Jen Chapin

Singer-songwriter Jen Chapin has a distinguished lineage: Her father was the late and renowned folk singer Harry Chapin, and her uncle is Tom Chapin, the well-known writer and performer of music for children. She makes a mark all her own, though, with this collection of what she calls “urban folk.” It’s a blend of jazz-infused folk-tinted pop. Beyond its easy-on-the-ears tunefulness, Chapin throws in lyrics that range from observational (“City”) to political (“Passive People”) to downright sexy (“Me Be Me”). There’s a grittiness to some of the songs that belies her full-throated, smoky delivery, as in “Manchild,” a song about a young man lost to violence and hopelessness. Still, she comes close to torch-song jazz vocals on “Little Hours” and “I Could Fall (in Love with You).”