I'm named after the Aja song/album. It's nice to listen to an interview about the origin of the name and the song. . .I feel kinda connected to it ^_^ (Cheesy I know lol) It also makes me glad that my parents named me 'Aja' instead of 'Peg' LOL X-P

Walter Becker, Rest in Peace. Forever grateful for your music.

RIP Wayne Shorter, true saxophone genius

Ian Dury and The Blockheads HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK!!!!

I had this album on cassette on a drive from St. Louis to Omaha, Nebraska. One of the best drives of my life.

one of the best albums in history of music....

think about it... these guys look like the 3rd shift managers at a walmart or something and then you realize they are MUSICAL GENIUSES

Just saw Steely Dan at the Met in Philadelphia! My son had purchased these tickets for us for my Birthday back in March. (When our son was two years old he use to run around singing Babylon Sisters shake it ! Over and over ! Even when the song wasn’t playing !😜 ) The show was a fantastic experience in a more intimate venue which only made the experience even more special ! My hubby is a musician and I have NEVER seen him act like a fan at ANY concert, but he did on Friday Night at the show ! Kudos Donald on a beautiful performance ! BRAVA !!!! RIP Walter Becker !

I love hearing old jazz guys talk. they drop so much wisdom and if you aren't listening you might miss it.

Really nice to see Denny Dias speaking. First time I've seen that.

Wayne Shorter, you'll be missed. RIP.

They DID have drummers come in but were not happy with the results. Steve Gadd came in and according to him "there was dead silence and I thought I blew it completely. They had me play it again but ended up with my first take." Steve Gadd nailed it on the first try and that's what you hear on the record.

Amazing how people remember events completely differently. Regarding getting Wayne Shorter to play on the record Donald & Walter said "It took a while to persuade him... he didn't do dates. I think he felt we would be asking him to do something that was not appropriate..." and Wayne Shorter said "I was invited to play on the record. It was quite matter of fact I said yes".

Fagen & Becker exude epic creativity....Jazz Fusion never looked so good! Their work is unprecedented in the most stellar proportions of sound!

please....Shorter's solo is nothing but magnificent. A true living legend

This is the definitive album of all time past, present and future. Have the best day ever! :)

Very revealing from Mr. Shorter on what it was like to work with Miles. I know that's not the subject of this video, but it's great to hear those little tidbits in unexpected places.

One of the All-Time GREATEST pieces of work in music history by two of the BEST musicians of All-Time.

it's a total snub of Gadd . . it's like standing in the louvre . . . next to the mona lisa . . and saying . . yeah, this frame is one of our best. it really shines nicely, and fits perfectly around the picture in the middle. // in addition to the fact, that it is a great story . . . how they tried every drummer in town, and gadd came in and nailed it in one take.

It stays the same ....the way it touched me 1977 as i heard it the first time after i bought it on vinyl did not change: Deacon Blues and Aja still bring tears to my eyes and for me I felled and still feel a perfect harmony between words and music as I never heard before or afterwards ... this won´t change and my daughter already knows that these two tunes are to be played on my burial!! I can´t thank Michael Becker, Donald Fagen and all the supporting musicians enough!!

Doesn’t get any better than this.

It is amazing that Wayne Shorter is on this record. One of the greatest and most original musicians of all time.

One of the most interesting and beautiful compositions in music history. Yet not even a mention of Steve Gadd - incomprehensible.

This song is so beautiful

Love Steely Dan. However Aja is my FAVORITE!! Is at the TOP of my list. Thank you.

I remember the day this LP was released. I was very impressed. The words, especially AJA and Dime Dancing! Blown away!

I never knew Wayne Shorter played with Steely Dan! Two of favorites!

Wow Wayne Shorter. A fucking jazz legend on this record. I love "Aja". Probably one of my favorite records of all time :D

"We were feeling lucky that year..." I love the dry wit of these guys. This is a great DVD, by the way, do get it if you can.

A great video...Fagen and Becker being themselves...very talented dudes!

"I can 'ear Blakey...I can 'ear Jazz Messangers in there" 3:27

absolute genius--What a time!

One of the greatest albums in my lifetime. The entire album . . . " Is a Vibe " oNe LovE from NYC

I was thinking the same thing...wanted to hear about Gadd coming in and nailing it right away.

One of the best albums ever

Such a beautiful album. Truly magnificent.

Steve Gadd is the reason I discovered the album Aja. It's disappointing that he's not mentioned at all when his musicianship stands out so distinctly on the album.

Lucky to have seen Becker and Fagen live in Auckland NZ in Nov 2011. RIP Walter Becker. And then Larry Carlton came along to do a gig in NZ in 2014/15(?). Possibly the best band in terms of complexity of the music and the precision of sound

This album came out just in time to restore our faith in not just music but, well, everything that exist at that time. Remember disco was at its highlight and this one album, this one bright shinning star showed us the light out of the rabbit hole. No bring me another black cow!

Rise In Power Wayne Shorter 🙌🎷🙏

Still my favorite Steely Dan composition.

The album cover photography is dope af!

Great song!

Chuck Rainey=Bass GOD

couldn't agree more......

yea, this DVD is top notch...very informative. Gives a little insight into the minds of these wizards

gee I wish someone would come here and whine and cry about steve gadd not being mentioned, because 500 times just isn't enough.

I don't understand how one could possibly make a "The making of,..." Aja"" and not mention Steve Gadd?

Glad someone else noticed it. :-) It was signature Gadd just about everywhere, particularly at the end. I think they were just talking about the making of the song, not necessarily about the guys on the date, apart from Shorter.

Their greatest album out of so many superb discs. A masterpiece.

It's a travesty they didn't talk about the incredible, iconic drumming of the great Steve Gadd on this song. 😏

love all the background on the background...to moles

RIP Wayne Shorter

Music engineered by aficionados... I can totally feel the passion through all the studio musicians and complex arrangements. //read in monotone

This song is sweet.

“Akaneer” dude saying “I can hear” 😂

I love this song and especially love playing it on the piano but I can't believe there was no mention of Steve Gadd. He is one of the greatest things about this tune!

Killer band

Now that is very interesting.

Cool the way Ian says "I can hear...".

This song is all Steve Gadd, got to mention him. Come on guys

A masterpiece. I love every second of it. Just a couple of idle wishes; David Palmer retained on vocals and someone like George Benson for the guitar solo.

@NickDuvet Alfred Newman was a fixure in Hollywood for decades working on over 250 films and scores. It is possible that he made the quote, but he died in 1970. The other possibility is Randy's other uncle Lionel Newman, who worked at Fox TV for years. The Newman clan are music royalty in California, Randy's cousin is Thomas Newman who scored American Beauty, and his other cousin is David Newman who worked a lot with Devito. There is an uncle Emil too, and a Maria who plays Violin. Amazing genes

This clip just scratches the surface, so I can't see why it's assumed it's complete and that anyone was snubbed with so much not included to begin with. It's just a taste, while a half-hour of discussion on this piece would begin to do it justice.

This video was too short. Fascinating story

@Svettjodd He's saying just come in, play the part and split. Don't sit around and talk about the wife, family and kids. Old school jazz philosophy. Keep quiet and let your instrument do the talking. That's the way I take it.

@lolosixfoe I too was shocked when I bought this video and there was no mention of Gadd.

Wayne Shorter , look closer at this guy ,he's acted . He's from Newark NJ . He's done acting and he's good too ,another minor actor who makes movies. He's been in a couple where he had far more than a minor role and he added a lot to the film. he can act , very convincing . Great Musician and a good actor and surely if he was given a leading part , doubt he would blow it , he's not petty , he feels his parts , also never over acts.

I've just watched it again and at 3:40, Fagen says "..and we also brought in Wayne Shorter...." It is possible that just before that, they had been talking about Steve Gadd. I just can't believe they would not have commented at all on the drum track.

uh....excuse me.....Steve Gadd????? yea, Steve Gadd, you know drummer extraordinaire.

It's interesting that Shorter says he just laid down his solo, because I read in an interview a long time ago he wrote out the chord scales for all the changes first.

240p? That's like almost flash cards. Thanks for the upload, though

they seem to have forgotten to include the interview with steve gadd

reasonable fear..lol i would be scared shitless but that solo wayne hits is on point

@lolosixfoe i know - I was soo disappointed that Gadd did not appear in this and tell everybody that the stick hit was ON PURPOSE

@Svettjodd Don't forget who lives in his neighborhood. Jaco, Joe Zawinul, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, and many others who Wayne Shorter worked and recorded with basically invented what Steely Dan was doing in the studio. Not to take anything away from Aja, it is a fantastic album. But I think Wayne Shorter has earned his right to be a bit nonchalant about a solo recorded during one specific studio session in the 70s.

And Bing! Your hopes are realised!

Good to see Denny Dias still playing (Valley Arts Custom Pro in his hands?) and looking healthy. But yeah, my guess is they didn't really have the time to discuss every facet of the song and it would have been nice to give Steve a mention although Wayne's solo really gave the song a special resonance.

@NickDuvet The Dan used multiple takes in deciding which drum style they liked. My friend, Jim Keltner, told me he believes he did a take on "Peg", but they didn't use it. The charts (Josie was 6 pages long! amazing to have a written out part for drums on a rock session)) had only numbers for the ID of the tunes, so Jim wasn't sure what other tunes he submitted takes for. Anyway, one of the hits was one he was on--"Josie". Not bad for one tune on this epic recording!

dude. STEVE GADD!!

wow, I forgot my favorite tenor player was on that song

This is one of those VH1 specials (classic albums?). Alot of the musicians were interviewed for this. Maybe Steve Gadd as well?

I find it funny how they kept Denny and the others separated. Guess they knew what Denny would have done to them if they ever saw each other in person again.

Yes, Keltner really nailed that one. They obviously felt Rick Marotta produced the goods on Peg, and of course it's hard to imagine anyone else coming close to what Steve Gadd did on Aja. The other drums tracks are probably still there, to judge from the way they were able to bring up the various other guitarists who tried the solo on Peg.

So Aja was a real person. WHERE IS SHE TODAY?? Has anyone ever tried to find her?

@ArgoLupus They give props to Wayne Shorter at 3:42.

Have this DVD, big Dan Fan, but, How do you profile the making of AJA and not mention Steve Gadd at ALL????

steely dan had never used steve gadd before. he came into the studio sight read the music and then they did two perfect takes. the first take is part 1 of the song, then the bridge and take 2 was part 2 of aja. Gadd then left and went on to the next studio.

If they had mentioned Steve Gadd, it would have been included the documentary. ABSOLUTE JOKE that the sax player is being interviewed and highlighted while perhaps the greatest drum solo in the history of popular music is being played in the background. And not a peep from Becker or Fagan.

I think what Wayne Shorter was saying is that just let it all hang out and play, where as the Dan guys came from a background of, eveything is regimented. Charts, solo's, whatever.

Wonder if Steve Gadd was touring at the time this was filmed? Wonder if Steve declined to be interviewed? I don't think we can just automatically say that the makers of this documentary intentionally didn't want Gadd interviewed. I think Donald & Walter should've talked about how the basic tracks were cut in one take. That's almost unheard of when it comes to a Steely Dan recording.

@lolosixfoe ... Wayne Shorter is the star. He set up Gadd's solo!

This song is known among musicians - drummers in particular - for the legendary performance of Steve Gadd. I expected most of the video to be about that performance (with all due respect to legends like Wayne Shorter). Instead ... crickets. Disappointing to say the least.

Hello, Steve Gadd is the only artist who you think is snubbed? What about Wayne Shorter, of the Miles Davis second quintet and Weather Report? This song was my answer to my jazz snob friends who called the Dan "lounge music for stoners."

Denny Diaz Say no more

RE: Steve Gadd - there was an interview in the now-defunct Musician Magazine (published by Billboard) that states Jeff Porcaro came in one night, listened to it once, and then nailed it, because Gadd couldn't. Have to go dig up that issue now...

I came here to say goodbye.

Drum talk: Yes, Steve Gadd is the star of the song, but it wasn't planned that way. The original idea-and if you know drums and the drummer you'll immediately realize the beauty of this- was to have TONY WILLIAMS solo over of the ostinato! For some reason he wasn't available so Gadd was the runner-up.

whats the name of this dvd?

how can they not even mention Gadd?? he MADE this song what it is!