Katharine Whalen

Singer and banjo and ukulele player Katharine Whalen is recognized for her smoky, Billie Holiday-esque vocals, both as a solo artist and as a founding member of the 1920s jazz and swing revival group the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Whalen and the Zippers hit the Zeitgeist in the 1990s, 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...