I was watching the 2007 Crossroads Eric Clapton DVD, and saw Jeff Beck's bassist (Tal Wilkenfeld) perform. I was wowed by her performance; does anyone know anything about her?

Yeah. She's been plying with Jeff Beck, various jazz cats and making records of her own. A pretty good bass player, she gets more attention than her playing would warrant because she looks like a cute 16-year-old girl.

Seriously, would the guitar forums have a "Who is Percy Millington?" thread every other day or so if the bass player in the Jeff Beck band, playing exactly those lines, was some gnarly-looking 27-year old guy named Percy Millington? I think.... not.

I know she's from Australia, she's NOT Jeff Beck's daughter, she's really good looking and she's a darn good musician.

Try a search, she's been discussed in several threads here.

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To me I dont think she is all that fine .But Slapchop I think you describing her playing as pretty good is misleading to someone who never heard or saw her. That girl kicks $@!. Anyone who is going to be part of Becks band is going to be top shelf.

Sure, she's good.

But not as good as a bunch of players who don't get Tal's way-high Google search count.

I've seen her on TV once and it blew me away. I'm 16 and I'm nowhere near that level.

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She only LOOKS 16.

She is 23,There is a nice half hour chat with Beck on the Ronnie Scotts DVD and he says the guy who said I found your next bassist was joking with him or must of had the hots for her but when she plugged in he was blown away. Texas dont feel bad that is not the norm the girl is musicaly gifted. Just like anything else in life take sports you have pros and then theres that small percent who are hall of famers. the same applies in music you have really good players and then theres that tiny percent that are just from another planet. The funny thing is that music is just such a powerful tool and nothing is greater then just hanging with a few guys and jamming. I dont know why but us guitar players are just competetive by nature and most of the time its always the guy who can strum a few chords who writes the best songs not the guy who can play a thousand notes

She's also a fine writer....here she jams on one of her tunes :


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRFkOrnds8I

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

I loves me some Tal. Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

She has some formal training but is also self-taught to an extent and that will always impress people. But there's no denying that her looks are a factor as is that she's playing with a well known popular legend.

I could make a comparison with another great bassist of similar age - Esperanza Spaulding. Equally talented and motivated, but having gone to Berklee, doesn't have quite that self made cache. At the same time, while Spaulding has played with a number of legends (not just one), they're not in the popular forms.

Playing to a Lincoln Center jazz audience and covering the Great American Songbook will never get you the same recognition as Tal is going to get in the venues Beck plays and for the much larger audiences.

Nevertheless, she's very talented and will only develop more as the years go along. And as local rising sax player Jessy J (you want looks, she's got 'em) said ... she'd be naive not to think her looks helped get her in the door, but once in, you still have to be able to play it.