Tal Wilkenfeld
To listen to Tal Wilkenfeld, she would have been perfectly happy to remain in the background of other people’s star turns, as one of the most in-demand session and touring guitarists on the fusion jazz and prog rock circuit. It was mainly the prompting of her all-star cheerleaders, among them Herbie Hancock and Jeff Beck, that encouraged her to work on her vocal chops and step into the spotlight. She’s seen quite an upward career path since arriving in NYC back in 2006 and soon finding herself sitting in with the Allman Brothers, touring with Chick Corea, and taping TV performances with Hancock and Wayne Shorter. While on tour with Jeff Beck’s band, she started gaining widespread notice, especially after her scorching performance at Eric Clapton’s 2007 Crossroads Festival, which scored over ten million YouTube views.
Her instrumental debut album Transformation shows off the classical technique and fluid playing style that she’s perfected on tracks by Ringo Starr, Todd Rundgren, Jackson Browne, Joe Walsh, Brian Wilson, and others who’ve hired her. However, her recent solo releases with her added vocals (like her cover of “All I Want for Christmas,” which Amazon promoted last year with a streaming holiday playlist) really showcase what she’s capable of. Anyone who’s seen clips of Wilkenfeld opening for the Who knows that she can command any size audience, so she should easily win over the Belly Up crowd on November 15.