Jeff Beck Bassist Tal Wilkenfeld Pens New Songs With Jackson Browne, Steve Perry
Bassist Tal Wilkenfeld has led a charmed musical life. “Now that I’ve done so much playing with people like Jeff Beck, I’m spoiled,” she told Rolling Stone recently, right after stepping off the stage at the iHeartRadio Festival that she shared with Beck, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, and members of Sly and the Family Stone.
Thankfully, Wilkenfeld, who has been working on a new album which will be released next year, has found a co-writer as renowned for his songwriting as Beck is for his guitar playing. “I’ve written some stuff with Jackson Browne,” she says. “I would say it’s a little bit more folky, but driven by the lyric.”
Browne isn’t the only big name Wilkenfeld is collaborating with. She’s also written songs with former Journey vocalist Steve Perry and Mike Elizondo, known for his work with Dr. Dre, Fiona Apple and more.
All of those artists certainly have their own distinct styles, but Wilkenfeld says the songs will feel like hers. “I’ve done a lot of stuff, but it’s kind of still in the early stages cause I’ve been experimenting with different people, trying different things,” she says. “There are so many different directions I could’ve gone in, so it’s a matter of narrowing it down and I kind of feel like I just found it.”
She’s also found her voice again and will be singing on the new album. “When I first started I was singing. Then I kind of got into some instrumental music for a while cause I felt like I wanted to develop as an instrumentalist,” she explains. “Now I’m kind of incorporating vocals back into my music, so I’m really excited.”
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