“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!” Tal Wilkenfeld on her evolution from bass phenomenon to solo artist

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 bassist who moved from her native Bondi Beach, Australia to Los Angeles at 16 to pursue a career playing music, and within a handful of years she had become a YouTube-aided global sensation.

The flashpoint? A viral clip of her bass 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, and the album title seems to have revealed its true meaning. 

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, in 2019 she returned to her very first incarnation: singer-songwriter. 

Of her new path, Wilkenfeld explained, “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 singer-songwriter, and that's when I started working on Love Remains.” 

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.

“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.” 

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. 

“When he realised that I didn't grow up hearing artists like Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones or Neil Young, he 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 like Leonard Cohen and Jimi Hendrix.”

Still, any record needs a spark as a launching point, and for Wilkenfeld it was the album's first single, Corner Painter. “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.”

Meanwhile, the transition to singer-songwriter also 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! 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.”

Wilkenfeld's bass on Love Remains pivots between dual roles. There's the solid, song-minded support, as on the fiery Hard To Be Alone, 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.

“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 Bass Player's Young Gun award. “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.”

Elsewhere, Wilkenfeld played an early-'60s Harmony H22 hollowbody bass on Under The Sun, which features her bass melody at the start and end. “I wrote that song with Sonya Kitchell, and I grabbed a Harmony bass that was hanging on her wall. Sometimes an instrument can inspire the 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. “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.

“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 not 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.”

Other 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. “I overdubbed some root notes on an organ to fatten up the bottom, but there was enough going on musically that we didn't need to pull focus from that with a bass guitar.”

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.”

Looking back at Wilkenfeld's career, although she arrived at the Los Angeles Music Academy to study guitar, she switched to bass in her second semester. “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 as being the first bassist to offer her any 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.

“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. 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.

“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 also 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. 

“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.

“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 people in the very back rows of stadiums.”

As Wilkenfeld 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. 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.”