Customer Reviews

Transformation

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many of us first saw Ms. "W" on the Eric Clapton "Crossroads" broadcast on PBS and were amazed by her bass playing with Jeff Beck. Her first solo CD shows that she is even better than her performance with Beck. Her songwriting abilities are commensurate with her bass playing. She is surrounded with great players. The joy she showed on the Crossroads performace is evident here...this young lady truly feels the joy of music and is gifted...a strong recommendation if you enjoy jazz/rock.

I've played bass guitar all of my life and after seeing the Jeff Beck dvd,"Live at Ronnie Scott's", I went online to learn more about his bassist Tal Wilkenfeld. (I was playing in a band that covered some of the tunes from BeckBogartandAppice when that was released long ago, so I have an appreciation for high level technicians on guitar and bass.) When I discovered Tal's cd,"Transformation", I enthusiastically bought it. She is a marvelous bassist and surrounds herself with a talented ensemble, and the work is technically impressive, BUT the cd as a whole lacks the passion that is so prevalent in her performance with Beck. "Live at Ronnie Scott's" had me on the edge of my seat listening with hunger and anticipation while "Transformation" makes for good background music, at least it becomes background music to me because it doesn't captivate me. The passion and emotion in Beck's performance is lacking in Tal's solo project. I lent it to the fellow who lent me Beck's dvd and he had the same impression.

Well, Tal's CD passed the cruising up PCH from San Clemente to Huntington Beach near sunset test. Very tasteful music evocative of the beauty that is the SoCal coastline, especially "Truth Be Told." I doubt she was necessarily thinking of SoCal while writing and recording this CD, but none the less, it sure seems to capture that mood/feeling. To be only 21 and that talented, it's almost criminal. I bet we will see many great things from this young lady in the years to come.

Wow!!

I like probably most of you first said, "who's that great teenage bassist?" when watching the Clapton Crossroads special. I then investigated, checked out MySpace etc., and found out that she's an Aussie fusion player in her mid-twenties!
After hearing the 2 song snippets on her page, I was pretty sure I'd dig the CD and I was right. It's intricate, very composed fusion--Tal has spun a few Chick Corea records in her time on the planet, among others. Multiple different sections to each song--it keeps my ears attuned for sure.
If you like Chick Corea or The Dave Weckl Band or the 1980's John Scofield Band or Pat Metheny Group or the likes, get this CD. You won't be disappointed.

When I first saw this 21 year old woman playing bass with Jeff Beck, I was
takin back.Something fresh,something that is alive not comercialized
like the rest of these "bass gods". Once I heard the U Tube "once we were
lovers" I had to get this album. Its amazing you go to her site and it almost says she has been playing bass a few short months. Now she played
with almost everybody that there is great, Corea, Clapton,Jeff Beck,
Wayne Shorter. The solo cd is delightful. Again fresh ideas. One the first tune,Tal rips "a new one" on a great bass solo. The rest of the Cd is good,but I was really waiting for more solos from the gifted,talented
bassit. My hat is off to you my dear. As they say "YOU ROCK". Its so
nice to hear moving passive bass lines,instead of this BS technical
bass playing. Her playing is very free flowing. So when you get this CD,
listening how she adds color to a fantastic tight bass lines,she is right there with the drummer.Does not miss a beat. This does remind of listen to Jaco. But of course no one can ever do what Jaco did,but he was a free
flowing bass engineer. Buy this album and wish Tal all the best for continued success and more solo albums. Thank you Tal for that much awaited breath of fresh air. Bass players heed my call to something different! Its about time!

Won't bother echoing what all of the reviewers have said on here...but this is really a fantastic debut record from someone I think has the potential to be one of the best bass players ever.

The songwriting, musicality of the arrangements, solos by Tal and the band, and recording quality are over the top.

Truth Be Told is my favorite--so brilliantly understated and sensitive. I'm a pianist so it's hard not to notice Geoff's superb fills and solo on this track, but Tal's gorgeous solo at 2:52 just sings so damn sweetly.

I anxiously await the sophomore effort (and all of the ones after that).

Wow, Tal is really something else. She is so young but already an accomplished bassist and song writer. Right off the bat in the middle of the first song, she plays a solo that blows you away. The CD is in the jazz, fusion and blues vein with lots of good songs. I can't wait to see where she goes next with her music. Recommended!

After seeing Tal on the Crossroad DVD, I had to listen to this CD. It was incredible! A must have for any true music fan!

I FIRST HEARD THE YOUNG LADY PERFORMING WITH JEFF BECK AT THE CROSSROADS FESTIVAL............I IMMEDIATELY HAD TO KNOW WHO SHE WAS.........WHAT A TALENT.........I HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO SEE JACO TWICE IN CONCERT.......FOR SOME FOLKS THE ELECTRIC BASS COMES SO NATURALLY......I AM PLEASED THAT SHE IS JOINED BY WAYNE KRANTZ [ ONE OF MY FAVORITES ] , KEITH CARLOCK [ A FREQUENT KRANTZ COLLABORATOR ] AND A SAX PLAYER AND KEYBOARD PLAYER I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH........I HAD TROUBLE FINDING THIS CD , BUT WHEN IT ARRIVED YESTERDAY , I PLAYED IT THREE TIMES IN SUCCESSION , THEN LATER IN MY CAR.......JUDGING BY HER EFFORTS HERE , THERE IS HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF JAZZ............. !

The biggest problem an artist has with a debut album this strong? He/she has to follow up with a second album at least as good! Tal has done to bass what Dave Weckl did for drums when he came on the scene in the mid eighties...how do you reinvent yourself after making such a huge splash? Speaking of drums, it's Keith Carlock with the duty on this CD. Those not familiar with this gentleman from Mississippi can also check out his groove ability on no less than Steely Dan's last effort ( and it's a measure of how good Carlock is, that Becker and Fagen used him on drums for EVERY track; that's about as much resume as any musician would ever need ). Some of the tracks on Wilkenfeld's CD are intense; more from the fusion mold...while at least a couple are pure, laid back jazz. Nice work indeed. Tal Wilkenfeld also handles the bass duties on Jeff Beck's new Live at Ronnie Scott's DVD. A promising new talent to watch, for sure.