, who added his trombone on a couple of tunes on the CD, joined the band on the road, also gave us a kick in the butt. Of course, I was on the piano. Following Katharine's direction, we all did some pre recording arranging and then everyone contributed lots of ideas for the final take. The recording process was the best of old school. The band was well rehearsed. We just set up in a circle in the studio with two mics in the center of the room. That's right, straight to stereo recording. Katharine was isolated for sound control but we recorded straight to two mics and I think almost every cut is a first take. I know we did a few second takes just because it was such a pleasure to play together. A major story here is John Plymale, the engineer/producer on this project. As we warmed up and ran over the arrangements, John walked around the room and made subtle adjustments: move Stu a little to the left, Cecil take one step forward, now tweak a baffle in front of Ted. After a trip to the control room, he was back in the room doing a little more fine-tuning. But all of this was so seamless that we didn't realize that it had happened until after the fact. We just warmed up a little and then we played. It was pretty simple for us. What we played together is what you hear on the CD. What came out was that immediate present sound of the forties, re-creating the feel of a jazz club from another time. John Plymale is the Man. The recording came out on the Mammoth label, and this CD has some rabid fans. It was fun for me last year on tour with the Zippers to hear the Squad being played in restaurants and clubs all across the country, from San Francisco to Seattle and Boston to Miami. It's still in record stores so check it out. I expect you'll be hearing more from Katharine Whalen and the Jazz Squad! High Point News
Fallout Magazine 7/13/1999
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Do
the words Squirrel Nut Zippers mean anything to you? Katharine Whalen,
the Zippers' prize singer, decided to do a solo project that included
Zipper husband, Jimbo Mathus, and fellow Zipper bassist Stu Cole.
The rest of the band includes pianist Robert Griffin, saxophonist
Cecil Johnson, drummer Ted Zarras and John Kennedy on trombone. After
a very successful CD called Katharine Whalen's Jazz Squad,
the band, pictured here on tour, took a tour of the east coast. And
we know more will be heard from them later. The CD is available on
the Mammouth label.