Chris Ingham

Due to popular demand, Chris Ingham's Steely Jazz return to perform even more material from the comprehensive canon of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, aka Steely Dan.

The songs of Becker and Fagen stood alone in 1970s rock; cryptic, pungent lyrics and sophisticated, detailed music deeply influenced by, in Becker and Fagen’s own words, “the best jazz players of the '50s and '60s”.

Any Dan aficionado will tell you there has always been a strong jazz element in their work, and the duo always sought to call upon the talents of top-drawer session players from the worlds of jazz and funk, including Michael Brecker, Bernard Purdie, Larry Carlton, Fredie Washington, and Steve Gadd.

Steely Jazz re-examines the comprehensive Dan canon, illuminating the singular melodies, rich harmonies and exploring the small jazz group possibilities of an incomparably opulent songbook.

The debut album, Walter/Donald, and the follow-up, Walter/Donald II, feature well-known compositions like Rikki Don’t Lose That Number and Josie, alongside classic tracks and deep cuts from the masterpiece albums such as Aja, Gaucho, Countdown to Ecstacy, and Katy Lied.

The accolades say it all. Jazzwise said the album was "smooth and professional . . . recorded very ‘dry’ in the Rudy van Gelder manner favoured by Becker and Fagen," while UK Jazz News commented that it "brings Becker and Fagen’s work to life in a small jazz group context in a really remarkable way."