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Why all the Tal smack talk?

#21
chicagodoubler said:
There's plenty of great players out there, but ones who have filled out her sort of resume, even by 30? Riddle me that one, batman.;)

Whether other people were more deserving... that's tricky. Did they network like her, play their butt off with humility, or move to LA at 16?

YMMV. I'm singing praises, not hating.

Rock.
Click to expand...


Do you know Tal?

Because if you do you will know the answers to your above mentioned.
 
#23
As I've said in another thread, I think many people are simply jealous of her luck. It doesn't matter if she's ten times better than Jaco could ever hope to be, there's no way she could have gotten to where she is--at her age or any age--without a tremendous amount of luck. The talent had to be there, obviously, but so did luck. Many people would move to L.A. at sixteen and end up living under a bridge. Many people would never be able to afford the L.A. Music Academy.

So it comes down to talent first, and also luck. And probably money. And many people out there simply don't enjoy that much good fortune.
 
#24
chicagodoubler said:
Did they network like her, play their butt off with humility, or move to LA at 16?
Click to expand...

+1

I played with a guitar player a few years ago who was as good as anyone I have ever heard. Talent and skill overflowed. However, he just was happy to play in a crappy little bar band. As he put it "being famous is just too much work." It seems Tal has done everything possible on her end to attain that- so what if she had some advantages?
 
#25
We have alot of mutual friends but I've never met her in person. By all accounts, a kind hearted and hungry person.

Gotta say, taking the plunge at a young age seems to be a common thread for "making it." However she afforded it, LA at 16 seems like a great compliment to drive and talent. Very few people are willing or able to put their lives on the line like that.
 
#26
She's got it all. She rocks and is a great musician. And She is nice to look at. And she is motivated. And she was in the right place(s) at the right time(s). Can't fault her for any of thoses... making a living in the music industry is feast or famine, and she's feasting so good for her.
 
#27
If Tal was a guy standing on stage with Jeff Beck, no one would say he was out of place. She's certainly talented enough for the gig. I don't think she's Beck's affirmative action hire.
The reason there's so much hoopla is because she's female and very young. Is that wrong? Half the reason Jonny Lang got his breaks was because he was very young. People love underdogs, and they love surprises and long shots and lets face it, there aren't very many female bass players on the world stage yet, percentage-wise. A 22-year-old female player with world class chops and a positive, happy persona is a really cool and rare thing. It won't always be, more and more women are getting into bass, but today Tal is a standout. I freakin' LOVE Tal, BTW.
 
#30
chicagodoubler said:
There's plenty of great players out there, but ones who have filled out her sort of resume, even by 30? Riddle me that one, batman.;)

Whether other people were more deserving... that's tricky. Did they network like her, play their butt off with humility, or move to LA at 16?

YMMV. I'm singing praises, not hating.

Rock.
Click to expand...

don't confuse having a gig or gigs with talent, circumstances can have as much or more to do with getting gigs than talent. also consider this; what or rather who is the constant factor in not only her CD but most of the high profile gigs she has done? Vinnie Colaiuta
 
#31
chicagodoubler said:
Gotta say, taking the plunge at a young age seems to be a common thread for "making it." However she afforded it, LA at 16 seems like a great compliment to drive and talent. Very few people are willing or able to put their lives on the line like that.
Click to expand...

+1. I do agree that the younger one starts driving toward a dream, the better the chance that it will come to fruition. I also agree that she took a prodigious risk in moving to L.A., etc., and should be admired for having the guts to do that.

Furthermore, I agree that she is extremely talented.

By saying that luck has had its influence, I mean no disrespect. Anyone who has ever made it big has had luck on his/her side. Dang, even getting a local gig requires some form of luck!
 
#32
I don't think she's attractive and I ignored all the hype about her intially. But passing through the TV I saw her with Beck on PBS and thought 'wow, she can groove." Jaco, Myung, Sheehan, Wooten all sound cold to me. But for some reason I like her playing.
 
#33
Getting any gig takes a combination of skill, luck, and most importantly, ATTITUDE. Most of the gigs I scored successfully was most definitely based on all 3. You get the call to audition because of luck perhaps, skill perhaps, but attitude (a good, but assertive attitude) has been a strong point in there as well. From what I can tell (after watching a bunch of youtube videos of her doing interviews etc.) she most definitely can play the bass, and maybe a little luck is on her side when she scores those gigs, but look at her when she talks about bass, or plays bass on stage. I see a lot of conviction to not only her skills on the bass, but her grooving, and attitude shines through from the stage very strongly. Not saying everyone should be forward and bossy when approaching auditions, but it has always been attitude that gets me my gigs, and I have done some neat shows for some great bands. The one thing I have noticed in my years is that the musicians who are not playing much tend to have some sort of attitude misalignment when they approach music. Tal is bold, takes risks and has skills to back herself up. From a professional musician point of view, I can say no bad against her at all. From a purely male perspective, she's rather cute. My hats off to her.
 
#34
NickyBass said:
Well, Stanley Clarke and Scott LaFaro come to mind.
Click to expand...

exactly!

Sure there's luck involved, but the guys I know who have "made it" are by far the most ambitious and driven... The guys who wait to get lucky enough to get the gig call usually don't get the gig call.

Networking. Networking. Networking. Having a guy like Vinnie on your side can't hurt.;)



Knifedge- there's a thin line between attitude and ego, and Tal is certainly on the better side of that coin. My old drummer called it "saving it for the shower." You the baddest cat in the shower, but on street excessive confidence can be a serious turnoff.
 
#35
Jealousy and Ignorance and a narrow music-mindedness.
Tal is an awesome groove player. She happens to have incredible talent--above the bell curve. But what really makes her unique IMHO is that she's a composer. Listen to HER album. It may sound like loose jamming--perhaps those moments are there--but she demonstrates some prowess for musical structure and composition: tension and resolution and introduction of thematic motifs and their development. She has a knack for the musical hook.
And yeah, she's off the hook as a bass player. What's really exciting is, she's a young bass player. She converted to bass at age 14 or so? So she's really only been playing less than a decade. So back to the exciting part: not that she's female or has good-looks, but that in being so young: we're witnessing the birth of someone who will evolve not only into a bass icon, but a musical genius over the next 40 or so years.
THAT's exciting.
Added bonus: she's comfortable in her own skin and is just doing her thing. Awesome to find one's own groove so early in life.
 
#36
mightypog said:
People love underdogs
Click to expand...

In Tal's case, I'll go with just "dog" She hit almost every branch on the ugly tree on the way down.

There is no doubt this girl has chops and talent and I was very impressed when I heard her..... but people going nuts over her just because she's young and has breasts? :rolleyes:

A lot of truth to everything already stated.....talent, luck, right place-right time, etc. Of course people can and WILL be jealous, but oh well, sucks for them.....but why? is it strictly because she's a young talented female?

People must really have some self-esteem issues if they get jealous over her or ANY young player regardless of sex.

It's premature to make judgements on her, and I hardly think she has achieved a status that some have elevated her to.

She's a very talented bass player and musician, period. Only time will tell of how she grows musically. :)
 
#37
Hutch1 said:
As I've said in another thread, I think many people are simply jealous of her luck. It doesn't matter if she's ten times better than Jaco could ever hope to be, there's no way she could have gotten to where she is--at her age or any age--without a tremendous amount of luck. The talent had to be there, obviously, but so did luck. Many people would move to L.A. at sixteen and end up living under a bridge. Many people would never be able to afford the L.A. Music Academy.

So it comes down to talent first, and also luck. And probably money. And many people out there simply don't enjoy that much good fortune.
Click to expand...

I know I'm not jealous of Tal. I am a hobbyist. Dang near every experienced player I run into is better than me. If I were the jealous type, I wouldn't even walk into a GC, let alone hang out on TB. I really feel it is unfortunate that fellow bassists and music lovers are called jealous and narrow-minded because we disagree to a certain degree (remember, no one said that she is not talented) about a specific player.:rollno:
 
#38
chicagodoubler said:
There's plenty of great players out there, but ones who have filled out her sort of resume, even by 30? Riddle me that one, batman.;)

Whether other people were more deserving... that's tricky. Did they network like her, play their butt off with humility, or move to LA at 16?

YMMV. I'm singing praises, not hating.

Rock.
Click to expand...

Esperanza Spaulding, the youngest musician PERIOD to hold a coveted instruction chair at Berkley maybe, doesn't need to tour with any "BIG names in the industry" because she's already a household name among the elite and non-elite bass worlders, alread has two albums out, has won countless awards local AND global, gets praise from giants in the bass world such as Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten and Billy Sheehan? Don't hear any Jealousy or reverse criticism about HER, and wait...she's a girl!!! She's REALLY good looking and...OMG, she's just 25!!! Riddle solved, no hating here either.
 
#39
Naw Esperanza's got haters out there... alot of people prefer her singing to her bass playing. Not talking about me, just the infinite cesspool of gossiping surrounding this industry. She's definitely got that thing I love about Tal- infinite positivity, and no visible ego.

If some of the young fellas don't learn how to mellow out, soon the girls are going to have all the gigs!:D

All in good humor.
 
#40
Pretty much the whole crowd of musicians I am friendly with
here in RI went to see her Beck gig a couple of weeks back at
Foxwoods MGM Grand Hotel. (I missed it :bawl:)

The concensus was overwhelmingly positive on her
musicianship, focus, stage presence and groove.

I have become a believer.

Good for her, she is doing full time what many of us love
and would love to do. I hope she has a long and succesfull
career.
 

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