Post #223751 by tiki mick on Wed, Mar 29, 2006 10:32 AM

On 2006-03-29 09:49, hodadhank wrote:

On 2006-03-28 17:31, Kono wrote:
Bands like Steely Dan... When I hear "Hey 19" I picture some dude in a denim leisure suit snorting coke and lounging in a beanbag chair.

Yeah, I'll be needing that photo back Kono...

On 2006-03-29 07:07, lucas vigor wrote:
Steely Dan? Well, those guys are absolute jazz musicians.

Hmmm... I'd say they were hapa-jazz composers who "borrowed" original ideas guiltlessly from actual jazz musicians, then hired seasoned session cats to actually execute the plagiarjazzm.

(Listen to 1963's modal masterpiece Song For My Father by Horace Silver to see what I'm on about.)

That being said I can actually appreciate Felder's pop sensibilities. Aja for example is some rather fine fusion-peppered pop.

I don't actually agree that it's a problem that Steely Dan "guiltlessly" copied jazz artists, because that would apply to darn near everyone from Sade to toto. I believe Jazz is a big tent, though.

However, I am a self described expert on all types of jazz. I have over 2000 CD's and a good majority is jazz from the 50's and 60's. I basically have everything that is important in jazz. I play upright bass and practice along with wes montgomery, oscar peterson, miles davis and just about everything else you could think of. My point is, I can appreciate being a jazz purist and hating fusion or anything remotely similar to fusion.

However, compared to Motley Crew and Journey, Steely Dan is awesome. Compared to Horace Silver, maybe not.