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Tal Wilkenfeld

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Tal and her band played most of her latest CD “Love Remains.” Highlights were the rocking finishing number “Corner Painter,” the long and captivating “Haunted Love,” and my favorite “Killing Me,” which opened the 90-minute show. Quite fun too, a long jam that began with The Smiths “How Soon is Now?” and somehow found its way to a few brief and poppy verses from The Who’s “Can’t Explain” before pivoting back to The Smiths for a rollicking close. Tal’s not your normal attention-seeking front-women and but so it was interesting to watch her let the band do its thing while sublimely playing her part as the headliner. She’s a joy to watch, smiling and laughing while the band is in full flight, always enthusiastic and seemingly having a blast being part of a team. She’s only going to get better, and for an already extraordinary talent, that’s saying something. The sole drawback to the night’s proceedings: her record company “forgot” (WTF?!!) to send CDs and so we who were wanting to buy “Love Remains,” and maybe get the CD signed...went home empty handed. I guess Tal needs to do...everything?!

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Probably the best concert I have ever attended. Cannot stress enough how impressed I am by not only her musical prowess but her ability to synthesize her musical talent with her deep, intense, meaningful, beautiful songs that are a pure expression of herself.

Her band is not only profrecient in their respective instruments but do an amazing job of supporting her and playing as one unit seemlessly as to what she is trying to convey.

I couldn’t stop smiling the whole second half of the set. It was my first concert I attended myself and I think it was a good one to do so as I was able to be focused on the music and energy solely the whole way through.

P.S Beca Stevens was equally as awesome!

What a treat! I've seen Tal and her band a few times in recent years, this time a keyboard player was added to the usual suspects.

I'm just always blown away by their musicianship, they seem to really enjoy themselves.

Better catch them soon while they are playing small clubs, the secret is about to come out!

Wish I was there!!! I was sick and missed it. Very sad, very sad. I will be sure to catch the show, next time she is in the area. To see a great artist in such a small venue is great, I fear the next time around the venue won't be as intimate. Either way, it's her playing that moves me. BOLT!

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Concerts played in 2024:

Touring history

Most played:

• Los Angeles (LA) (13)
• New York (NYC) (6)
• Boston / Cambridge (5)
• Washington (4)
• Baltimore (2)

Appears most with:

• The Who (13)
• Steve Taylor (Los Angeles) (7)
• Larry McCray (5)
• Jimmy Hall (5)
• Jackie Greene (5)

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About tal wilkenfeld.

Tal Wilkenfeld is a highly talented and versatile artist who has made a significant impact in the music industry. Born in Sydney, Australia, Tal is a renowned bassist, singer, and songwriter. With her exceptional skills and unique style, she has captivated audiences worldwide. Tal's musical journey began at a young age when she picked up the bass guitar. Her natural talent quickly became evident, and she started performing professionally in her early teens. Tal's ability to effortlessly blend various genres, including rock, jazz, and blues, sets her apart from other musicians. Over the years, Tal has collaborated with numerous renowned artists, including Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock, and Prince. Her exceptional bass playing has earned her critical acclaim and respect from fellow musicians. Tal's ability to create intricate bass lines and deliver powerful performances has made her a sought-after musician in the industry. In addition to her instrumental prowess, Tal is also a talented singer and songwriter. Her soulful and emotive vocals perfectly complement her bass playing, adding another layer of depth to her music. Her lyrics often explore themes of self-discovery, love, and personal growth, resonating with listeners on a profound level. Tal's live performances are nothing short of mesmerizing. Her energy on stage is infectious, and she effortlessly connects with her audience. Whether she is performing in an intimate club or on a grand festival stage, Tal's passion for music shines through, leaving a lasting impression on everyone who witnesses her talent. Tal has also made a name for herself as a solo artist. Her debut album, "Transformation," released in 2007, received critical acclaim and showcased her exceptional songwriting skills. The album features a diverse range of tracks, highlighting Tal's ability to seamlessly blend different musical styles. Fans eagerly anticipate new music from Tal, as she continues to push boundaries and explore new artistic territories. Her dedication to her craft and her unwavering commitment to creating meaningful music have solidified her status as a true musical prodigy. In conclusion, Tal Wilkenfeld is an extraordinary artist who has left an indelible mark on the music industry. Her exceptional bass playing, soulful vocals, and captivating performances have garnered her a dedicated fan base. With her unique style and unwavering passion for music, Tal continues to inspire and captivate audiences worldwide.

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Tal Wilkenfeld Adds Dates to North American Tour

Run of East Dates Kicks off Today at Holyoke, MA's Gateway City Arts

Tal Wilkenfeld, the bassist turned singer-songwriter with “heartfelt and mature” (Live For Live Music) vocals, extends her North American tour with a run of Northwest dates. She’ll be playing the Aladdin Theatre in Portland, OR on July 25th, Triple Door in Seattle on July 26th, and the Annual Newberry Event Music & Arts Festival in La Pine, OR on July 27th. Tickets are on sale here: https://talwilkenfeld.com/tour

East coast dates kick off tonight in Holyoke (MA) at Gateway City Arts. Full tour routing below.

Tal will be on tour supporting her debut vocal album, ‘Love Remains’ which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart.

Tal Wilkenfeld Tour Dates:

Wednesday, May 29th – Holyoke, MA – Gateway City Arts

Friday, May 31st – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl

Saturday, June 1st – Hudson, NY – Club Helsinki

Tuesday, June 4th – Boston, MA – City Winery Boston

Wednesday, June 5th – Ardmore, PA – The Ardmore Music Hall

Friday, June 7th – Washington, DC – City Winery DC

Saturday, June 8th – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head On Stage

Sunday, June 9th – Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony

Thursday, July 25th – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theatre

Friday, July 26th – Seattle, WA – Triple Door

Saturday, July 27th – La Pine, OR – Annual Newberry Event Music & Arts Festival

https://talwilkenfeld.com/

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Tal Wilkenfeld on Jeff Beck: “We’ve lost our favorite guitarist, and one of the most intelligent, intuitive people I’ve ever met”

Tal Wilkenfeld, Stanley Clarke, Paul McCartney, Bootsy Collins, Flea, Duff McKagan and many more pay tribute to guitarist Jeff Beck

In the wake of Jeff Beck’s tragic passing , countless names from the bass world have paid tribute to one of the most influential guitarists in the history of rock. Bootsy Collins, Billy Sheehan, Duff McKagan, Suzi Quatro, Stanley Clarke, Will Lee, and many more have offered heartfelt tributes. “Jeff Beck has left the building and it is a lonelier place without him,” Paul McCartney posted on social media. “God bless Jeff and his family.” Gene Simmons called it “heartbreaking news … no one played guitar like Jeff. Please get ahold of the first two Jeff Beck Group albums and behold greatness.” Beck, who rose to fame with the Yardbirds before fronting the Jeff Beck Group, worked with a series of phenomenal bass players during his career. One of those privileged few was Tal Wilkenfeld. “Playing in Jeff’s band was so fun,” said Tal. “It was never about playing for the sake of playing. Everyone had something to say, and something to learn from the conversation. We’ve lost our favorite guitarist, and one of the most intelligent, intuitive and hilarious people I’ve ever met.”

Doug Wimbish, who was hired to play on Beck’s 1985 album, Flash , wrote, “I will never forget Jeff and how kind he was to me. A great person, a great spirit and a total legend to the core.”

“He taught a lot while never claiming to be a teacher,” said Bootsy Collins, who recorded with Jeff for Malcolm McLaren’s House of The Blue Danube , at Pearl Sound studios in Detroit. “Thxs for the gifts u left us with.”

“Nobody had a sound or a soul to match what he had,” said Will Lee. “There’s never going to be another voice like his on any instrument. He was truly amazing.”

More tributes can be found below.

Paul Samwell-Smith      

“What a genius. We wrote Shapes of Things together and Jeff had a blank sixteen bars for a solo in the middle of the song. He not only played an extraordinary solo, but he changed the nature of guitar playing ever after. Jeff was a lot of fun, and very naughty, both in life and in music. What a great life he enjoyed."

In 2009 Flea joined Jeff Beck, Metallica and a few other very special guests for a rowdy performance of Train Kept A-Rollin at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony. “What an absolutely brilliant musician who carved out a world all his own. A huge influence on a zillion guitarists and a deep part of who I am as a bassist. We will listen to you always, Jeff. Thank you for your gifts. What a rocker. This is the end of an era.” 

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Rhonda Smith

“I first met Jeff in 2009 in Montreux, Switzerland. I was there with Prince and I had just had my hair done. I was on my way back to my hotel room when I entered the elevator and there was Jeff Beck all by himself. I knew who he was, but I said nothing… I was in awe.  Who knew that we would spend the next 13 years together? Thank you Jeff for all the special moments and the invaluable things that I learned from you.”  

“Nobody had a sound or a soul to match what Jeff had. When I asked him to play a solo for my album cut of Driftin by Jimi Hendrix, I was blown away that he said yes. And once I heard the solo, I was literally on my knees crying. I replayed it over and over again in disbelief. His solo is the musical equivalent of the sun breaking through clouds. It only takes two notes and you’re on a magic carpet of sound, soaring across the sky on the Jeff-stream.”

Suzi Quatro

“I remember Jeff Beck was in Detroit with producer Mickie Most to record at Motown with Cozy Powell. They were all together in the audience watching me with Cradle when Mickie picked me out as ‘the one’, and the rest is history. I ended up going to the studio with them after the show and jamming on Cissy Strut . It was one of the fondest and most surreal moments in my younger life. Jeff did me the honour of playing on my version of Desperado. ”

Duff McKagan

"I got to know Jeff ever since he tried to play with GNR in Paris in the early 90’s. He had to back out because his tinnitus flared up at the soundcheck. A few weeks later he came to a studio in London and played on my Believe In Me record. His guitar playing has remained some of my very favorite of all time.”

Doug Wimbish

“Jeff Beck was one of a kind. A true genius who played from the heart. In the Fall of 1984 I was working in NYC with Arthur Baker, who asked me to play bass on Jeff’s Flash album, which Arthur was producing. Arthur set up a jam session with Jeff, myself and Zack Alford over at Electric Lady Studios and Jeff and I hit it off.

"Flash was released in 1985 and was followed by a tour of Japan. Following the tour, Jeff and I started recording with Mick Jagger on his Primitive Cool album. A great person, a great spirit and a total legend to the core.”

Tal Wilkenfeld

“Jeff Beck’s light and power were so strong. I was convinced we’d be goofing around and making music until the day I leave this planet. Jeff, thank you for believing in me before anyone else did. You treated me like a daughter to the point where Wikipedia actually thought that was true!”

Stanley Clarke

"Jeff had so much fire and patience at the same time in his playing along with an unmatched uniqueness. I remember staying at his place outside of London in Tunbridge Wells along with Mike Garson. We were rehearsing for something and Jeff had his guitars laid out all over the place. We went from playing music to messing around with what I believe was Jeff’s greatest love…. his cars. He had this beautiful brown Roadster. I believe it had red fire decals on the side. I have so many great memories with him.”

Billy Sheehan

“ Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds is one of the most important records in my musical life. Paul Samwell-Smith is the inspiration for the neck-position EBO pickup on my original P Bass, and then, of course, Jeff Beck. Of the ‘Big Three’ (Page, Clapton and Beck), Jeff was my guy. From jamming Rice Pudding in a High School band, as well as performing so many others of Jeff’s songs. He was a beacon of creativity and improvisational expertise. Like no other.”

Gail Ann Dorsey

“Arguably the greatest guitarist ever? If not, very close to it. I got to witness his genius here in my hometown of Kingston NY back in 2010 at UPAC. I spent a few moments after the show in his gracious company. I am forever grateful for the innovative, captivating and passionate music he has blessed us with.”

“For me, Jeff Beck was the true king of the electric guitar . He was a man who spoke a language no one else could speak, but one that we can all understand. Even Jimi Hendrix called him ‘the best living guitar player.’ He was the guitarist's guitar hero.”

Bryan Beller

“You can pretty much draw a line from everyone of note I've ever worked with straight back to Jeff Beck. His boundless creativity and inventive sonic artistry made instrumental guitar-driven rock and fusion a thing in the first place.”

Darryl Jones

“We have lost one of the most singularly gifted guitar masters ever to play the instrument. Jeff Beck influenced generations of players because of his completely unique approach to guitar playing. In my opinion, there is no one that comes close to playing the way he did. The music world has lost an irreplaceable talent.”

Paul McCartney

“Jeff Beck was a lovely man who played some of the best guitar music ever to come out of Great Britain. He was a superb technician and could strip down his guitar and put it back together again in time for the show. His unique style of playing was something that no one could match, and I will always remember the great times we had together. He would come over to dinner at our place or he and his wife, Sandra, would host an evening at their house. I will cherish forever the moments we spent together.

Jeff Beck has left the building and it is a lonelier place without him. God bless Jeff and his family.”

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Nick Wells was the Editor of Bass Guitar magazine from 2009 to 2011, before making strides into the world of Artist Relations with Sheldon Dingwall and Dingwall Guitars. He's also the producer of bass-centric documentaries, Walking the Changes and Beneath the Bassline, as well as Production Manager and Artist Liaison for ScottsBassLessons. In his free time, you'll find him jumping around his bedroom to Kool & The Gang while hammering the life out of his P-Bass.

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23 Feb 2016

THE WHO HITS 50! TOUR RE-SCHEDULED DATES SET TO RE-LAUNCH IN NORTH AMERICA ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27 IN DETROIT, MI

UK’s SLYDIGS AND AUSTRALIAN-BORN, LA-BASED TAL WILKENFELD CONFIRMED AS OPENING ACTS

As they prepare to re-launch the North American leg of THE WHO HITS 50! TOUR on Saturday, February 27 in Detroit, The Who returned to the stage on Saturday, February 13 at SSE Arena, Wembley for their first show since the tour was postponed in September 2015. That performance was described by the Daily Telegraph as “high-voltage virtuosity… The Who were in full flight… America’s in for a treat. As these grizzled septuagenarians milked the ovation for their feats of rockin’ physicality like punch-drunk boxers, there were no hard-and-fast goodbyes.”   When The Who take the stage in Detroit, it will mark the beginning of a 28-date tour of rescheduled dates from their 2015 trek which was postponed to allow lead singer Roger Daltrey time to recover from his recent bout of viral meningitis, and includes stops in Toronto, New York, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles, before wrapping Sunday, May 29 in Las Vegas. Tickets for the originally scheduled shows will be honoured at the new dates. For the tour openers, the band has set Tal Wilkenfeld to perform on the first 13 shows with Slydigs to accompany them on the remaining dates. In addition, 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – who accompanied The Who on the first leg of this tour – will perform as special guests at the Thursday, March 3 show at Madison Square Garden in New York City.   THE WHO HITS 50! tour is being presented by AEG Live. Tickets and VIP packages for the shows are available at  www.www.thewho.com .   Citi is the official credit card of THE WHO HITS 50! tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase tickets for the US dates through Citi’s Private Pass Program. For details visit  www.citiprivatepass.com .   The updated THE WHO HITS 50! tour dates are as follows:  

DATE CITY VENUE

  With Tal Wilkenfeld supporting:

Sat 2/27 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena

Tue 3/1 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre   With Joan Jett & The Blackhearts supporting:

Thu 3/3 New York, NY Madison Square Garden   With Tal Wilkenfeld supporting:

Mon 3/7 Boston, MA TD Garden

Thu 3/10 Chicago, IL United Center

Sat 3/12 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center

Mon 3/14 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center

Wed 3/16 Pittsburgh, PA CONSOL Energy Center

Sat 3/19 Newark, NJ Prudential Center

Mon 3/21 Milwaukee, WI BMO Harris Bradley Center

Thu 3/24 Washington, DC Verizon Center

Sat 3/26 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center

Tue 3/29 Denver, CO Pepsi Center   With Slydigs supporting:

Tue 4/26 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre

Fri 4/29 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center

Sun 5/1 Minneapolis, MN Target Center

Wed 5/4 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre

Fri 5/6 Saskatoon, SK SaskTel Centre

Sun 5/8 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place

Tue 5/10 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome

Fri 5/13 Vancouver, BC Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena

Sun 5/15 Seattle, WA KeyArena at Seattle Center

Tue 5/17 Portland, OR Moda Center

Thu 5/19 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena

Sun 5/22 Anaheim, CA Honda Center

Wed 5/25 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center

Fri 5/27 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center

Sun 5/29 Las Vegas, NV Colosseum at Caesars Palace   **Please note: Tickets for the Toronto October 19 show will be honoured on the March 1 date, while tickets for the October 21/ December 1 show will be honoured at the April 26 performance.      

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Tal Wilkenfeld: “I’m a completely different bass player now. When I was in Jeff Beck’s band, I hadn’t even been playing for four years!”

The Australian bassist on Love Remains and her superstar collaborators

Tal Wilkenfeld’s 2007 debut album was titled Transformation, and although it was an instrumental record made with a handful of New York City’s top jazz musicians, the connotation seemed clear.

After all, here was a musician who moved from her native Bondi Beach, Australia to Los Angeles at 16 to pursue a career playing bass guitar , and within a handful of years she had become a YouTube -aided global sensation.

Wilkenfeld has been nothing short of a marvel as a bassist for hire with everyone from Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Toto and Prince to Mick Jagger

The flashpoint? A viral clip of her expressive solo on Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers, as a member of Jeff Beck ’s quartet at Eric Clapton ’s Crossroad Festival in 2007. Fast-forward a dozen years, and the album title seems to have revealed its true meaning at last.

For while Wilkenfeld has been nothing short of a marvel as a bassist for hire with everyone from Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Toto and Prince to Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr , Jackson Browne, Keith Urban and Ryan Adams, she has returned to her very first incarnation: singer-songwriter. Transformation indeed.

Love Remains, Wilkenfeld’s sophomore solo effort, is a stirring collection of 10 songs drawn largely from life experiences garnered during her time providing low-end in the limelight.

The framework is rock ’n’ roll, but this is no one-car garage creation. Along with guitarist Blake Mills, drummer Jeremy Stacey, keyboardists Benmont Tench and Zac Rae, and coproducer/ guitarist Paul Stacey, Wilkenfeld unveils a soundscape wide and warm.

Interlocked electric, acoustic and bass guitars conjure ambiguous harmonies and nuanced support parts that help her deliver her introspective lyrics in a voice that is sometimes delicate, sometimes dirty, but always direct from the heart.

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Of her new path, she explains, “I was singing and writing songs from the first day I picked up a guitar at 14. When I moved to the States, my focus shifted to being strictly an instrumentalist. After a few years touring as a bassist, I realised I had abandoned my roots as a singersongwriter, and that’s when I started working on Love Remains.”

As I began recording my songs I would ask Jackson Browne for advice, and he was beyond helpful

With her new mission in place and her schedule cleared to be home in Los Angeles writing, Wilkenfeld found the perfect mentor in Jackson Browne. She recalls, “I met Jackson while performing with Jeff Beck at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25th Anniversary at Madison Square Garden.

As I began recording my songs I would ask him for advice, and he was beyond helpful, taking the time to share his wisdom and knowledge. I feel very fortunate to have him as a friend.” As a result, Jackson is credited as Executive Producer on Love Remains, having overseen the record’s process.

Wilkenfeld cites Browne as more than just a major songwriting influence. “A lot of the artists who inspired me were ones I was introduced to during the making of the album, and that was thanks to Jackson and Benmont, who I’d met through Jackson.

“When they realised that I didn’t grow up hearing artists like Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones or Neil Young, they made sure to educate me. That affected how the album developed, and they became some of my favourite songwriters, along with Elliott Smith and Paul Simon. All of these artists were influencing my writing in real time, along with artists whose inspiration I’d already drawn from, like Leonard Cohen and Jimi Hendrix .”

She adds: “It was very helpful to have Paul Stacey working on this with me, because he’s musically diverse and I trust his taste and experience. He offered a lot of great ideas, and even when we disagreed about certain things, he took a stance when he believed it was right for the music.

“It’s important to work with a producer that isn’t just a ‘yes’ person. Tony Berg [credited with additional production on Counterfeit] was also very insightful and supportive throughout the making of the album. I don’t think I’ve ever walked away from a conversation with him without learning something new.”

Still, any record needs a spark as a launching point, and for Wilkenfeld it was the album’s first single, Corner Painter. She explains: “I kept writing with the intention of finding a song that would become the linchpin for the rest of the album. When I wrote ‘Corner Painter’ and recorded it with the Stacey brothers and Blake Mills, I knew I had landed upon the sound - both compositionally and sonically - that I wanted the rest of the songs to stand alongside.”

I’m a completely different bass player now than I was 10 years ago

It was a culinary catalyst that brought the album’s ensemble together. She chuckles, “I’ve met so many key people in my life through my love of sushi! I made plans to have sushi with Benmont. He invited Jeremy, who I’d met briefly at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads festival, and halfway through the dinner, Paul showed up.

“After dinner, we went to my car and I played them some songs I was working on. They really connected with them, and I liked what they had to say about how they’d approach my music, so we made plans to try out a couple of songs in the studio. I suggested we call Blake Mills, who’s one of the most inventive, musical guitarists I know, and the four of us cut Corner Painter. A few months later, while having sushi with Benmont at the same place, I met Zac Rae, who joined us when we cut the rest of the album.”

Meanwhile, the transition to singer-songwriter had an effect on Wilkenfeld’s bass playing. “I’m a completely different bass player now than I was 10 years ago. When I was in Jeff Beck’s band, I hadn’t even been playing for four years!” she tells us.

“It’s a really exciting time when you pick up an instrument and start discovering your voice on it. Sometimes that can be a distraction from the discipline of when to step forward or when to step back. The more experience you get, the more your playing becomes less about your voice and more about the song. I’m backing up a singer, and that singer is me! Doing that regularly reinforced how to play the appropriate part for the song.”

Tal’s bass on Love Remains pivots between dual roles. There’s the solid, song-minded support, as on the fiery Hard To Be Alone, the stadium rocker Killing Me and the forlorn ballad Pieces Of Me.

In contrast, her bass engages in call and response with her vocal on the dreamy, reflective Counterfeit and the strident Fistful Of Glass. She reveals, “Most of the album, including Counterfeit, was recorded live, so aside from some written parts, the bass playing is a spontaneous reaction to my singing. For Fistful Of Glass I overdubbed the bass and used a pick, but I retained a call and response approach.”

The album’s crown jewel may well be Haunted Love, a bass and vocal ballad. Wilkenfeld took her Sadowsky NYC five-string, strung it E-A-D-G-C, added a capo at the third fret, and accompanied herself fingerstyle via chords and arpeggios comprising close voicings and open strings.

Her fans got a preview of this unique approach when she performed Leonard Cohen’s Chelsea Hotel at Bass Player LIVE! 2013, where she was presented with BP’s Young Gun award.

She reports, “Haunted Love came to me all at once - melody, chords and lyrics - and then I refined the various aspects. I approach it like I’m accompanying myself on a baritone nylon-string acoustic guitar. It’s very satisfying to play because I get to sing on both of my instruments.”

Harmony lines

Sometimes the most inventive ideas on an instrument come from someone who doesn’t primarily play that instrument

Elsewhere, Wilkenfeld played an early-60s Harmony H22 hollowbody bass on Under The Sun, which features her freely phrased bass melody at the start and end.

She says, “I wrote that song with Sonya Kitchell, and I grabbed a Harmony bass that was hanging on her wall. That bass defined the sound of the song, so I went out and bought one. Sometimes an instrument can inspire the creation or development of a song and in turn become a key part of its sound. It’s nice to maintain that authenticity when recording it. That’s why Jackson Browne has 15 guitars on stage!”

For the bulk of the album, Wilkenfeld turned to a Fender Precision belonging to Browne.

She explains, “Early on we established a sound for the record; I don’t want to call it vintage or retro, but it was definitely warm and analogue. We didn’t want the album to sound like 1970 or 2019, we aimed to make it sound as if it could have been recorded at any time.”

She continues: “Passive instruments like the P-Bass and the Harmony work well in that setting. Modern basses have more of a hi-fi sound, which works great in other situations, but it wasn’t right for what we were trying to accomplish. On Haunted Love, to make my Sadowsky complement the sound of the rest of the album, I used flatwound strings, rolled the tone all the way down, and recorded it through a guitar amp.”

Bass notes come from diverse sources on the album. One Thing After Another uses a woodwind ensemble with bass clarinet on the bottom for a different colour. Corner Painter was recorded on a baritone acoustic guitar, coupled with Blake Mills’ tuned-down electric guitar.

Wilkenfeld explains: “I overdubbed some root notes on an organ to fatten up the bottom, but there was enough going on musically between the core trio of Blake, Jeremy and I that we didn’t need to pull focus from that with an electric bass-line.”

Mills strapped on a Precision bass with flatwounds for the title track. “When we were recording, Blake tried a few different approaches on electric guitar and it all felt like too much on top of an already pretty complex song, so I suggested he play bass. He came up with a very interesting, musical bassline that I would have never thought to play. Sometimes the most inventive ideas on an instrument come from someone who doesn’t primarily play that instrument.”

Coming home

Looking back at Wilkenfeld’s career, bass has served as the through line. Although she arrived at the Los Angeles Music Academy to study guitar, she switched to bass in her second semester.

She smiles: “People would catch me plucking funky grooves on my guitar. If I saw a bass I wanted to play it. Same with drums. It was obvious to everyone that I wanted to be a rhythm section player. I was hesitant to switch, getting such a late start at 17, but once I picked up the bass it felt very natural to me - like it was home.”

Wilkenfeld credits Marcus Miller with being the first bassist to sit down with her and offer his guidance. Soon after, she was drawn to New York City by Wayne Krantz’s albums Long To Be Loose and 2 Drink Minimum (both from 1995), which featured the rhythm team of bassist Lincoln Goines and drummer Zach Danziger. Once there, her in-person tutelage continued via Anthony Jackson and Oteil Burbridge.

Prince recorded to tape and worked very quickly, and he never wanted to punch in unless it was absolutely necessary

She admits: “When I got to New York, people told me I sounded like Jaco, and I said ‘Who’s Jaco?’ So I dug into his solo records and his work with Weather Report and Joni Mitchell.” 

Pausing to reflect on her peers, she adds “There are so many great bass players out there. I get inspired by the ones who have a solid groove and create a bassline that is just as melodic as the top line. James Jamerson is the king of that.”

Word of the ‘Wonder From Down Under’ soon spread, leading Wilkenfeld to play with Krantz, Hiram Bullock and Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, and sit in with the Allman Brothers and Susan Tedeschi. Her aforementioned debut album, Transformation, resulted in tours with Chick Corea and, of course, her breakout role with Jeff Beck. Online and TV appearances with Beck led to touring and recording with Herbie Hancock and studio time with Prince.

Reflecting on those post-album experiences, she relates: “They were all highly inspirational people to be around. Prince recorded to tape and worked very quickly, and he never wanted to punch in unless it was absolutely necessary. That taught me how to work fast and effectively, and commit to my decisions.

“Playing in Jeff Beck’s and Herbie Hancock’s bands was so fun, because it was never about playing for the sake of playing; it was about having diverse musical conversations with notes. When you approach music from that place, everyone has something to say, and something to learn from a conversation. There’s no way you can walk away from situations like that without picking up on some of the nuances and the subtleties they bring to the music. I’m one lucky human!”

While Wilkenfeld’s Beck association led to performances alongside such rock royalty as Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page , Ringo Starr, Buddy Guy, Joe Walsh, Steven Tyler, Sting and Billy Gibbons, it was a brief meeting with Pete Townshend in 2014 that resulted in her opening for The Who .

She explains: “Right after I recorded my album, I sent it to Pete and his reaction was very encouraging and supportive. As it turned out, the opening band for The Who’s upcoming tour were having visa issues, so it was a case of very fortunate timing.”

She adds: “It was an invaluable experience. Other than a few club shows, I’d never sung a whole set of my music before. I learned how to build a set that keeps the audience engaged, and I built up the stamina to perform it. I also learned how to simplify the music in order to reach the people in the very back rows of stadiums.”

If I can enhance a project with something that I can contribute creatively, I’m in

As 2019 unfolds, Wilkenfeld will focus on Love Remains. Having performed well-received album launch shows in Los Angeles and New York, she will continue to tour in 2019.

Of the title, she explains: “The combination of the two words ‘Love’ and ‘Remains’ has two very different meanings, both present in the themes of the record: the endurance or the failure of love.”

That duality also applies to Tal’s career, as she evolves from being known simply as a prodigious bassist to a singer-songwriter, composer and producer too.

She has no plans to abandon her role as an in-demand session player, producer or side musician.

“I love collaboration,” she says. “If I can enhance a project with something that I can contribute creatively, I’m in. Ultimately, I’ll listen to what my heart tells me to pursue, as I’ve always done, and follow the inspiration.”

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Meet the Who’s Opening Act: Bass Sensation Tal Wilkenfeld

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Back in 2006, the tenacious Tal Wilkenfeld arrived in New York City toting a guitar and a dream. Mere months after her arrival, the then-teenager not only met the Allman Brothers but was soon jamming alongside them onstage. Since then, the multi-instrumentalist has shared stages with Herbie Hancock, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton; collaborated with Jackson Browne; and is spending March opening for the Who on their The Who Hits 50! tour.

Wilkenfeld is working on new music that sees her evolving from an instrumental prodigy into a formidable singer-songwriter — you can hear her first non-instrumental single “Corner Painter” below, a rollicking banger inspired by experiences real and imagined. Rolling Stone c aught up with Wilkenfeld before a Toronto Who show to talk about her “this is it” moment.

You’re shifting away from your past as an instrumental musician. Yeah. I’ve been working on new music with the same band, which is Blake Mills, who I’m sure you’re familiar with, Benmont Tench from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on keys and Jeremy Stacey on drums. We’ve also been recording some stuff at Jackson Browne’s studio. Jackson Browne has been a big part of this, he’s been super supportive of me and my songwriting.

Would you consider Browne a mentor? I would describe him as a mentor. He doesn’t like when I say “mentor” because he says that he likes to see me as a peer. But he has mentored me as a songwriter. And every time I write a new song he’s the first person I play the song to and ask, “Did you like it?” and “What’d you think,” you know? … It’s really a privilege to have this sort of opportunity as a songwriter with one of the best songwriters alive.

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How did you end up sitting in with the Allman Brothers back when you first moved to New York? I was gigging several times a night in various clubs. I was just trying to play all the time. That’s how I met a couple of the guys from the Allman Brothers and they asked me to sit in with them. And I just remember we played “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” and at one point there’s just a bass solo and then moves into a drum solo. So everyone was off the stage except me at this theater in front of 5,000 people. And I was a teenager and I’d never been on a real stage before! It was really exciting. That was my first moment, really.

Were you scared at all? I guess I sometimes surprise myself with the lack of fear I have. It just feels so right to be playing and performing for people that the fear sort of escapes me a lot of the time. Sometimes it catches up to me and I get butterflies in my stomach but mainly I’m so overwhelmed with excitement that I forget that I might be nervous.

I’m telling you, the first time I picked up a guitar, the first chord I strummed, a tear started rolling down my face. I thought, “Oh my god, this is what I want to do forever.” It was instant.

What drew you you to the guitar in particular? I really have no idea. It was some strange circumstance. It just appeared in my life. One day I walked past a guitar, I looked at it and thought, “I need to play that.” I don’t know why. I’d never seen anyone play the guitar, and I actually grew up in a household that didn’t expose me to too much music. So it was sort of strange that it came to me. I don’t know why I want to play guitar but I just know I want to play.

Also one day a letter came home in the mail saying, “Look if any students want to study guitar or keyboard, or piano rather, you can do that.” I begged and begged and begged my mom, and the answer was no quite a few times. But I was relentless . I needed to play the guitar. There was nothing anybody could say that could stop me! Eventually some negotiation was made between me and my mom where I got my way.

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Do you have a particular place you like to write songs, or is it just wherever you have an idea? It’s the latter. Although that I will tell you I see a pattern in my songwriting whereby when I’m doing automatic pilot activities, like walking, showering, cleaning, driving, a lot of ideas come to me. Because I’m not caught up in my own mind. Especially when you see repeating patterns, like palm trees or poles that just keep going and going and going while you’re driving, and it really puts you into a trance.

L.A.’s never-ending palm trees will put you in some kind of mood. Neverending palm trees! I’m going to write a song about that.

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Allman Betts Family Revival 2023 with Tal Wilkenfeld: Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More

Tal Wilkenfeld is currently on tour with the Allman Betts Family Revival, and now we get to see them in action.

Youtuber John Richardson captured this footage of the band performing “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More,” with Tal handling the lead vocals.

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Tal is a great bassest but I don’t see her playing with these folks. You mean that Betts & Allman couldn’t get a bassest from all the “southern” music scene to get. Yikes

Tal Wilkenfeld

Tal Wilkenfeld is an Australian singer, songwriter, bassist and guitarist who began her musical journey when she first picked up a guitar at 14. Emigrating to the United States at the age of 16, Tal studied electric guitar before switching to the electric bass and graduating from the Los Angeles Music Academy College of Music in 2004.

After graduating, Tal moved to New York City and began making a name for herself in the New York Jazz club scene. It was during this time that she met members of The Allman Brothers Band who invited her to sit in at their show at the Beacon Theater—her first time on a large stage. This began her professional career as a musician and she went on to tour and perform with the likes of Chick Corea, Jeff Beck, Gov't Mule, Ivan Neville, Robben Ford, The Roots, Prince, Steven Tyler, Sting, H.E.R, Brandi Carlile, and Demi Lovato, to name a few. She's also recorded on projects with Herbie Hancock, Ringo Starr, Jackson Browne, Pharrell, Buddy Guy, John Mayer, and more.

As an artist in her own right, Tal has released her debut bass-led album Transformation in 2007—which landed her Chick Correa's Australia tour. And her debut vocal album Love Remains was released in 2019 and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseeker charts on the first week of its release. Tal has received several accolades and awards included being voted "The Year's Most Exciting New Player" by Bass Player magazine's readers' choice poll in 2008, awarded Bass Player Magazine's "Young Gun Award" in 2013 and receiving the "Vision” award at the eighth annual She Rocks Awards in 2020.

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