“Jimbo” Mathus (vocal and guitar), Katharine Whalen (vocals, banjo, ukulele) , Chris Phillips (drums) and Don Raleigh (bass) are the brilliant musicians that make up one of my favorite bands, The Squirrel Nut Zippers. A modern day group that evokes thoughts of Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, and at times Tom Waits, The Squirrel Nut Zippers mix jazz, swing, bluegrass, ska, and blues with a little bit of theatrics to create music that can relax or enliven you at any moment.

The first time I heard a song by The Squirrel Nut Zippers, my dad had just purchased their CD and had put it on before dinner. I distinctly remember hearing the opening brass of “The Suits are Picking Up the Bill” from 1998’s Perennial Favorites and thinking that this was the type of band I wanted to play in. It was like they put all of my favorite parts of jazz songs I had heard and mixed and matched them into an album just for me. From track one to track twelve, Perennial Favorites is still one of my favorite albums of all time.

The Squirrel Nut Zippers’ song that I am always down to rock out to is entitled “The Ghost of Stephen Foster” and is on Perennial Favorites. Don’t get me wrong, the other eight studio albums they have are full of great songs, I just have a soft spot for this album, and this song sticks in particular. The video is an old school silent cartoon interpretation of the song and the song, oh the song. The song is 3:32 of big band magic, with eery violin provided by Andrew Bird, and the rest of the Squirrel Nut Zippers shining through in their own way. The driving beat of the drums, accompanied by the bounce of the deep brass, are seamlessly complimented by the crazed vocals of “Jimbo” Mathis and hellish backup vocals of the other members of the band. This creates a frenzied pace that lasts the whole song.

Get ready to jump out of your seat and dance, but make sure you watch the video too, you won’t regret it. Here is the video for “Ghost of Stephen Foster” by The Squirrel Nut Zippers.