The acclaimed and celebrated guitarist, musician, and composer Ken Hatfield discusses his new album, a guitar and vocal duet album with the vocalist Eric Hoffman, Stirrings Still (Arthur Circle Music, 2023), with Joseph Planta.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Ken Hatfield joins me now. The acclaimed and celebrated musician has a new album out, Stirrings Still. It features Ken on the guitar, and the vocalist Eric Hoffman in a new vocal and guitar duet album. It’s intimate in that his playing and Mr. Hoffman’s vocals are so well matched, and it’s just them. They’re colleagues and friends, and you feel as though you’re amongst friends. And it’s personal too, as there are songs on this album that Mr. Hatfield wrote the music and lyrics to, some he co-wrote, and some that Mr. Hoffman contributed to. You have original compositions, and I’ll ask Ken about from where he gleans inspiration, and you have standards, like “Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home,” and “Answer Me, My Love.” I’ll ask Ken about his work as a composer, as well as how he views the music business. Ken Hatfield received the 2006 ASCAP Foundation Jazz Vanguard Award for “innovative and distinctive music that is charting new directions in jazz.” He is considered the leading proponent of jazz played on the classical guitar, and also described as a “veritable Picasso of the jazz guitar world.” He has performed and or recorded with a diverse list of international artists including Charlie Byrd, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Chico Hamilton, Melissa Manchester, Stephanie Mills, Pat Benatar, Charles Aznavour, Ben E. King, and Toni Braxton, among many others. He has published six books of his compositions, as well as numerous instructional books. Arthur Circle Music, the label that releases Stirrings Still, has released ten of his previous albums. Visit www.kenhatfield.com for more information. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Ken Hatfield; Mr. Hatfield, good morning.

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