ROOT TAL WILKENFELD REVEALS HER MUSICAL SOUL WITH LOVE REMAINS
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By Chris Jisi | Photograph by Kory Thiebeault
eet the new Tal Wilkenfeld. Same as the old Tal Wilkenfeld? That query especially resonated in New York City this March, as the Australian-born “Wonder from Down Under” returned to the site of her explosive entry into the bass world and music scene for a twoweek barnstorming run to promote her stunning new album, Love Remains. From two packed nights at the Mercury Lounge (featuring guests Sean Lennon and Becca Stevens) and “unplugged” webcasts with her reactive band (guitarist Owen Barry, drummer Tamir Barzilay, and keyboardist Chris Price), to an album listening session at Guitar
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BASS MAGAZINE ; ISSUE 1 ; bassmagazine.com
Center and countless social media interviews including iHeartRadio, Gothamites quickly grasped her transformation (ironically, the title of Tal’s 2007 jazz instrumental debut). The teenage bass phenom who regularly sat in with the Allman Brothers at the Beacon Theater, gigged with Jeff “Tain” Watts and Wayne Krantz, toured with Chick Corea, and blew up the internet with her solo on “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” as a newly minted member of Jeff Beck’s band at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival 2007, had evolved — in a major way. Love Remains is a proclamation of the full range of Wilkenfeld’s considerable gifts. It’s a return to what she refers to as her singer–
