Princeton Katzenjammers

The Princeton Katzenjammers
Also known as	The KJs
Origin	Princeton, NJ
Genres	Collegiate a cappella
Years active	1973–present
Website	www.theprincetonkatzenjammers.com

The Princeton Katzenjammers are the oldest co-educational collegiate a cappella group in the Ivy League.^[1][2][3][4] The group consists of fourteen to eighteen Princeton University students and holds auditions at the beginning of each semester. Its repertoire includes a wide variety of musical styles, with an emphasis on jazz, pop, and classical.

Their fifth album, "Midnight Comes Around" (1995), earned the group nominations in all Mixed Collegiate categories of the 1996 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards,^[5] winning the Best Arrangement award for Rick Hoffenberg '94's arrangement of Thelonious Monk's jazz standard "'Round Midnight," which was also selected for the "Best of College A Cappella" collection in 1996.^[6][7] CASA declared it "one of the finest vocal jazz tracks ever recorded by a collegiate group."^[8]

About the group

The group was founded by Peter Urquhart '74, a member of the Princeton Nassoons, and Mimi Danley '74, a member of the Princeton Tigerlilies, in 1973, the same year that undergraduate women first graduated from Princeton. The Katzenjammers joined four other Princeton a cappella singing groups in existence at the time: the Nassoons, Tigertones, Footnotes, and the Tigerlilies.^[9] These groups, along with the Tigressions, the Wildcats, and the Roaring Twenty, form Acaprez, an organization of eight Princeton University a cappella groups that organize arch sings and abide by regulations regarding the audition process and song ownership.^[10][11] The Katzenjammers have performed at numerous events on Princeton’s campus, in the surrounding community, across the United States and abroad. They participate in charitable events such as the 2014 "Sing Out for Shelter" benefit concert in Washington DC.^[12]

Origin of the name

Peter Urquhart recalls, "Somehow the name Katzenjammer came up, was overlooked briefly, and then considered again. I looked it up in the OED, and got excited about the confusion of meanings: 1. distress, depression; 2. a hangover, or symptoms of one; 3. a discordant clamor; 4. enfants terribles, as in the Katzenjammer Kids from the cartoon strip. Images of wailing, drinking, trouble-making, cats, jamming, Katz: a little degenerate maybe, but otherwise perfect. That was it!"^[13]

Music

The Katzenjammer repertoire spans a wide range of genres, including jazz, classical, secular, sacred, folk, and pop music,^[14] with over one hundred arrangements in the complete repertoire. Undergraduate members and alumni alike continue to contribute new arrangements at a regular pace. Two of Peter Urquhart's first arrangements written specifically for the Katzenjammers, "Ticket to Ride" and "Stoned Soul Picnic", remain traditional favorites and are always featured at reunions of Katzenjammer alumni.

Discography

• Take One, 1977 (LP)
• Double Take, 1984 (LP)
• Time after Time, 1989 (CD, Cassette)
• Sense and Muses, 1992 (CD, Cassette)
• Midnight Comes Around, 1995 (CD, Cassette) — On Broadway
• XXV: Twenty-Five Years of Coed A Cappella (25th Anniversary Compilation), 1998 (CD)
• Traffic Jam, 1998 (CD) — Route 66 • I Caught a Touch of Your Love
• Autumn Leaves, 2001 (CD) — Autumn Leaves • Misty • In the Mood • A Red, Red Rose • Do the Walls Come Down? • A Foggy Day
• Sassafras & Moonshine, 2004 (CD) — Stoned Soul Picnic • To Make You Feel My Love • You're No Good • In the Mood • Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas • O Magnum Mysterium
• Scratching Out a Tune, 2008 (CD) — Gospel Tropes • Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child • 'Round Midnight
• I Want It To Be, 2011 (Single)^[15][16]
• Thoughts of Reminiscing, 2013 (CD)
• Wonderland, 2016 (CD)
• Evolution: The Katz at 50, 2023 (CD)

Recent Tours

The Katzenjammers tour both domestically and internationally, usually during Princeton's fall and spring breaks, and occasionally during Intersession in January, between the winter break and first semester examinations.

• Fall 2019: Vancouver^[17]
• Fall 2018: San Francisco
• Fall 2017: Boston
• Fall 2016: Montreal
• Fall 2015: Birmingham, Alabama
• Fall 2014: New Orleans
• Spring 2013: Los Angeles
• Fall 2012: Sarasota, FL
• Fall 2011: Florida
• Intersession 2010: San Francisco, CA
• Fall 2008: Paris^[18]
• Spring 2008: Chicago, IL
• Fall 2007: Calgary
• Spring 2007: Georgia
• Fall 2006: Ireland
• Fall 2005: Los Angeles
• Spring 2005: London
• Fall 2004: Seattle
• Intersession 2004: Guatemala
• Spring 2001: Paris^[19]

Notable alumni

• Todd Purdum '82: national editor and political correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine
• Valerie Vigoda '87: composer and member of musical group GrooveLily
• Zachary Knower '88: actor
• Ryan Brandau '03: choral composer, arranger, director, and professional singer
• Geoff McDonald '07: cello player in the band Miracles of Modern Science
• Evan Younger '08: double bass player and vocalist in the band Miracles of Modern Science
• Kim Riether Coupounas '89, founder of GoLite, outdoor industry entrepreneur, global sustainable business leader
• G. Scott Clemons '90, Chief Investment Strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
• Ben Taub '14: contestant in Season 3 of The Voice^[20]

Brooke Shields '87 auditioned for The Katzenjammers in the fall of 1983, but either declined a callback ^[21] or was rejected.^[22][23]

Awards

Year	Presenter	Category	Nomination	Result
1996	Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards of CASA	Mixed Collegiate Best Album	"Midnight Comes Around"	Runner up
		Mixed Collegiate Best Song	"'Round Midnight"	Runner up
		Mixed Collegiate Best Arrangement	"'Round Midnight"	Winner
		Mixed Collegiate Best Soloist	Michelle Smith '96, "Do The Walls Come Down"	Runner up

References

1. Axtell, James (2006). The Making of Princeton University: From Woodrow Wilson to the Present. Princeton University Press. p. 261. ISBN 9780691126869. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
2. Rapkin, Mickey (2008). Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate a Cappella Glory. Gotham Books. p. 7. ISBN 978-1592403769. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
3. Fraser, Alison (2005). Princeton University: Off the Record. College Prowler, Inc. p. 163. ISBN 9781596581005. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
4. Quiñones, Eric (April 3, 2006). "A cappella group to present 'KatzenJam 2006,' April 8". News at Princeton. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
5. "1996 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Nominees". Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
6. "BOCA: Best of College A Cappella Vol.1 & 2". Amazon. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
7. "iTunes Preview: BOCA, Vol. 1 & 2: Best of College a Cappella". iTunes. January 1996. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
8. "1996 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award Winners". Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
9. "Katzenjammer advertisement". Daily Princetonian. March 14, 1974. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
10. Debenedetti, Gabriel (November 12, 2009). "Under the Arch: A Cappella, Acapolitics and Acaprez". Daily Princetonian. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
11. King, Lin (October 9, 2013). "Our Aca-Article". Daily Princetonian. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
12. "Sing Out for Shelter". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
13. "Katzenlore". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
14. "Repertoire - The Princeton Katzenjammers". Retrieved September 5, 2022.
15. "Time to Jam Out to a New Single". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
16. "iTunes Preview: I Want It To Be - Single". iTunes. 27 September 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
17. "KatzenNews 2019-2020" (PDF). The Princeton Katzenjammers. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
18. "The Princeton Katzenjammers in Paris". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
19. Mavissakalian, Michele (March 2001). "English Speaking Paris". Paris Voice. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
20. "Meet Ben Taub of Team Cee Lo Green on The Voice". September 25, 2012. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
21. Bricker, Rebecca (October 10, 1983). "Take One". People. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
22. Purdum, Todd (May 8, 2008). "A Cappella is Piping Up Everywhere". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
23. "Jessica Biel sings". April 7, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2014.

External links

• The Princeton Katzenjammers
• Princeton University Katzenjammers on iTunes
• https://www.youtube.com/user/PrincetonKJs
• https://www.facebook.com/princetonkjs
• https://www.instagram.com/princetonkjs