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About Steely Dan
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
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Steely Dan
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Steely Dan has been more of a conceptual framework for inventive music-making than a typical rock band. Spearheaded by a pair of resourceful musical auteurs Donald Fagen and Walter Becker - they have done nothing by the books since launching Steely Dan in 1972. The band’s very name is a scatological reference from a novel by Beat Generation anti-hero William Burroughs. Though Steely Dan recorded prolifically for much of the Seventies, they toured for only a brief spell early in that decade, deciding they much preferred the studio to the road. This allowed them to craft a wry, nuanced and hyper-literate series of albums - seven in all, released from 1972 to 1980 - that are highly regarded by connoisseurs of pop hooks, jazz harmony and desiccating wit. Beneath the highly polished surface of Steely Dan’s music, astute listeners could hear a visceral love of and identification with the very soul of jazz
Hadley Caliman / Pete Christlieb: Reunion
by Thomas Conrad
At the end of the first decade of the new millennium, one of the most gratifying developments in jazz is the late blossoming of Hadley Caliman. In 2008, at 76, he released Gratitude, his first recording as a leader in 31 years. It was followed in 2010 by Straight Ahead. They created a buzz on the ...
Rachel Z: Sensual
by Mike Jurkovic
Whatever her impetus--be it the loss of her parents or peans to a shared sense of hearth, home and heaven--pianist/composer Rachel Z's thirteenth full length album, Sensual, bares a sincere, hopeful humanity. Buoyed by a sense of survival, Sensual opens as if it were a letter, closing with the Foo Fighters' crotch-kick raise-the-roof-'n-rile-'em-up These ...
A Conversation with Brad Mehldau
by AAJ Staff
This article was first published at All About Jazz in 2002. All About Jazz: Do you recall your first jazz record? Brad Mehldau: I think the first real jazz record I listened to was an Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass duo album, one of those Pablo things. A friend of my father's ...
Dean Brown: Global Fusion on Acid
by Jim Worsley
In memory of Dean Brown. This interview was first published at All About Jazz on April 23, 2021. From the outset, the equation was simple enough. Jazz + rock = fusion. However, whether it was Miles Davis, Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin, or any of the pioneers of fusion, the music has always been far ...
Les McCann: Never Say No Again
by Chris M. Slawecki
"Be who you are and not who you ain't. Because when you are who you ain't, you're not who you are." Keyboardist, vocalist, bandleader, songwriter and photographer Les McCann really talks like this. About his music, about musicians, about his career--about everything. I learned this during the following interview, scheduled to discuss Omnivore Records' ...
Wide-Eyed Lounge Cats: The Watermelon Sessions
by Kyle Simpler
Originally developing from rock music, jam bands have become a unique genre of music. Considering the improvised nature of the music, it is hardly surprising that many jazz artists have become major players in the jam base. Groups such as Snarky Puppy and Medeski, Martin and Wood have embraced the genre while keeping true to their ...
The Crusaders: A Retrospective
by Jason Elias
With the esteemed jazz/funk/fusion band the Crusaders as a guide, one could trace the rise and fall of commercial jazz in all in many of its permutations. The core group that is the most recognized was founded in Texas and comprised Joe Sample (piano), Wilton Felder (tenor sax and bass), Stix Hooper (drums) and Wayne Henderson ...
Vinnie Zummo: Jazz and Pop Tale Daze
by Mark Sullivan
Vinnie Zummo is best known for his guitar playing with singer & songwriter Joe Jackson. He appeared on every Jackson album from Body and Soul (A&M, 1984), through Blaze of Glory (A&M, 1989), returning for The Duke (Razor & Tie Recordings, 2012). He also has a long history of mostly one-man-band recordings on his own Vaz ...