Ken Hatfield

Guitarist and composer Ken Hatfield is a leading proponent of jazz played on the nylon-string guitar. In 2006 the ASCAP Foundation recognized his significant contributions by presenting him with its prestigious Vanguard Award for “innovative and distinctive music that is charting new directions in jazz.” Ken has released seven CDs as a leader that feature him performing his original compositions, either as a soloist or with his ensembles. He has published five books of his compositions, as well as his instructional book Jazz and the Classical Guitar: Theory and Application (Mel Bay 2005), which demonstrates his unique approach to playing jazz on a classical guitar. Ken’s compositional experience covers a wide range of styles and instrumentations, including jazz works for his own ensembles, solo classical guitar works, choral works, and ballet scores for Judith Jamison, The Washington Ballet Company, and the Maurice Bejart Ballet Company. He has also written scores for television and film, including Eugene Richards’ award-winning documentary but, the day came.