“Above, Below & Beyond” was Jennifer’s debut solo album as well as saw her garner major press attending inward the worlds leading guitar as well as stone press. Home to devastating technique, a unique affect as well as individuality the album is rightly regarded equally 1 of the premier guitar instrumental offerings e'er recorded.
The guitar shredder genre of the piece of cake '80s was comprised almost alone of males, but 1 exception was the fleet-fingered Jennifer Batten. Born inward Upstate New York, Batten got her kickoff electrical guitar at the historic menses of viii (inspired past times her older sis who already owned an instrument, equally good equally the Beatles as well as the Monkees), earlier her menage unit of measurement relocated to San Diego, California, a twelvemonth later. In 1979, Batten began attending G.I.T. (Guitar Institute of Technology), where she befriended such immature human being up-and-comers equally Steve Lynch (later of Autograph). It was through Lynch's fascination amongst the then-burgeoning "two-handed tapping" technique that Batten took her friend's atomic number 82 as well as perfected the playing fashion -- eventually writing a majority on it years afterward (Two Hand Rock). After graduation, Batten endured an intense practise regimen spell making ends run across past times educational activity at G.I.T. as well as playing inward a diverseness of local bands. Her big career suspension came inward 1987, when she received give-and-take from a friend that auditions were beingness held for a guitarist for Michael Jackson's upcoming tour inward back upward of his comeback album, Bad. Instead of trying to secure a tryout correct away, Batten took an uncommon approach, securing a tryout on the terminal possible solar daytime -- that way, she would convey equally much fourth dimension to larn as well as perfect the King of Pop's repertoire. The innovation worked, as well as she toured amongst Jackson for the ameliorate part of a year-and-a-half. She prominently appeared inward the video for "Another Part of Me" after undergoing an icon makeover, which saw her transformed into a peroxide-hairsprayed guitar goddess (she fifty-fifty sported a Mohawk for a spell). With the Jackson tour behind her, involvement spread close Batten inward the stone guitar community, specially after a rails of hers appeared on a compilation CD issued past times Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine, her embrace of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" on 1989's Guitar's Practicing Musicians. This laid the phase perfectly for her full-length solo debut inward the restrain of 1992, Above Below as well as Beyond, an album that mixed originals as well as covers (and was produced past times Michael Sembello). Shortly after the liberate of her debut, Batten establish herself out on tour 1 time again amongst Jackson inward back upward of his Dangerous liberate (which included a surgical operation at the half-time of the Super Bowl). Afterward, Batten returned to her ain recording career, forming a grouping called the Immigrants as well as issuing the European-only release, One Planet Under One Groove, earlier 1 time again agreeing to tour amongst Jackson, this fourth dimension inward back upward of his 1997 greatest-hits collection, HIStory. The same twelvemonth also saw the liberate of about other Batten recording, Momentum (credited to Jennifer Batten's Tribal Rage). 1998 saw Batten have an invitation to bring together the backing band of 1 of her all time-favorite guitarists, Jeff Beck. Since signing on amongst Beck, Batten has appeared on such studio recordings equally 1999's Who Else! as well as 2001's You Had It Coming, summation numerous tours. She released her 3rd solo LP, the all instrumental Whatever, inward 2007, amongst Battlezone, a collaboration amongst powerhouse singer Marc Scherer, arriving inward 2017. Additionally, Batten has guested on recordings past times Carmine Appice (Guitar Zeus, Vol. 1) as well as her quondam friend Sembello's Lost Years LP, amidst others.
Track listing:
1. Flight of the Bumble Bee
2. Ya Ain't Nothing Like a Fast Car
3. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
4. Respect
5. Cat Fight
6. Headbangers Hairspray
7. Whammy Damage
8. Secret Lover
9. Voo Doo
10. Cruzin' the Nile
11. Tar-zenz Day Off
12. Giant Steps (Jazz version)
13. Giant Steps (Rock version)
14. Mental Graffiti
Personnel:
Jennifer Batten – vocals (tracks 8, 9), guitar, speak box, vocoder, arrangement, spoken vocals (tracks 2, 12)
Michael Sembello – vocals, vocoder, arrangement, engineering, production
Kali of Medusa – vocals (track 4)
Greg Philingaines – piano, bass
Steve Klong – drums
Shokti – drums
Andre Berry – bass
Robo Jaco – bass (track 13)
Shirley Brewer Garden – background vocals (track 4)
Kathy Collier – background vocals (track 4)
Bret Helm – spoken vocals (track 12)
Cruz Sembello – spoken vocals (track 12)
Sargent Mom – spoken vocals (track 12)
Sylmarian philharmonic
Sylmarian percussion group
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