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Tal Wilkenfeld- And she can sing too!

#124
bass12 said:
Fair enough - I just wanted to make a point about the cult of capturing every moment, good or bad, and posting it on the internet for others to tear apart at their leisure.
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I think you have a hangup about that and are posting it on the internet for others to tear apart at their leisure. :D Welcome to the 21st century!
 
#126
Jared Lash said:
Really?

As a big Jeff Beck fan I was impressed with Tal's bass playing long before I knew her name or read any of the billion TB threads about her. I don't dislike her in any way. I think she's a great bass player.

But that doesn't make her a good singer. She's certainly not bad and she sings well enough to add backing vocals which makes her an even more attractive session or gigging player but from what I saw and heard she's a great bassist and a passable singer. No shame in that.

And just because Herbie Hancock put this together doesn't change the fact that they made a muzak version of a protest song. It's a misfire on a few counts.

That's not jealousy, it's an honest critique of musicians that I hold in very high regard. But it wouldn't be a TB thread if any and all critiques weren't dismissed as jealousy either of someone else's ability, their stature in the music world, the records they've sold and/or money they've made.

But I can play along. Here's another remake by a young woman in the music industry. Remember that any criticism only shows how jealous you are of her.
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+1

I don't buy this idea that just because we don't care for a successful person's performance, that it's sour grapes. Personally, I think Tal's a great player, though I never really cared for her phrasing. That's not a slight against her as a musician; it's just my own personal bias. I don't agree with just bashing people either (which does happen a bit), but the fact of the matter is that Tal was more than a few cents off key with her vocals. I also don't think that the fact that Herbie let her sing a song somehow legitimizes her vocal performance as being anything more than what it was.

With that said, her performance wasn't the end of the world. She sang; the audience dug it. With some training, I agree that she could be a solid vocalist.
 
#128
Medford Bassman said:
I guess my point is about this young woman...

1. Where is she performing in the video? and;

2. Who is she performing with on stage?
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And those are two points that worry me about diminishing standards.

I remember just a jam night in little local jazz club years back that you'd get severely brow beaten and probably not asked to return if you went up on stage singing out of key. It's a little hard for me to accept that singing off key is acceptable today at this level, regardless of perceived "soulfulness".
 
#129
Jim Dep said:
And those are two points that worry me about diminishing standards.

I remember just a jam night in little local jazz club years back that you'd get severely brow beaten and probably not asked to return if you went up on stage singing out of key. It's a little hard for me to accept that singing off key is acceptable today at this level, regardless of perceived "soulfulness".
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+1
 
#130
Jim Dep said:
And those are two points that worry me about diminishing standards.

I remember just a jam night in little local jazz club years back that you'd get severely brow beaten and probably not asked to return if you went up on stage singing out of key. It's a little hard for me to accept that singing off key is acceptable today at this level, regardless of perceived "soulfulness".
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Don't worry. Perfectionism and elitism will never die. And thus neither will your type of jazz.
 
#131
MikeBass said:


C'Mon......why does she have to be able to sing good too....that's just not fair!!!!
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The OP says she can sing good. He didn't say she was Aretha Franklin. But then Aretha doesn't lay down the bottom end.

I didn't listen to whole thing because to me it was a little boring. Not my new favorite arrangement of that song. It seemed like she might have been off key a little at first but the recording quality was terrible. I've heard low quality video of many top performers that made them sound terrible. Plus this is jazz. Who knows what note it was supposed to be?

Playing the bass and singing is not the easiest thing in the world. I'm guessing she doesn't do a lot of lead vocal. You think she may have been a little nervous? Lighten up. I'm sure all of your performances are flawless.
 
#134
nutdog said:
The OP says she can sing good. He didn't say she was Aretha Franklin. But then Aretha doesn't lay down the bottom end.

I didn't listen to whole thing because to me it was a little boring. Not my new favorite arrangement of that song. It seemed like she might have been off key a little at first but the recording quality was terrible. I've heard low quality video of many top performers that made them sound terrible. Plus this is jazz. Who knows what note it was supposed to be?

Playing the bass and singing is not the easiest thing in the world. I'm guessing she doesn't do a lot of lead vocal. You think she may have been a little nervous? Lighten up. I'm sure all of your performances are flawless.
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Refer to the video of Kristen Korb that I posted or search on youtube, additionally refer to the video that I posted of the singer and violinist who sings this tune on the Herbie Hancock tour...draw your own conclusions. :D
 
#137
Any Chaka Khan fans here? I'd say she's a well-respected singer who is known for her voice, but I've heard her suck on a number of occasions. Have a listen to her pitch in this one (actually, there's a much worse example on Youtube but I couldn't find it just now):

 
#138
bass12 said:
Any Chaka Khan fans here? I'd say she's a well-respected singer who is known for her voice, but I've heard her suck on a number of occasions. Have a listen to her pitch in this one (actually, there's a much worse example on Youtube but I couldn't find it just now):

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She sounds great to me. In my book, having perfect pitch all the time doesn't qualify as good. It qualifies as robotic and boring. The singer should add some of their own style to the piece. Her phrasing and time are right on, that's what really matters to my enjoyment.
 
#139
WoodyG3 said:
Has Bob Dylan himself EVER sung this song on pitch? ;)
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Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Hendrix, all unique songwriter stylists and I don't know of too many singers of that caliber that can get away with singing off key.

Would you rather have heard Hendrix play the Star Spangled Banner on guitar or sing it?

I can tell a little story about a female singer locally known as "Triple Treat" that I met on the road up in the great Pacific north west many moons ago, and try to tie it in with what we're discussing. If nobody wants to hear it, that's ok too. :)
 

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