Sunshine and song are not exclusively Italian. But they are two things Cat Catalani associates most strongly with the Italian side of her ancestry. "Italians are so much in their bodies, so sensual, they care about sitting in the sun, good food, art and music. They care about those things and I do too," she says.

Catalani, 45, a folksinger and songwriter from Skokie, had plenty of music and good food from her late father when she was growing up in Franklin Park. "He was a good cook. He used a lot of garlic and had a garden so he could have fresh tomatoes and basil. He was always proud of what he made," she says.

(Photo by Jennifer Girard)

And he sang. "I think it was his gift to me. He was always singing, and it was contagious, at least for me. He sang the pop classics -- Gershwin, Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein -- and had a real knack for a lyric," Catalani recalls.

She explains that her father had had a short career as a club singer back in the 1940s. He also played saxophone, to be useful when he wasn't onstage singing. "He told me that was in demand because a lot of people did one or the other, but he could do both," says Catalani.

Though her dad never taught Catalani to sing, he sang and she listened and learned the songs. He also made sure she and her sisters had piano lessons. "I'm not sure why the boys were not given music lessons. Maybe they were supposed to be more practical, while the girls could be more decorative. So my sisters and I all had many years of piano," she says.

As she got older, despite all those years of jazz classics, Catalani developed a taste

for folk music, still her first love. "Folk is my favorite. For me it is the most emotionally interesting, emotionally honest style of song," she says, "Contemporary folk music is not like the '60s -- Peter, Paul and Mary. It grew out of that, but it's more complex and sophisticated today. It's not as preachy as it was during the 60s and Vietnam. Now, it's more from the heart."

She also likes the inclusiveness of folk. "You don't have to be 20 to perform it," she says. "There are young, beautiful performers in folk, but there are also 30-, 40-, and 70-year-old singers." She points to Chicago's Ella Jenkins as an "older singer." "She's just wonderful," says Catalani. "She looks like anybody's grandmother and the kids lover her. But so do others. Folk music is not ageist."

That was an important consideration for Catalani, who, until the age of 40, made her living teaching English at Stanford University. She wrote poetry too, and had a book of her poems published. "But as long as I was in poetry, which I love, it wasn't enough."

In her late 30s, Catalani moved back to Chicago to be close to her family and discovered the Old Town School of Folk Music in its new, expanded quarters in Lincoln Square. She started going to classes and song circles, and with her friends' support, began to sing for the circles. "I'd always had a love of music, but had been too scared to get up on stage and sing. But there's some courage that comes with turning 40. Along the lines of "If I don't do it now, when will I?" she says.

With encouragement from her Old Town School colleagues, she moved on to a performance career. "So with music, everything kind of came together for me. Now I love performing, and some of my happiest moments are when I'm writing my songs," says Catalani.

Catalani believes there's a small, quiet revival of folk music under way. "I think more and more people are discovering or rediscovering folk music. It's not big on radio, or very commercial. But there's a very loyal niche of population that listens to it and loves it. I'm guessing that people are getting a little bored with what's on the Radio."