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MARIAN MCPARTLAND’S
‘PIANO JAZZ WITH STEELY DAN’
The Jazz Alliance CD of the National Public Radio Broadcast
Features Conversation
and Music with Steely Dan Members Donald Fagen and Walter
Becker
The Peabody Award-winning, popular National Public Radio
program Piano Jazz, which is hosted by the legendary pianist
Marian McPartland, is both entertaining and educational.
The show, now in its 26th year, provides an intimate showcase
for some of the most famous and up-and-coming artists in
the world of jazz. On March 15, Concord Records will release
a new recording in the popular Jazz Alliance ‘Piano
Jazz’ CD seriesæPiano Jazz with Steely Dan.
Marian McPartland¹s Piano Jazz with Steely
Dan captures the candid conversations with McPartland and
the group¹s pianist Donald Fagen and guitarist Walter
Becker as they reveal insights into their distinctive music
and creative process. The trio covers a range of captivating
topics, from their pre-Steely Dan musical experiences, to
their unique approach to the art of songwriting, to the
inescapable musical influences of such jazz heroes as Duke
Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Louis Armstrong.
When asked about his Piano Jazz experience,
Donald Fagen says, ‘Walter and I had a swell time
with Marian. As far as jazz goes, she knew everyone and
knows everything. She’s a sweetheart, but she can
still throw off a zinger when she feels it¹s called
for...a very happening chick.’
Featuring stripped-down, live-in-the-studio
performances of Steely Dan classics ‘Josie,’
‘Black Friday,’ and ‘Chain Lightning’
as well as performances of songs made famous by Ellington
and Armstrong, this intriguing exposé of one of contemporary
music¹s most creative forces is an absolute must for
all Steely Dan fans, musicians and jazz and pop music enthusiasts
alike.
With an unparalleled talent for wrapping a
sardonic sense of humor in thought-provoking, cryptic lyrics
and an irresistibly eclectic hybrid of jazz-infused pop-rock-R&B
music, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker¹s Steely Dan
has long held sway as one of the most compellingly original
bands in contemporary music.
###
Marian McPartland¹s Piano Jazz with Steely
Dan (Jazz Alliance) Release date: March 15, 2005
Also of note:
Marian McPartland & Friends 85 Candles-Live In New York
(Concord Records) Release date: March 15, 2005
