Jennifer Batten (born November 29, 1957) is an American guitarist who has worked as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

and solo artist. From 1987 to 1997 she played on all three of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

's world tours, and from 1999 to 2001 she toured and recorded with

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a fo ...

. Batten has released three studio albums: her 1992 debut, '' Above Below and Beyond'' (produced by former

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

guitarist

Michael Sembello Michael Andrew Sembello (born April 17, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sembello was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his 1983 song "M ...

), 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.

Early years

Batten began to play guitar at the age of eight when her father bought her a "killer red and blue electric". Her early influences were the Beatles, B.B. King,

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list ...

, and Jeff Beck. Batten started to experiment with the two-handed

tapping Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to stand ...

technique in 1978, having been inspired by Guitar Institute of Technology classmate

Steve Lynch Steve Lynch (born January 18, 1955) is an American guitarist. He is best known as the co-founder and original lead guitarist of the glam metal/hard rock band Autograph. He decided to commit himself to music and mastering the guitar when Jimi ...

(who ended up playing for the band

Autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

) while attending the

Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...

Musical career

Batten has appeared on recordings such as

's ''

Who Else! ''Who Else!'' is the seventh studio album by guitarist Jeff Beck, released on 16 March 1999 through Epic Records.Ruhlmann, William"Who Else! - Jeff Beck" '' AllMusic''. RhythmOne. Retrieved 2014-02-06. The album reached No. 99 on the U.S. ''Bi ...

'' (1999) and ''

You Had It Coming ''You Had It Coming'' is the eighth studio album by guitarist Jeff Beck, released in December 2000 through Epic Records. The album reached No. 17 and 110 on the ''Billboard'' Top Internet Albums and ''Billboard'' 200 charts respectively,

'' (2001), and

's ''Heavy Weather'' (1992). Her music video appearances include Jeff Beck ("Live in Japan"), Michael Jackson's "

Moonwalker ''Moonwalker'' is a 1988 American experimental anthology musical film starring Michael Jackson. Rather than featuring one continuous narrative, the film expresses the influence of fandom and innocence through a collection of short films about J ...

" ("

Come Together "Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and was also released as a single coupled with " Somethi ...

"),

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

(" Wild Women Do"), and

Sara Hickman Sara Hickman (born March 1, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, and artist.Houston Folk Music Archive(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University)Guide to the Houston Folk Music Archive(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library ...

's "Take It Like a Man" and

Miguel Mateos Miguel Ángel Mateos Sorrentino (born January 26, 1954) is an Argentine rock singer-songwriter from Villa Pueyrredón, Argentina. Outside Argentina he is considered one of the most important exponents of Rock en Español, specially in the 1980s ...

' "Obsesión". Batten played

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the fe ...

and

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

on Michael Jackson's '' Bad'' (1987–1989), '' Dangerous'' (1992) and ''

HIStory History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

'' (1996–1997) world tours, and on his

1993 Super Bowl Super Bowl XXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...

halftime performance, which was aired to over 1.3 billion people in 86 countries, the largest audience in television history for a live music performance. She was in Jeff Beck's touring band for three years starting in 1999, and appears on his albums ''Who Else!'' (1999) and ''You Had It Coming''. Between 1994 and 1999 Batten worked with

Dave Rodgers Dave Rodgers (born Giancarlo Pasquini; 21 February 1963) is an Italian singer, songwriter and producer known for his contributions to the Eurobeat genre of dance music. Born in Mantua, Italy, he formed the band Aleph before contributing to the lon ...

and

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also c ...

as featured guitarist on the

Eurobeat Eurobeat refers to two styles of dance music that originated in Europe: one is a British variant of Italian Eurodisco-influencedAng, Ien & Morley, David (2005). "Cultural Studies: Volume 3, Issue 2". ''Routledge''. pgs. 171, 173, 170. . "Eurore ...

songs "Sun City", "Music For the People", "Fly" and "Woa Woa Woa." Her writing and performing is uncredited on several other songs under the A-Beat C label. Her live Eurobeat appearances were limited to playing at the

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...

with Rodgers and Queen of Hearts. In 2010 she recorded a solo for the song "Bad Girls" by Polish singer Doda. She partnered on a melodic rock CD with vocalist Marc Scherer and producer

Jim Peterik James Michael Peterik ( ; born November 11, 1950) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the founder of the rock band Survivor, as vocalist and songwriter of "Vehicle" by the Ides of March, and as co-writer of the anthem ...

(formerly of Survivor) which was released in September 2017, entitled ''BattleZone''. All songs were written or co-written by Peterik. Special guests included saxophonist

Mindi Abair Mindi Abair (born May 23, 1969) is an American saxophonist, vocalist, author, and National Trustee for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization that puts on the Grammy Awards show. Her solo career has produced ten ...

and

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vocalist Bill Champlain. The song "Space and Time" was co-written with John Wetton, and "All Roads" was co-written with

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

. Batten made videos for all songs on her YouTube channel.

Other work

Batten has written two music books: ''Two Hand Rock'' (published by Hal Leonard) and ''The Transcribed Guitar Solos of Peter Sprague'' (self-published). She also has three DVD/download courses available from TrueFire: ''Rock Sauce for Lead Guitar'', ''Rock Sauce for Rhythm Guitar'', and ''50 Ultra Intervallic Guitar Licks You Must Know''. In 2019, Batten worked with Rodrigo Teaser for a tribute to Michael Jackson ten years after his death, titled ''10 years without Michael Jackson''. For this show, Batten was joined LaVelle Smith Jr., who was Jackson's choreographer and dancer for more than 20 years.

Awards and recognition

In November 2011, Batten was featured on BBC Radio 4's series ''Joan Armatrading's More Guitar Favourites''. Her work was given the "She Rocks Icon Award" in January 2016.

Personal life

Batten enjoys creating stained and fused glass art, and

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian ...

art.

Discography

Solo albums

*1992: '' Above Below and Beyond'' *1997: '' Jennifer Batten's Tribal Rage: Momentum'' *2007: '' Whatever''

Guest appearances

*1990: ''Shortstop'' – Sara Hickman (Elektra) *1990: ''Girl's Life'' – The Rainbow Girls (Red Distribution) *1990: ''Obsesion'' – Miguel Mateos (Sony BMG) *1991: ''Small Town Girl'' – Cindy Cruse (Frontline Records) *1992: ''Heavy Weather'' – Michael Sembello (Polydor) *1993: ''Guitar's Practicing Musicians'' – various artists (Guitar Recordings) *1994: ''Sunlight Again'' – Carl Anderson (GRP Records) *1995: ''Earthtones'' – Thom Teresi (Rhombus) *1995: ''Guitar Zeus'' –

Carmine Appice Carmine Appice ( , born December 15, 1946) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is also Vinny Appice's ...

(No Bull Records) *1995: ''The Immigrants - One Planet Under One Groove'' (USG/ZYX) *1997: ''Einstein Was a Bullfighter'' – Doc Tahri (Sumething Else) *1999: ''

'' –

(Epic) *2001: ''

'', Jeff Beck, (Epic) *2003: ''Lost Years'' – Michael Sembello (Frontiers Records) *2005: ''All Star Tribute to Cher'' (Cleopatra) *2004: '' Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour'' *2005: ''Secondhand Smoke - A Tribute to Frank Marino'' (Wildmess Records) *2008: ''Clean'' – Dave Martone (Magna Carta) *2009: ''Unexpected Fate'' – Bulldozer (Scarlet) *2010: ''It's Important'' – Dino Fiorenza (Fog Foundation) *2011: ''Glenn Eric'' – Glenn Eric Meganck (Beachfront) *2011: ''Japan Live 1999'', Jeff Beck (IMV Blueline) *2011: ''Embrace the Sun - Japan Benefit Album'' (Lion Music) *2012: '' Live at Wembley July 16, 1988'',

(Epic) *2017: ''Battle Zone'' – Scherer/Batten (Melodic Rock Records) *2018: ''Rainbow Rocket Ride'' – Svenson (Route Note) *2019: ''Brand New Start'' - Black Sand (Black Sand Records) *2021: ''Legend of Valley Doom Part 3'' - Marius Danielsen's Legend of Valley Doom (guitar solo on track 8: "The Sarlinian Bow")

References

External links

*
Joan Armatrading: More Guitar Favourites - Jennifer BattenJennifer Batten Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Batten, Jennifer American rock guitarists American session musicians Living people Musicians Institute alumni 20th-century American women guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 1957 births East West Records artists