Jennifer Batten - Guitarist Extraordinaire

Jennifer Batten (born November 29, 1957) is an American electric guitar virtuoso who has worked as a session musician and solo artist, emerging mainly in the 1980s.[1] From 1987 to 1997, she played on all three of Michael Jackson's world tours as his lead guitarist, and from 1999 to 2001, she toured and recorded with Jeff Beck.

Batten has released three solo studio albums: her 1992 debut, Above Below and Beyond, the worldbeat-influenced Jennifer Batten's Tribal Rage: Momentum in 1997, and Whatever, which was released on CD and DVD in Japan in 2007 and worldwide in 2008. Batten continues to tour the globe, playing with bands, performing solo shows, and working clinics and master classes.

Early years

Batten's musical journey started at a young age. She was inspired by watching the Beatles US television debut in 1964 and was jealous of her older sister having a guitar.[4] At the age of eight, Batten's father bought her a "killer red and blue electric" and taught her her first song, Forest Flower, by saxophonist Charles Lloyd. With this guitar, she explored various genres and techniques.[5] Some of her early influences included the Beatles, B.B. King, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Jeff Beck.[6] The New York native moved with her family to San Diego in 1969.

After failing her first audition to enroll at the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) in Los Angeles, she practiced for six months with Peter Sprague to bring her jazz chops up to par. After working relentlessly on major and minor scales and learning Charlie Parker saxophone solos on guitar, Batten re-auditioned and became the only woman enrolled at GIT at the time.[7] Batten started to experiment with the two-handed tapping technique in 1978, having been inspired by GIT classmate Steve Lynch (who ended up playing for the band Autograph) while attending the Musicians Institute.[6] In 1979, Batten became the first woman to graduate from GIT, where she won two awards.[8] She also became the first woman to teach at GIT after graduating, where she also played in a variety of local bands.[9] Batten had never played in a band until after graduating from GIT when she was 21 because her mother would not let her go out and play with strangers. Batten's skills were evident as early as the 1980s, when she was the guitarist for Purl, a San Diego club band. Her versatility was on display due to her ability to play various genres such as rock, pop, blues, jazz and funk. Later, Batten would be one in a long list of San Diego musicians who moved north to Los Angeles to find success.

The name Jennifer Batten grew when she auditioned and was selected from over 100 guitarists to play with Michael Jackson on his "Bad" tour across the globe. For her audition, Batten improvised a funky rhythm guitar, soloed freestyle, and performed an unaccompanied guitar version of Coltrane's Giant Steps. She had rearranged it as an Eddie Van Halen-styled tapping solo which would later end up on her first solo album. She had auditioned for Jackson's band in Los Angeles where she moved from San Diego in 1984. Michael Jackson's "Bad" tour lasted for a year and a half, reaching over 4.5 million people. She had never been outside the US until her first concert with Jackson in Tokyo. Overall, Batten performed with the King of Pop on all his solo tours which spanned a decade. She is perhaps best known for her work with Michael Jackson.