Guitarist JENNIFER BATTEN, known for her work with MICHAEL JACKSON and JEFF BECK, is featured in a new interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com. An excerpt is available below:

UG: What would you say was your big break – who “discovered” you?

batten: "Definitely Michael Jackson. I went from playing in six different bands in Hollywood to playing for the biggest pop star on earth. That was a hell of a jump. I had never done any big tours—in fact the only tour I had done was with an Elvis impersonator in the south pacific."

UG: Playing with Michael Jackson—what was that like? And, what was key in your standing out from the hundreds who auditioned for Michael Jackson?

Batten: "Playing with him was like a paid vacation. Don’t get me wrong. The rehearsals were tough, rigorous, and there were long, long hours. However, it was so exciting that it wasn’t any big deal … just exciting. I tell ya, it was kind of like joining the army where that was your life. Whatever you had on the side, or so-called life, was gone temporarily for at least a few months. Once we were on the road, it was just a vacation. Imagine: you get to see the entire world, and get paid for it. He had reached a point in his career where he didn’t have to play every single day, so we only played two or three times a week. We had time in Rome to take a day off to go see the Coliseum and the Forum … it was complete luxury. Ninety-nine percent of musicians out there don’t get to do this sort of thing. It’s so expensive to tour ... you’re either playing or traveling to the next gig.

I believe what helped me stand out from the rest was because I knew the 'Beat It' solo – that was a major thing that he needed and I had played that for several years in a cover band. Having to play that for him, it wasn’t like I had to scramble to learn it or fumble through it at the audition. It had it down. And, that 16-bar phrase has earned me more money than all of my records put together so far!

Click here for the complete interview.

Check out the Michael Jackson medley below composed by Batten featuring the following tracks: 'Human Nature', 'Wanna Be Startin' Something', 'Smooth Criminal', 'Another Part Of Me', 'Off The Wall', 'The Way You Make Me Feel', 'Thriller', 'Beat It'.