# Tim Lefebvre
**Tim Lefebvre** is an American bassist from Foxboro, Massachusetts, known for his work on [David Bowie](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-bowie)'s final album *[Blackstar](https://www.edgepedia.org/blackstar-album)* (2016), his tenure with the [Tedeschi Trucks Band](https://www.edgepedia.org/tedeschi-trucks-band) from 2013 to 2018, and a session career spanning, by his own site's count, more than 700 recordings across jazz, rock, R&B, and film and television soundtracks.[1](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about) He is a doubler on electric and upright bass, and his style mixes vintage rock, improvisation, soundtrack undertones, and electronic grooves.[1](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Foxboro, Massachusetts native; took up guitar as a child and upright bass in high school[2](https://www.musicradar.com/news/session-bass-ace-tim-lefebvre-even-if-its-obtuse-harmonically-if-its-funky-people-will-respond-to-it) |
| New York start | Moved to New York City in 1993 on the advice of drummer Zach Danziger; early work with Chuck Loeb, Leni Stern, and Bill Evans[3](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tim-lefebvre-on-the-belt-level-placement-of-his-p-bass) |
| Saturday Night Live | Sub bassist in the show's band from 2001 to 2008[1](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about) |
| Tedeschi Trucks Band | Bassist 2013–2018; albums *Let Me Get By* (2016), *Live From The Fox Oakland* (2017), and *Signs* (2019)[1](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about) |
| *Blackstar* | Played bass on David Bowie's 2016 final album, recorded with Donny McCaslin's band at Bowie's request[4](https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2016/01/14/let-me-get-by-an-interview-with-tim-lefebvre/) |
| Signature gear | 1968 Fender Precision with flatwounds; 3Leaf Audio signature Octabvre; Amptweaker TightFuzz TL signature pedal[5](https://www.classicrockhistory.com/tim-lefebvre-the-classicrockhistory-com-interview/) • [6](https://gearstrings.com/drums/amptweaker-and-bassist-tim-lefebvre-collaborate-on-limited-edition-tightfuzz) |
| Producing | Rachel Eckroth's *When It Falls* (2018) and *The Garden* (2021); the latter was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album[7](https://bassmagazine.com/issues/issue-10/10-questions-with-tim-lefebvre/) |
## Early path
Lefebvre grew up in Massachusetts in a musical family; his father, Spike Lefebvre, was a middle school music teacher who concluded his son was a bass player after watching him play only single notes on his sister's guitar.[5](https://www.classicrockhistory.com/tim-lefebvre-the-classicrockhistory-com-interview/) He played saxophone in middle school, woodshedded on guitar to AC/DC, Rush, and [Van Halen](https://www.edgepedia.org/van-halen) records, and began upright bass in high school.[2](https://www.musicradar.com/news/session-bass-ace-tim-lefebvre-even-if-its-obtuse-harmonically-if-its-funky-people-will-respond-to-it) His early electric influences included [Darryl Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/darryl-jones), Victor Bailey, and [Marcus Miller](https://www.edgepedia.org/marcus-miller), with Paul Chambers and Charlie Haden as upright models.[3](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tim-lefebvre-on-the-belt-level-placement-of-his-p-bass)
He double-majored in political science and economics in college, then took a bass gig on a cruise ship before moving to New York in 1993 at drummer Zach Danziger's urging.[2](https://www.musicradar.com/news/session-bass-ace-tim-lefebvre-even-if-its-obtuse-harmonically-if-its-funky-people-will-respond-to-it) • [3](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tim-lefebvre-on-the-belt-level-placement-of-his-p-bass) Playing in Wayne Krantz's trio became a formative education: Krantz challenged him to avoid leaning on Paul Jackson and [James Jamerson](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-jamerson) licks, and the trio setting forced organic, spontaneous creativity.[2](https://www.musicradar.com/news/session-bass-ace-tim-lefebvre-even-if-its-obtuse-harmonically-if-its-funky-people-will-respond-to-it) In 2011 he relocated to Los Angeles, where live and soundtrack work followed quickly.[3](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tim-lefebvre-on-the-belt-level-placement-of-his-p-bass)
## Session career and ensembles
Lefebvre's credits run from Sting, Elvis Costello, John Mayer, Donald Fagen, and [Chris Botti](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-botti) to soundtracks including *The Departed*, *Ocean's Twelve*, *Analyze That*, *The Sopranos*, and *30 Rock*, alongside appearances on over 700 recordings by his own site's count.[1](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about) • [2](https://www.musicradar.com/news/session-bass-ace-tim-lefebvre-even-if-its-obtuse-harmonically-if-its-funky-people-will-respond-to-it) An earlier profile put his tally at around 150 recordings, so the larger figure reflects the official biography's later scope.[8](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tim-lefebvre-best-bass-albums) • [1](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about)
His regular groups include the free-jazz band Whose Hat Is This? with Tedeschi Trucks bandmates Tyler Greenwell, JJ Johnson, and Kebbi Williams; the trio KCL with Wayne Krantz and Keith Carlock; the duo Sedatø with keyboardist Jason Lindner; and the Michael Wollny Trio.[2](https://www.musicradar.com/news/session-bass-ace-tim-lefebvre-even-if-its-obtuse-harmonically-if-its-funky-people-will-respond-to-it) • [7](https://bassmagazine.com/issues/issue-10/10-questions-with-tim-lefebvre/) • [1](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about) He also tours with Italian pop star [Tiziano Ferro](https://www.edgepedia.org/tiziano-ferro), Donny McCaslin, and his wife, the vocalist and keyboardist Rachel Eckroth.[1](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about)
## Blackstar
The path to David Bowie ran through Maria Schneider, Bowie's musical director for the "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" project, who gave Bowie a Donny McCaslin record; Bowie then came to hear the band at New York's 55 Bar and hired them for the album.[8](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tim-lefebvre-best-bass-albums) Lefebvre, McCaslin, drummer Mark Guiliana, and keyboardist Jason Lindner recorded at The Magic Shop and Human Worldwide in New York between January and May 2015, working largely from Bowie's detailed home demos.[4](https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2016/01/14/let-me-get-by-an-interview-with-tim-lefebvre/) • [9](https://www.allmusic.com/album/blackstar-mw0002894417)
**Freedom inside the demos.** On "Lazarus" and much of the album Lefebvre followed Bowie's demo basslines closely, but the three-part title track gave him room: a scripted first movement he played with deep, [Tony Levin](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-levin)-like sounds, a middle section channeling Herbie Flowers through Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and an off-kilter eighth-note outro drawing on [Sly and the Family Stone](https://www.edgepedia.org/sly-and-the-family-stone) and [Pino Palladino](https://www.edgepedia.org/pino-palladino).[4](https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2016/01/14/let-me-get-by-an-interview-with-tim-lefebvre/) • [8](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tim-lefebvre-best-bass-albums) He used a Boss OC-2 and a 3Leaf Audio Octabvre octave pedal plus a Darkglass Vintage Microtubes Deluxe, and played a little guitar on "Girl Loves Me" using Bowie's own multi-effects pedal.[4](https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2016/01/14/let-me-get-by-an-interview-with-tim-lefebvre/)
His rig for the album centered on a 1968 Fender Precision strung with flatwounds, a Moollon P-style bass, and an unusual amp choice: a Yamaha EM80 tube PA head from the late 1970s, bought for about $100 to $200, plugged into an Ampeg B15 cabinet with a spring reverb dialed in; mixer Tom Elmhirst highlighted the amp's space-echo texture on the record.[5](https://www.classicrockhistory.com/tim-lefebvre-the-classicrockhistory-com-interview/) • [4](https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2016/01/14/let-me-get-by-an-interview-with-tim-lefebvre/)
## Tedeschi Trucks Band
Lefebvre came to the Tedeschi Trucks Band in 2013 as a road and studio replacement for [Oteil Burbridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/oteil-burbridge) and became a full-time member, appearing on *Let Me Get By* (2016), *Live From The Fox Oakland* (2017), and *Signs* (2019) before departing in 2018.[1](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about) • [3](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tim-lefebvre-on-the-belt-level-placement-of-his-p-bass) [Derek Trucks](https://www.edgepedia.org/derek-trucks) described him as a player who has "always been right on the edge," and during the *Let Me Get By* sessions Lefebvre flew between the band's Jacksonville recordings and Bowie's New York sessions.[10](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/tedeschi_trucks_band_connect_let_me_get_by_and_david_bowies_blackstar)
## Gear and sound
Lefebvre stands 6 feet 4 inches tall and plays a low-slung, flatwound-strung P-Bass at belt level, explaining that wearing the bass higher makes him think too much about what he is playing.[3](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tim-lefebvre-on-the-belt-level-placement-of-his-p-bass) His gear choices change with the material: hollowbody sounds, bright roundwound four- or five-strings, or a P-Bass with flats, picked to fit each production.[5](https://www.classicrockhistory.com/tim-lefebvre-the-classicrockhistory-com-interview/) On creative gigs he brings distortions, octave pedals, and delays, while with Tedeschi Trucks he mostly played straight, dropping occasional octave notes.[2](https://www.musicradar.com/news/session-bass-ace-tim-lefebvre-even-if-its-obtuse-harmonically-if-its-funky-people-will-respond-to-it)
Two products carry his name. The 3Leaf Audio Octabvre became his signature octave pedal,[2](https://www.musicradar.com/news/session-bass-ace-tim-lefebvre-even-if-its-obtuse-harmonically-if-its-funky-people-will-respond-to-it) and in early 2024 Amptweaker released the TightFuzz TL, a limited run of 500 units developed over two years with company founder Mike Piera; measured independently, the pedal showed a noise floor of –94.2 dBu and 0.87% THD at 40 Hz.[6](https://gearstrings.com/drums/amptweaker-and-bassist-tim-lefebvre-collaborate-on-limited-edition-tightfuzz)
## Production
Lefebvre works as a producer, often at Sonic Ranch Studio in Texas, with projects including Rachel Eckroth's *When It Falls* (2018) and *The Garden* (2021) and records by Donny McCaslin, Liz Vice, and the group XXXX (Wollny, Parisien, Lefebvre, Lillinger).[7](https://bassmagazine.com/issues/issue-10/10-questions-with-tim-lefebvre/) • [1](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about) In 2024 his new projects included Nate Smith's "Leave it out," Night Plow, Farmer, and Lefebvre Reinhart and Gardner.[1](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about)
## References
1. [About | Tim Lefebvre, official site](https://www.timlefebvremusic.com/about)
2. [Session bass ace Tim Lefebvre, MusicRadar (22 March 2019)](https://www.musicradar.com/news/session-bass-ace-tim-lefebvre-even-if-its-obtuse-harmonically-if-its-funky-people-will-respond-to-it)
3. [Tim Lefebvre explains why he wears his P-Bass strap low, Guitar World (27 November 2023)](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tim-lefebvre-on-the-belt-level-placement-of-his-p-bass)
4. [Let Me Get By: An Interview with Tim Lefebvre, No Treble (14 January 2016)](https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2016/01/14/let-me-get-by-an-interview-with-tim-lefebvre/)
5. [Tim Lefebvre: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview](https://www.classicrockhistory.com/tim-lefebvre-the-classicrockhistory-com-interview/)
6. [Amptweaker and Bassist Tim Lefebvre Collaborate on Limited Edition Tightfuzz, GearStrings](https://gearstrings.com/drums/amptweaker-and-bassist-tim-lefebvre-collaborate-on-limited-edition-tightfuzz)
7. [10 Questions With Tim Lefebvre, Bass Magazine (19 July 2022)](https://bassmagazine.com/issues/issue-10/10-questions-with-tim-lefebvre/)
8. [Tim Lefebvre on his 5 best (and worst) bass albums, Guitar World (26 January 2022)](https://www.guitarworld.com/features/tim-lefebvre-best-bass-albums)
9. [David Bowie: Blackstar, AllMusic review and credits](https://www.allmusic.com/album/blackstar-mw0002894417)
10. [Tedeschi Trucks Band Connect 'Let Me Get By' and David Bowie's 'Blackstar', Exclaim! (22 January 2016)](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/tedeschi_trucks_band_connect_let_me_get_by_and_david_bowies_blackstar)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Rock, metal, and popular-band musicians › Southern rock and jam bands*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license