Squirrel Nut Zippers singer Katherine Whalen is putting out a solo album May 25 titled "Katharine Whalen's Jazz Squad" and is planning a short tour with a band of the same name beginning in June. The group features three other members of the Zippers, namely co-founder Jim Mathus (vocals, guitar, trombone), Stu Cole (bass) and Je Widenhouse (trumpet) as well as another five local players from hometown Chapel Hill, NC, namely Robert Griffin, Ted Zaras, Cecil Johnson, John Kennedy and Mike Mingus.

A press release announcing the project notes that the shy Whalen has come a long way. The Squirrel Nut Zippers were not only her first band, but her appearances with them marked the first time she had sung in public at all.

The Zippers' Tom Maxwell is planning a solo album as well, but no recording dates are set and a producer has not been picked. Additionally, Maxwell has also penned a cover story on Ben Folds Five for the April issue of CMJ magazine, which sources say is very humorous.

Maxwell and Ken Mosher will both appear on several cuts on the pending Ben Folds Five album, "The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner," due in late April.

The Zippers themselves are expected to reconvene late this year, or early next.

In related news, Maxwell and producer John Plymale, who also was at the helm for Whelan's solo album, have put together an album called "Legacy," a tribute to the Zippers' former horn player Stacy Guess, who died a year ago this month. The record contains some of Guess's well known projects as well as his more avant garde work. It includes two Squirrel Nut Zippers songs previously only available on limited edition collector's items, as well as tracks by The Pressure Boys, Soma and Venus Flytrap Girls among others. The proceeds are being donated to a Stacy Guess scholarship fund. The album is due out March 18.