About Ken Lelen

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                                    Photo: Mike Nixon
Ken Lelen — vocals & vintage guitars

Vintage guitarist Ken Lelen sings ragtime, swing and jazz tunes from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, and pairs each song with a vintage guitar from the same era for an authentic sound. “Folks love these songs and they’re pleasantly surprised by the robust sound and classy appeal of my vintage guitars,” he says.

     Lelen's concerts are popular with diverse groups and sundry venues, including music and arts centers, churches, clubs, libraries, museums, retirement villages and on radio. He currently performs more than 100 concerts a year across the MidAtlantic, Southeast, New England and Midwest states.

     Each Vintage Music Concert is filled with clever lyrics, catchy tunes and amusing anecdotes about Drug Store Cowboys, Swing Shift Maisies, Stage Door Johnnies and Tin Pan Alley Artists. Given his affinity for the amiable tunes and beguiling sentiments of the American Songbook, his concerts are renown for upbeat acoustic renditions of ragtime, jazz and swing classics.

     A former journalist, Lelen has played acoustic, steel-stringed guitar for 48 years and brings to concerts several early 20th-Century guitars, including some previously owned by notable players. Whether built by Gibson, Harmony, Larson, Martin, Regal, Schmidt, Vega or Washburn, each makes music that's striking for its tone, character and sustain — without pick-ups, gizmos or gimmicks.

     Last year Vintage Music Concerts celebrated its 10th anniversary. In the past decade Lelen has learned that playing a concert is like making love to an audience. "Nowadays, when people ask me what do I do for a living, I say, 'I sing love songs. What do you do?' "

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© 2011 Ken Lelen — All Rights Reserved