For years Ken Hatfield has been a mainstay at the Buscarino Players Concert affiliated with the Classic American (Long Island) Guitar Show. This is all the more unusual given that he plays on nylon strings and the Long Island affair is largely an archtop jazz event. With a recently penned Mel Bay book/CD to his credit -Jazz and the Classical Guitar/Theory and Application- Ken embarks on a new phase of his career as a composer, jazz guitarist and teacher.

Personal/Biographical

Guitar Sessions: Who or what events inspired you to play the guitar? Was music or the classic guitar a part of your household when growing up?
Ken Hatfield: As far back as I can remember I wanted to play the guitar. Although none of my immediate family members were musicians, my father always listened to the bluegrass, country, rockabilly, and occasional blues played on the local radio station, WCMS.

How old were you when you began to play?
I got my first guitar at 8, but I started bugging my parents for one at 4.

Please describe your formal music training.
I studied privately with John Griggs during my teens in Norfolk, Virginia. Then I went to Berklee right out of high school. I received a Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York and I studied counterpoint privately with Paul Caputo in New York City.

What styles interested you when you first began to play? How do those preferences influence your current music?
I was always attracted to the sounds of old blues players. The directness of their approach really touched something deep within me. For those that listen, I think they can hear that a blues sensibility is at the root of much of what I do.

What teachers did you seek out, or was there any method book that was particularly helpful?
[Mel Bay author] John Griggs was my primary teacher during my formative years. Even now I still get advice from him. I saw him just last summer, and he pointed out several things that have been of great value for my right-hand technique.

Have you played or do you now play any other instruments besides the guitar? If so, is there any particular advantage or disadvantage to being a multi-instrumentalist?
Yes, I also play Dobro®, mandolin, and a little tenor banjo. The more perspectives you can command, the better. Composing away from any instrument really offers the greatest advantage because, as Beethoven said, then your mind is writing the music, not your hands.

Aside from the promise of great personal wealth, what prompted the writing of your book- Jazz and the Classical Guitar/Theory and Application?
Bill Bay mentioned that a book designed to aid classical guitarists interested in approaching jazz was needed, and he asked if I would consider writing one.

I've always felt that making the connection between the theory and its implementation was particularly difficult when it comes to improvising and composing. So I designed the book to explain in detail what is involved in tonally oriented jazz improvisation, and link the explanations to transcriptions that demonstrate the use of these theoretical tools in jazz music as I actually play it.

What musical avenues do you wish to explore in the future? Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with in a recording or tour?
I'd like to compose some pieces for a combination of string trio or quartet, and a jazz trio built around the classical guitar, bass, and either drums or hand percussion.
I love all the folks I play with already, like Hans Glawischnig, Dom Salvador, Jeff Hirshfield, Duduka da Fonseca, and Claudio Roditi, but one name that jumps into my mind as someone I'd like to work with is Sonny Rollins.

How does a composition begin in your mind? Do you set any particular goals at the onset?
I compose all the time. I'm always looking for ideas that can be developed. In my opinion, what separates composers from tunesmiths is the ability to develop an idea. Some ideas are very appealing but have little or no potential for development. Most of my compositions stem from the ideas I've sketched out that exhibit potential for development. My primary goal is to realize the developmental potential latent in the thematic material I am working with in such a manner that the end result is emotionally communicative.

Which of your albums would you recommend to someone buying one of your recordings for the first time?
For compositional ideas not limited to the guitar: Dyad and Phoenix Rising. For guitar playing in a jazz context: The Surrealist Table and Music for Guitar and Bass. And for ideas about the nexus between improvisation and composition, particularly related to the classical guitar: String Theory and Explorations for Solo Guitar.

How has your family affected your music?
They have always encouraged me to "do my own thing," or as Joseph Campbell used to tell his students, "follow your bliss."

Apart from music, what are your interests?
Art, literature, travel, friends and family.

Technique

Do you teach or act as a musical mentor?
Yes, both- hopefully simultaneously.

Besides Jazz and the Classical Guitar, have you produced any instructional materials - books, videos? Are you planning to write or produce any more?
I've written and published four other books: Sonata in E Major and New York Suite each contain compositions from my Explorations for Solo Guitar CD. Nine Jazz Duets for Guitar and Bass contains my nine contributions to my CD Music for Guitar and Bass. These three books are only instructional in that they contain accurate transcriptions of my compositions. I also wrote a book of Two-Part Contrapuntal Etudes that is instructional in the way it demonstrates contrapuntal techniques as applied in the etudes and to the techniques required to play them on the guitar. My composition "The Book of Sand" is included in Mel Bay's Master Anthology of Jazz Guitar Solos Vol. III, and along with bassist Hans Glawischnig I perform three of my compositions on Mel Bay's Buscarino Players in Concert DVD. I'm about halfway through a new book that I hope to offer soon.

Please describe your practice routine.
I compose every day, preferably away from the instrument. I have a physical routine of scales and arpeggios, right-hand tremolos, and left-hand hammer-ons / pull-offs that I run through to get loosened up and keep my hands in working order.

I work on improvisational concepts if I'm not playing a jazz gig that night. If I am playing a jazz gig, then I refrain from practicing improvising to avoid regurgitating on the gig what I spent the day practicing, because that impedes the flow of the musical conversation I hope to have with my fellow musicians on the bandstand.

What do you feel are your technical strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths: I can hear and visualize multiple parts simultaneously on the guitar. I listen to the cats I'm playing with and play with them, not at them. My rhythmic and harmonic senses are pretty astute, and I can develop my ideas as I play. Of course, all of this is an ever-evolving process.

Weaknesses: I don't play free avant-garde music very well, and I could be more comfortable in odd time signatures, both of which I'm working on.

Do you ever use false nails?
No.

What do you do to keep your repertoire sounding fresh?
Compose new stuff. And listen to new stuff as well, most of which currently lies outside the standard definition of what is and what is not jazz. For example, Astor Piazzolla, Brahms, and Villa-Lobos are recent sources of listening inspiration for me.

Are there any areas of the standard repertoire you would like to explore?
I've spent most of my life playing tunes from the Great American Songbook. I'm always open to more, but at this stage of my career I am primarily concerned with developing my own voice-now that I've found it (or that it found me), and that voice manifests itself most clearly through my compositions.

What are the key elements of your technique/style?
I try to tell a story without words, to take the listener on a journey. All I ask is that the audience pays attention, something that many see as an unreasonable requirement nowadays. As a guitarist I do this by playing the whole instrument like what George Van Epps called a "lap piano".

Have you had to invent any unique right or left-hand techniques for playing jazz on the classic guitar?
I have kind of found my own way to accommodate aspects of jazz phrasing that originated with horn players. I don't think I invented these techniques, but I didn't consciously copy them either, though I now know that some of the right-hand techniques I use are related to the way Lenny Breau and Chet Atkins played, though they both used a thumbpick, and I use only my fingers.

I'm talking about the way I sometimes alternate my thumb with my index and/or middle finger: pipm, or pim, or even pipmpa, etc. I also use hammer-ons and pull-offs to make my phrasing more fluid. But I must admit- I still prefer the sound of a good ol' apoyando, or rest stroke a la Segovia.


John Griggs recently hipped me to something about how Segovia used to vary the angle of attack and how it changes the tone. And I noticed that the string bass players who sound the best do the same thing. So I've been working on that a lot of late.

In your role as a teacher, what areas do you emphasize with your students?
Playing in time and in tune; being clear about what you mean; playing what you mean and meaning what you play!

How do you approach the teaching of interpretation? Can you suggest a system?
Getting the student to explore what a piece of music means to them and helping them to express that musically.

In the context of your book, what are "vagrant chords"?
Vagrant chords are chords whose harmonic home or origin cannot be determined until they resolve, so they appear to be homeless, hence the term which Arnold Schoenberg coined. Since we hear music as it unfolds in time, when improvising we often hear what occurs in the present with an ear towards where the music is going next. So one chord frequently suggests the next (like II-7 suggests V7, and V7 suggests I). Vagrant chords can have so many possible resolutions that they are like musical curveballs.

Diminished 7th chords, Dominant 7th sharp-5 (or flat-13) chords and certain substitute dominant 7th chords like the augmented six/five, the augmented four, and the augmented four/three (using figured bass nomenclature) are prominent examples.

Do vagrant chords figure into your concept of attaining a more diverse and colorful chord palette? Is there a systematic approach to chord substitutions that you would recommend?
No more or less than any other chord. I strive to generate chord progressions and reharmonizations via the process of voice leading.

There are times when I'll grab a voice, usually the top or the bottom, and merely hang the rest of the voicing above or below that voice; but that is a weak approach, so I try to use it only as a last resort.

Gear

What are your preferred guitar, strings, and recording mic? Do you endorse any particular products? Is there anything on your wish list as far as equipment or instruments?
I use and endorse Buscarino Cabaret Guitars, Luthier Strings, and Earthworks mics. John Buscarino is building me a new guitar now, and I've been talking to the folks at Earthworks about developing a new guitar mic. Plus, I like the new Acoustic Image amps, as well as the AER Compact 60, and Wharfedale speakers.

Did you have any input in the construction of your Buscarino classic guitar?
Not with my current Buscarino, but John is making me a new guitar that reflects a bit of my input. I've learned the hard way through the years that I write the best when left alone, and the best players give the best performance when left alone. So why on earth would I want to micromanage a luthier as brilliant as John Buscarino? So I'm trying to keep my input to a minimum on this one, because John not only knows what he's doing-he also knows what I'm doing, so I know I can trust him to build a masterpiece that is likely to work for me.

Compared to a traditional fan-braced classic guitar, have you noticed a marked difference in the sound of the Buscarino due to the lattice bracing of the top?
Yes, the Buscarino demonstrates far greater evenness of sound and tone, better sustain, improved responsiveness, and most importantly, more uniform and predictable results when using a pickup.

Have you given any thought to playing an instrument with more than 6 strings?
I used to play 7-string, but as a composer as well as a player, I don't want or need one instrument to dominate the music. To me, jazz is about collective interactive improvisation in a conversational manner. As Miles so eloquently demonstrated, less is often more. And 6 strings are daunting enough.

Current

Do you recommend professional management or self-management?
I do recommend professional management if you can get it, but in the current music environment you'll find few professional managers willing to work with jazz musicians and even fewer interested in artist development.

What has your experience with record companies been like?
As a sideman, great; as a leader, not so great.

Would you care to mention any upcoming performance dates or tours?
I am currently playing every Tuesday night in New York City at a place called Fetch, on Third Avenue between 92nd and 93rd Streets. I'll be at the 55 Bar in New York on May 17, and I'm looking for as many opportunities as possible, so keep me in mind! I have a tour page at my website www.kenhatfield.com

Thanks Ken. It's been an absolute pleasure to hear you musical insights. I'm sure our readers will appreciate the time and thought you put into this interview.
My pleasure, Stephen.