To me, The Jazz in Steely Dan is evident in many different aspects that I can only now just begin to discuss and hope to understand better by the end of this endeavour. In the music, it is manifested in compositions that have different and changing sections and tempos, in background vocals harkening to big-band and hard bop unison horn arrangements and accents, and in improvisation spaces for soloists to explore these complexities. In lyric and attitude, there is a sort of off-center, sarcastic, irony that feels like the Beat Generation writers who were heavily influenced by the type of swing and be-bop Jazz that Walter and Donald both have talked about being fans of. I want to learn more about these and other aspects of The Jazz in Steely Dan and share those with Steely Dan / Jazz fans everywhere.

For the next few weeks, leading up to Steely Dan's Friday, September 26, 2003 stop in San Diego on the Everything Must Go tour, I'm going to be researching and exploring these various intersections between Jazz and Steely Dan. I will be searching the web and other resources for all references to Steely Dan and Jazz.

I'm hoping to culminate this exploration on September 25, 2003 on The New Jazz Thing Live on Jazz 88 with a show dedicated to sharing our findings through music and discussion with members of the band, writers about the music, musicians interpreting and performing the music, and fans of Steely Dan. I'll be inviting artists, writers, and fans to talk with us about their insights and sharing music that illustrates this for us all. And best of all, we'll be able to share it with music fans all over the world via Jazz 88's World Wide Webcast at http://KSDS-FM.org!

One main goal in this effort is to shine the spotlight on the great Jazz musicians that are currently touring with the band and those that have played and performed the music that makes The Jazz in Steely Dan. Among those artists I intend to invite to collaborate with us include members of the current touring band, including,