Steely Jazz

Chris Ingham Quintet

• CHRIS INGHAM piano/guitar/vocals
• HARRY GREENE sax/guitar*
• PAUL HIGGS trumpet/piano
• GEOFF GASCOYNE double bass
• GEORGE DOUBLE drums

The songs of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, AKA Steely Dan, stood alone in 1970s rock; musically sophisticated, lyrically cryptic and deeply influenced by, in their own words, “the best jazz players of the ‘50s and ‘60s”. With the help of audio clips of an in-person interview Chris Ingham conducted with Becker and Fagen in 1999, Steely Jazz re-examines the Dan canon, illuminating the singular melodies, rich harmonies and exploring the small jazz group possibilities of an incomparably rich songbook.

Featuring well-known pieces (“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”, “Josie”), alongside classic tracks and deep cuts from the masterpiece albums Aja, Gaucho, Countdown To Ecstasy, Katy Lied et al, Steely Jazz is a fresh, exciting celebration of two giants of 20th Century popular music.

One of Britain's best singer-pianists

Over and above his impish arpeggios, droll introductions and left-handed singing the thing that fascinates me about Mr. Ingham is his erudition