Jen Chapin

"With songs delivered in a style that ranges from tender fragility to unexpected steeliness, Chapin brings a jazzy edge to the folk form. Sometimes she explores a fleeting emotion, sometimes she weaves a solid narrative—not at all surprising from the daughter of Harry Chapin, a master musical storyteller.” The New Yorker

jenchapin.com

videos:
"Gospel" https://youtu.be/GZgfOTrkraY
“Go Away” https://youtu.be/8LIoUgrx1y0
“Paris” (lyric video) https://youtu.be/ld0E5Rynkx8
“Let it Show” https://americansongwriter.com/video-jen-chapin-celebrates-mothers-day-let-show/
“Reckoning” https://youtu.be/gJ_4RN6bs_0
“Feed Your Baby” https://youtu.be/J3hc8OUNOs8

Jen Chapin has been celebrated for writing “brilliant soulfully poetic urban folk music” (NPR) for three decades, attracting notice with her debut, Open Wide, in 2002. Nurtured in and around NYC by a large family of artists, writers, and musicians, Jen's “observant, lyrically deft, politically aware and emotionally intuitive” (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) songwriting features both her "extraordinary voice” (De krenten uit de pop, The Netherlands) and “astonishing jazz band” (popmatters), the combination of which has garnered her well-deserved praise, solidified by appearances on Late Nite with Conan O’Brien, NPR’s Mountain Stage, WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, WFUV's Sunday Breakfast with John Platt, Mary Sue Twohy's Folk Village and the Bob Edwards Show on Sirius Satellite.

As much as an artistic legacy, the roots of Jen's upbringing have inspired her "potent, jazzy, layered folk" (Newsday) songs and a lifetime of passionate activism, through ongoing work with WhyHunger (founded by her late father Harry Chapin), and teaching high school global history in Brooklyn. She has performed on stage with Bruce Springsteen, on bills with Aimee Mann, Bruce Hornsby, and The Neville Brothers, and her rendition of Van Morrison's "Into The Mystic" was featured in an episode of the SyFy TV series "Defiance". Jen Chapin's 2013 release Reckoning, produced and engineered by five-time GRAMMY© Winner Kevin Killen (U2, Elvis Costello, Kate Bush) was named among the best Americana albums of that year by the Examiner and awarded First Prize, Lyrics category by the USA Songwriting Competition (for the song "Go Away").

Her latest trio album Desert or Sea was released in summer 2019. Jen has also developed "Essential Stories" -- a theatrical concert comprising two decades of songwriting --sculpted into an intimate autobiographical narrative of family roots, parenting, ambition/ambivalence and politics. Since 2023, she has led the “J. Chapes Jazz Band”, playing spontaneous traditional arrangements from the classic American songbook. In 2025, Jen premiered a new show — Anything Goes, and How Did We Get Here? using songs and storytelling to illuminate how we have arrived at our current political moment, and highlight hopeful solutions.

As a touring artist, Jen performs most frequently as the Jen Chapin Trio, featuring GRAMMY© nominated bassist Stephan Crump and “impeccable melodist” (New York Times) Jamie Fox on electric guitar.

Additional acclaim:

“a surefire gem: the kind of carefully-crafted and sophisticated pop that used to be associated with Paul Simon. Yeah, it’s that good.” Will Layman, popmatters

“Jen Chapin faces her ‘Reckoning’ [with] her lush new recording which blends elements of jazz, folk and rock…” Los Angeles Times

“…potent, jazzy, layered…” Glenn Gamboa, Newsday

“Reckoning presents the singer at her most mature and most incisive artistically.. a winner.” - Mark S. Tucker, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange

“speaks to her formidable — and ever-developing– talents as a songwriter and a storyteller.” - Peter Chianca, Wicked Local

“Like a good novelist, it isn't in the climactic scenes that Jen Chapin's talents shine but in turning the mundanity of everyday life into delicate lyrical poems.” - Chris Griffy, Examiner

Jen Chapin Discography:
Reckoning (2013) “the most mature and satisfying album of her career…stunningly brilliant…Reckoning is a subtle, sophisticated recording that grows in stature with each listening and is well worth your consideration.” Robert Myers, Elmore Magazine
ReVisions: Songs of Stevie Wonder (2009) “sophisticated ..little short of miraculous” - The Sunday Times
Light of Mine (2008) “crossing multiple musical boundaries ..mesmerizing” -- Time Out London
Ready (2006) “supremely confident, slightly off-center, and instantly compelling." -- River Cities’ Reader
Linger (2004) “uncommon wit and sweetly supple singing” - Entertainment Weekly
Open Wide (2002) “cool ..spare funkiness” - Washington Post