The Jazz Owl
  • Travis Rogers, Jr. -- The Jazz Owl
  • A Love of Music
  • Music Reviews
  • Reviews on Travis Rogers Jr.
  • Meetings with Remarkable People
  • SoulMates by Candlelight
  • Music in Portland
  • Toshi Onizuka
  • The Arts: Film, Literature and More
  • A Love of History
  • Baseball Stories
  • Personal Reflections

Ken Hatfield's "12 Preludes for Solo Guitar"...Works of Jazz Guitar Brilliance

7/7/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
You’ve got to love Ken Hatfield. Seriously, you have no choice. You’ll see what I mean.

Hatfield has released “12 Preludes for Solo Guitar” in a combined book/CD format (Arthur Circle Music KHSG104BCD). The CD can be purchased separately but don’t.

The book contains, of course, the music for the 12 preludes but also a fine introduction by Hatfield wherein he describes his notation of pitch durations in arpeggios (the same used by Johannes Brahms in his late piano solos. Don’t be impressed. I learned it from Hatfield), the modal indicators of key signatures and more. All that to say, Hatfield will teach you something. He writes of the beginnings of the prelude and its place within music history. He speaks of Chopin, Debussy, Villa-Lobos and so many others. He is a fine educator, even if you are reading for fun.

The book contains a small biography and, perhaps most importantly, his discography and bibliography of his written works. Yes, you will want to reference those pages early and often.

Then there are the transcriptions of the 12 preludes themselves. What a gift to other guitarists and to all musicians.
Forearmed with the knowledge within all those written pages, get ready for the music.

“Prelude #1” is a lovely and warm 3/4-time piece that seems as at-home in the world of Classical guitar as much as Jazz. It does recall the acoustic sounds of some of the great guitarists of Jazz but Hatfield has developed a touch and a tone that is absolutely wonderful and most assuredly his own. The prelude is full of reflection and thought. Touching.

“Prelude #2” has a quirky, if not haunting, ostinato that is a great hook. Only slightly slower than the previous track, the e minor prelude is a remarkable piece full of imagery and its own charm.

“Prelude #3” is in 6/8 but is a more melodically simple track that truly does sound like an introduction (as preludes were first intended until Chopin began making them finished pieces. I got that from Hatfield, too). The Baroque feel of this prelude enhances that impression as introductory in function.

“Prelude #4” is a structural Blues approach to the prelude and is one of the best examples of Hatfield’s crossover from composition to improvisation and back again. This was one to hear over and again.

“Prelude #5” is noted in E Major but with so many cool minor tones. Compositionally speaking, it is one of the most interesting of the pieces. The phrasing is exquisite and absolutely captivating.

“Prelude #6” jumps out as a samba after the brief but beautiful introduction. The Samba is everything you love about Brazilian music, in the first place. The lively chords and bouncy tempo are enough to cheer Eyore.

“Prelude #7” is a gorgeous piece that sings of loving absence, perhaps even regret. It is unspeakably sad and full of longing and loss. Even the hearing brings to mind one’s own memories and regrets. It becomes a shared grief between artist and audience.

“Prelude #8” is a more cheerful-sounding piece. It almost like a walk in a park with passing images and joyful sounds.

“Prelude #9” is a quick piece, with flashing sights and sounds, that puts one in mind of a city scene. Odd meters and chords at odds make for a bustling, sometimes cacophonous view. I love the intro and the conclusion.

“Prelude #10” is a Romantic-feeling piece, full of emotion and movement. It is hopeful and optimistic and hastily moving to completion in its quest for joy.

“Prelude #11” is an elegiac turn at a serenade.  It is memorable and thought-provoking. Lovely.

“Prelude #12” concludes the splendid album. Villa-Lobos and Steve Howe can have a seat. The nylon strings of Hatfield’s 1991 Humphrey Millennium guitar evoke—perhaps provoke—deep emotions and contemplation. It is intelligent and so creative.

Ken Hatfield’s “12 Preludes for Solo Guitar” is a masterpiece of solo Jazz guitar. The artistry of his composition and performance, the intelligence of his pedagogy, the warmth of his emotion all combine to make his album something worth cherishing. His touch, his tone and his thought are a great statement of the beauty of Jazz guitar.
 
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl
 
 
 


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    August 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2017
    February 2017
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    Aaron Parks
    Akira Ishiguro
    Ches Smith
    Chuck Van Haecke
    Dewa Budjana
    George Colligan
    Goh Kurosawa
    Helen Sung
    Jack Dejohnette
    Kai Kurosawa
    Keith Jarrett
    Matt Mitchell
    Oscar Noriega
    Osmany Paredes
    Peter Erskine
    Pseudocidal
    Ruben Rodriguez
    Sharp Three
    Simakdialog
    Steven Kroon
    Susan Clynes
    Thierry Maillard
    Tim Berne
    Tim Berne's Snakeoil
    Tom Guarna

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.