A request to record on a song featuring Steve Gadd for a highly worthwhile charity is not something that arrives every day, a fact Tal Wilkenfeld was fully aware of when just such a call came to lend her bass to Heartcore for Brazil’s latest single, “Nossa Voz,” on the Heartcore Records label owned by guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. She explains, “I originally met Kurt through Aaron Parks, around 2010. We stayed in touch and hung out at Crossroads 2013 in New York, with Blake Mills. Later, when I was headed to Berlin, Jeremy Stacey reminded me that Kurt lived there. I booked a club show with less than a week’s notice, just to find a way to finally play with Kurt. Jeremy flew in from London too, and we performed my music with only the soundcheck to rehearse, which was a ton of fun. It was there that I met [Heartcore for Brazil project coordinator] Michaela Bóková.” Wilkenfeld continues, “Earlier this year, Michaela reached out to me and asked me to be involved in this project. To be able to contribute to such an important cause and play with the terrific musicians involved was very rewarding. It feels great to give back to the community, and it’s wonderful that Micheala and Kurt do this every year.” Tal played her Pelham Blue 1969 Fender Jazz Bass, recorded through an Avalon U5 DI, a Brent Averill Neve 1073 Clone Preamp, and a Universal Audio LA-2A Compressor—her “go-to” chain at her studio. Of her signature expressive, melodic approach to grounding the composition, she offers, “I was sent a version of the song with drums, acoustic guitar, vocals, and no bass, to record to. They also sent a separate demo with a bass part, but I purposely didn’t listen to it before recording my track. I like to go with my first instinct on a song, and typically don’t want a demo to influence what I would create naturally. Once I was done recording, I referenced the bass track they sent just for fun, and it turned out that I arrived at the same basic rhythmic approach with maybe a bit more movement.” Of her tasty fills in the outro she reveals, “Since the track didn’t have piano, electric guitar, or percussion on it yet, there was quite a bit of space to step out at certain moments.” Although the two had met several times, Wilkenfeld had yet to play with drum legend Steve Gadd. “We almost got to record the song live together, but I was still on tour playing bass with Incubus on the dates that Steve was in L.A., so I missed him by a few days. Still, the opportunity to play to his track was amazing. His pocket, feel, and musical choices are one of a kind. I’ll never forget back when I was 18 and living in New York City, and Anthony Jackson mentoring me. He’d come to my club shows and we’d talk about them afterwards. One time, I was down on my playing and Anthony recounted something Steve Gadd told him when Anthony expressed similar doubts about a performance: ‘On