"The nylon-string guitar has no more powerful advocate on the current jazz scene than Ken Hatfield, whose virtuosic fingerstyle technique is matched by an exceptional compositional gift and who succeeds better than most at stretching the boundaries of his instrument while playing and writing music that feels as friendly and naturally straight-ahead as anything by Charlie Byrd or Wes Montgomery." --Rick Anderson, allmusic.com

Guitarist Ken Hatfield will perform at Fetch (1649 Third Avenue, NY 212-289-2700) on September 6^th,13^th,20^th and 27^th

Hatfield began studying the guitar with John Griggs in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, before enrolling at the Berklee College of Music, where he joined the faculty at the age of 19. He studied counterpoint and composition with Paul Caputo in New York City, and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York. Hatfield’s compositional experience covers a wide range of styles and instrumentations. In addition to composing jazz works for his own ensemble(s), he has written chamber pieces that range from solo classical guitar to string quartet and mixed ensembles of various sizes. He has composed choral works and ballet scores, including commissioned works for Judith Jamison, The Washington Ballet Company, and the Maurice Béjart Ballet Company. And he has written scores for television and film, including Eugene Richards’ award-winning documentary but, the day came. ASCAP has recognized his accomplishments by presenting him with its Composition Award for each of the past fourteen years. Arthur Circle Music has published four books of Hatfield’s compositions, and in 2004 Mel Bay will publish his book Jazz and the Classical Guitar: Theory and Application, which is designed to demonstrate his unique approach to playing jazz on a classical guitar.

In addition to performing as a solo artist and with his ensemble(s) at such prestigious venues as The JVC Jazz Festival, The Knitting Factory, The Classic American Guitar Show, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Whitney Sculpture Court, and the North Wales International Jazz Guitar Festival, Hatfield has performed and/or recorded with Charlie Byrd, Jack McDuff, Chico Hamilton, Jimmy McGriff, Melissa Manchester, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Stephanie Mills, Linda Hopkins, Billy Daniels, Pat Benatar, Maurice Hines, Charles Aznavour, Bob Cranshaw, Grady Tate, Harold Maburn, Brian Torff, Marcus Miller, Kenny Kirkland, Dom Salvador, João Donato, Lew Tabackin, Kenny Werner, Ben E. King, Eddie Kendricks, Marlena Shaw, Vivian Reed, Z.Z. Hill, and Toni Braxton.

You can hear hiim on Tuesdays at at Fetch- 1649 Third Avenue New York City (212) 289-2700 - 8:30 pm.