Chapin brings sense of adventure

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 The singer/songwriter loves the local club Cedars. By JOHN BENSON VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT In concert, the music of singer/songwriter Jen Chapin demands a certain intimacy and understanding that is often best found in jazz clubs. However, she admits when her touring schedule includes a stop in Youngstown, there's a favorite venue she just can't pass up. You can see Chapin — along with husband/bassist Stephan Crump and guitarist Jamie Fox (no, not Jamie Foxx) — Thursday at Cedars Lounge. "I like playing jazz clubs because there's a certain culture of listening and being ready for surprises," said Chapin, calling from New York City. "Cedars is definitely more of a rock environment that I wouldn't normally favor but I just happen to love the place and the people. They make it work." Despite the fact Chapin, who is the daughter of '70s singer Harry Chapin, is supporting her fourth album "Ready," in many ways she's still fighting for notoriety as an up-and-coming artist with an instantly recognizable last name. "I've been working on breaking through and getting my name out there for a long time and I definitely have some name recognition because of my dad, but it seems to work both ways," Chapin said. "He had a funny kind of celebrity. The people who knew him, they knew him very well and he was everything. But then most people didn't know him. It's sort of similar, just on a much smaller scale for me." Thankfully, her father's big hit "Cat's in the Cradle" is obviously about a boy. So at least she doesn't constantly have to live down the notion that the song about distant fatherhood involves her relationship with her dad, who died in a car crash 25 years ago this summer. Slow and steady As for as her music career, it's been a slow and steady road for the blues-inspired singer, who began performing as part of the Manhattan club scene in the late '90s. "There are pros and cons to my songwriting process," Chapin said. "The negatives are I'm really slow, it's really painful and I don't follow that whole songwriting culture of just churning them out and keeping the wheels greased. The good part is when I do actually get something out, it tends to be something I believe in." Chapin stressed this is definitely the case with "Ready," which was written and recorded during her pregnancy with son Maceo Duva Crump. Evident on the 11-track album is a sense of deliberate urgency that lent to studio experimentation. Arguably it's Chapin's most raw and in-the-moment album to date. As for the Jen Chapin trio live show, there's a notion of adventure that begets the aforementioned intimacy. "I hope people are ready to be taken on a journey," Chapin said. "I'm not interested on setting one groove or one mood. Some of the songs are kind of sexy, some are thoughtful, some are high energy, some are introspective. So there's a spectrum of emotions that I hope people will kind of enjoy with us."