Aja
Studio album by Steely Dan
Released	September, 1977
Recorded	January-July 1977
Genre	Jazz rock
Length	39:58
Label	ABC Records
Producer	Gary Katz
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (B+) link Rolling Stone link
Steely Dan chronology
The Royal Scam (1976) Aja (1977) Gaucho (1980)

Aja (pronounced the same as "Asia") is an album by the rock band Steely Dan. The album was named after the Korean wife of Fagen's friend's brother. Originally released in 1977 (see 1977 in music), it became the group's best-selling album. Topping at #3 on the U.S. charts and #5 in the United Kingdom, it was the band's first platinum album. In July 1978, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording. In 2003, the album was ranked number 145 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Cover of the Steely Dan album Aja. ... A studio album is a collection of previously unreleased, studio-recorded tracks by a recording artist. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Jazz fusion (sometimes referred to simply as fusion) is a musical genre that loosely encompasses the merging of jazz with other styles, particularly rock, funk, R&B, and world music. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... ABC Records started in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records, the recording arm of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Gary Katz is an American record producer, most famous for his work in that capacity on every Steely Dan album recorded during the first run of their career, from Cant Buy A Thrill in 1972 to Gaucho in 1980. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 4. ... Robert Christgau (born April 18, 1942), is an American essayist, music journalist, and the self-declared Dean of American Rock Critics.[1] In print, his name is sometimes abbreviated as Xgau. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Royal Scam is an album by jazz rock group Steely Dan, originally released in 1976. ... Gaucho was Steely Dans last album before the bands 10-year breakup from June 1981 to October 1991. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948 in Passaic, New Jersey) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as co-writer, co-founder, singer, and pianist with the jazz-rock band Steely Dan. ... See also: 1970s in music. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the magazine. ... The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time is the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2003. ...

The album is considered to be quite ambitious and sophisticated. The eight minute-long title track features complex jazz-based changes and a solo by renowned saxophonist Wayne Shorter, as well as dextrous drum work by drummer Steve Gadd -- especially at the end of the tune. Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz composer and saxophonist. ... Steve Gadd (born April 9, 1945 in Rochester, New York) is a very well known session drummer, mainly known for work with Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Joe Cocker, Stuff, Bob James, Chick Corea, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Eddie Gomez, The Manhattan Transfer, Michal Urbaniak, Steps Ahead, Al Di...

Aja is also the subject of one of the Classic Albums series of documentaries about the making of famous albums. The documentary includes interviews with Becker & Fagen (among others) plus live in the studio versions of songs from the album and the opportunity to hear some of the rejected (but not credited to protect the egos of the guilty) guitar solos for "Peg" before Jay Graydon produced the satisfactory take. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Peg is a song by rock group Steely Dan, which was released as a single from their 1977 album Aja. ... Jay Graydon is a Los Angeles songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. ...

Track listing

All songs written by Becker and Fagen.

1. "Black Cow" – 5:10
2. "Aja" – 7:57
3. "Deacon Blues" – 7:37
4. "Peg" – 3:57
5. "Home at Last" – 5:34
6. "I Got the News" – 5:06
7. "Josie" – 4:33

Deacon Blues is a song by Steely Dan recorded for their 1978 album, Aja. ... Peg is a song by rock group Steely Dan, which was released as a single from their 1977 album Aja. ... Home At Last is country singer Billy Ray Cyruss latest and tenth studio album. ...

Personnel

• Walter Becker - bass, guitar, electric guitar, vocals
• Chuck Rainey - bass
• Timothy B. Schmit - bass, vocals
• Donald Fagen - synthesizer, keyboards, vocals, background vocals, whistle
• Paul Griffin - keyboards, electric piano, vocals, background vocals
• Don Grolnick - keyboards, clavinet
• Michael Omartian - piano, keyboards
• Joe Sample - keyboards, electric piano, clavinet
• Larry Carlton - guitar, electric guitar
• Denny Dias - guitar
• Jay Graydon - guitar, electric guitar
• Steve Khan - guitar
• Dean Parks - guitar
• Lee Ritenour - guitar
• Pete Christlieb - flute, tenor saxophone
• Chuck Findley - horn, brass
• Jim Horn - flute, saxophone
• Richard Hyde - trombone
• Slyde Hyde - brass
• Plas Johnson - flute, saxophone
• Jackie Kelso - flute, horn, saxophone
• Lou McCreary - brass
• Bill Perkins - flute, horn, saxophone
• Tom Scott - conductor, flute, tenor saxophone, lyricon
• Wayne Shorter - flute, tenor saxophone
• Bernard Purdie - drums
• Steve Gadd - drums (on Aja)
• Ed Greene - drums (on "I got the News")
• Paul Humphrey - drums
• Jim Keltner - percussion, drums
• Rick Marotta - drums
• Gary Coleman - percussion
• Victor Feldman - percussion, piano, keyboards, electric piano, vibraphone
• Venetta Field - vocals, background vocals
• Clydie King - vocals, background vocals
• Rebecca Louis - vocals, background vocals
• Shirley Matthews - vocals, background vocals
• Michael McDonald - vocals, background vocals

Walter Carl Becker (born February 20, 1950 in New York, New York) is the guitarist (and sometimes electric bassist) half of the duo at the core of the jazz-rock group Steely Dan. ... The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping, popping or using a pick. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into electrical current, which is then amplified. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Timothy Bruce Schmit (born October 30, 1947, in Oakland, California), is a bass guitarist and singer best known as a member of Poco and the Eagles. ... Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948 in Passaic, New Jersey) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as co-writer, co-founder, singer, and pianist with the jazz-rock band Steely Dan. ... For other uses, see Synthesizer (disambiguation). ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... Paul Griffin may refer to: Paul Griffin (basketball) Paul Griffin (Gaelic football) This human name article is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that might otherwise share the same title, which is a persons or persons name. ... Don Grolnick(1948-1996) was an American jazz and pop pianist who grew up in Levittown, New York. ... The Clavinet D6, the most popular model, introduced in 1971. ... Michael Omartian (born November 26, 1945 in Evanston, Illinois) is an American keyboardist, songwriter and Grammy award winning music producer. ... Joseph Leslie Joe Sample is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer. ... For the past three decades, Larry Carlton has been one of the nations most sought-after jazz guitarists, dividing his recording time between solo recordings and session appearances with more popular bands. ... Denny Dias is an American guitarist, most known for being a founding member of Steely Dan. ... Jay Graydon is a Los Angeles songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. ... Steve Khan (born April 28, 1947) is an American jazz guitarist born in Los Angeles, California, perhaps best-known for his work with artists such as Steely Dan, Billy Joel, Hubert Laws, Billy Cobham, James Brown, Maynard Ferguson, Weather Report. ... Dean Parks is a musician and guitarist from Los Angeles, California. ... Lee Mack Captain Fingers Ritenour (born January 11, 1952) is a prominent session musician, and recording artist. ... Pete Christlieb (b. ... ♠ This article is about the family of musical instruments. ... The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. ... Jim Horn was born in Los Angeles at an unknown date, and together with Bobby Keys and Jim Price one of the most in demand horn session players of the 1970s and 1980s. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... John Johnson Jr. ... Bill Perkins (22 July 1924–9 August 2003) was a cool jazz saxophonist and flautist popular on the West Coast jazz scene, known primarily as a tenor saxophonist. ... There are different people named Tom Scott: Tom Scott, Scottish poet. ... The lyricon is an electronic wind instrument, the first to be constructed. ... Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz composer and saxophonist. ... Bernard Pretty Purdie (born June 11, 1939) is an American drummer and session musician from Elkton, Maryland. ... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Steve Gadd (born April 9, 1945 in Rochester, New York) is a very well known session drummer, mainly known for work with Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Joe Cocker, Stuff, Bob James, Chick Corea, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Eddie Gomez, The Manhattan Transfer, Michal Urbaniak, Steps Ahead, Al Di... For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Paul Humphrey (born October 12, 1935 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American jazz drummer. ... Jim Keltner (born April 27, 1942 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is a distinguished session drummer who has contributed to the work of many well-known artists. ... “Percussion” redirects here. ... Victor Stanley Feldman (April 7, 1934 in Edgware, Middlesex – May 12, 1987, in Los Angeles, California, USA) was a British jazz musician. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... An electric piano (e-piano) is an electric musical instrument whose popularity started in the late 1960s, was at its greatest during the 1970s and still is big today. ... A typical Ludwig-Musser vibraphone. ... Clydie King is an American singer best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. ... A different person also named Michael McDonald is a co-founder of ATO Records. ...

Production

• Producer: Gary Katz
• Engineers: Roger Nichols, Elliot Scheiner, Al Schmitt, Bill Schnee
• Assistant engineers: Joe Bellamy, Lenise Bent, Ken Klinger, Ron Pangaliman, Ed Rack, Linda Tyler
• Mastering: Bernie Grundman
• Production coordination: Barbara Miller
• Sound consultant: Dinky Dawson
• Consultant: Daniel Levitin
• Horn arrangements: Tom Scott
• Art direction: Vartan Reissue
• Design: Geoff Westen
• Photography: Walter Becker
• Liner notes: Walter Becker, Donald Fagen
• Reissue coordination: Beth Stempel

For the songwriter, please see Roger Nichols (songwriter) Roger Nichols was a nuclear engineer until he turned his hobby of audio recording into a career as a recording engineer and producer. ...

Charts

Album

Singles

Awards

Grammy Awards

Miscellanea

The song "Deacon Blues" is often played as a fight song by the marching band at University of Alabama football games. The song contains the lines: An American college marching band on the field (University of Texas) A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who generally perform outdoors, and who incorporate movement â€“ usually some type of marching â€“ with their musical performance. ... The University of Alabama (also known as Alabama, UA or colloquially as Bama) is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. Founded in 1831, UA is the flagship campus of the University of Alabama System. ...

They've got a name for the winners in the world

I want a name when I lose

They call Alabama the Crimson Tide

Call me Deacon Blues^[1]

However, those lines were written more tongue-in-cheek than in praise. In a 2006 interview Fagen said, The term crimson tide has several meanings. ...

Walter and I had been working on that song at a house in Malibu. I played him that line, and he said, "You mean it's like, 'They call these cracker assholes this grandiose name like the Crimson Tide, and I'm this loser, so they call me this other grandiose name, Deacon Blues?' " And I said, "Yeah!" He said, "Cool! Let's finish it!"^[2]

Bass line hook from "Black Cow" was sampled in the NY hip-hop anthem "Deja Vu" by Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz. The hip-hop duo had requested Steely Dan to perform live with them on MTV's TRL but the band refused. Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz is a rap duo consisting of Sean Hamilton and Peter Panky. ...

Contrary to popular belief the album's cover art was not designed by actor Phil Hartman, who worked part time as a graphic artist. Phil Hartman (born as Philip Edward Hartmann) (September 23, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American Emmy Award-winning actor, voice artist, comedian, graphic artist and writer. ...

External links

• Complete lyrics

References