Q&A with Jennifer Batten

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
Photos courtesy of Jennifer Batten

Jennifer Batten is a guitarist who toured with Michael Jackson on three of his world tours. She was part of Jeff Beck’s touring band for three years. She also works with four different Michael Jackson tribute bands from around the globe. This summer she will be playing outdoor festivals in Portland, Oregon with her own band, so go check her out!

KB: Did you always want to be a musician growing up?

Yes, as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a musician. I announced it to my mother when I was 12. She warned me about how competitive the business was but that didn’t mean much to me at that age.

KB: Which musicians influenced you to learn to play the guitar?

When I started at age 8 it was the Beatles and the Monkeys that had me intrigued. There was also a classical guitar player named Jorge Morel from Argentina that stayed at the family house a few times when he was doing gigs in town, because my mother was president of the arts council. So I got to watch him rehearse for hours. Aside from that, I loved the look of the guitar on pop stars on TV.

KB: You toured with Michael Jackson on three of his world tours: How did you become part of his band?

He auditioned about 100 guitarists for his BAD tour. I was lucky enough to hear about the auditions and get the chance to do it. I took several days off to learn his music before I went in. 20 years later I saw the video of my audition and there was a paper along with the VHS video where he was marking comments next to each person’s audition. Next to mine, he drew 3 stars and wrote the word “great”

KB: You were part of Jeff Beck’s touring band for 3 years. How did you become part of this and what was it working with him?

For Jeff Beck, I was just a fan. I tracked him down and invited him to a Michael Jackson show just because I wanted to meet him and get an autograph. Michael ended up canceling that show at Wembley Stadium so I asked Jeff if I could meet him anyway. The next day I went to the studio that he was recording at and was able to meet him. My first record had just come out so I handed it to him, plus a video that I did of “Flight of the Bumblebee” that was just released in the UK at the time. He called me a couple months later and said he wanted to do a record with me. I ended up working with him on two records and two world tours for about three years.

KB: You released 3 studio albums. Do you prefer solo or being part of a band as a session musician?

I enjoy having variety in my career. I wouldn’t only want to do my solo performances because I don’t get to interact with a band. But I do get to do my solo compositions and covers just the way I want to. Plus it’s so much easier to book shows since it’s just me and a laptop. Right now I’m working in four different Michael Jackson tribute bands, and I really like the musicians and dancers that are in, all of them, so I have great joy bouncing from one to the next. It’s like a perpetual reunion. And of course, all of his songs are timeless and I still enjoy playing them.

KB: You worked with legends. Are there currently any artists you would love to collaborate with and why them?

There are a lot of musicians I admire. I always thought it would be fun to play with Peter Gabriel although it’s not heavily guitar oriented. There are also really modern inventive DJs like Adam Freeland that would be super fun to collaborate with. I’m doing something with Buckethead right now that’s super funky. No idea what will become of it but I have fun recording.

KB: You can make an album with 7 of your most favorite songs (not your own): which songs you pick and why?

Songs of the top of my head I would like to record would be:

“Pork-U-Pine” by Jeff Beck – Because of the nasty groove.
“Two Rivers” by Jeff Beck – It’s so angelic and delicate.
“Walking on the Moon” by The Police – Because it’s such a trance like classic. I’m a big Police fan.
“Black Market” by Weather Report – They were my all time favorite band.
“Life on Mars” by David Bowie – He was such ground breaking artist who could really make you feel his lyrics. They transported me.
“I Am the Walrus” by The Beatles – It’s such a crazy beautiful journey of a song.
“I Feel for You” by Chaka Khan – It’s such a feel good funky classic. So well arranged and produced.

KB: What are you currently up to? New material, touring?

At the moment I’m doing recording sessions generally from a hotel room, and working with 4 different Michael Jackson tribute bands from around the globe. I also have my own band doing 80s covers like Van Halen, Toto and Journey for mostly outdoor festivals in the summer in Portland, Oregon.

Check out Jennifer’s website: HERE

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