Arranged, performed, mixed and produced by Cole.
Artist Statement:
Over the summer of 2020 I had decided to set out and diversify my music intake. I had grown accustomed to the obbligato bass lines of classic Thelonious Monk songs, the swinging melodic vocal lines of hit pop songs, and the weird and obscure music sampling instruments from Calvin Harris’ hit album Funk Waves Vol 1. I wanted to find a genre, an artist, a sound that could blur the lines of what I loved about all of these distinctive genres and styles.
I decided to revisit a band, a duo, a partnership that I had previously been familiar with, only this time take a deep dive into the music of the group: Steely Dan.
I listened to all of their albums, ranging from the early works like “Can’t buy a thrill” to the masterpiece album “Aja.” I had become hooked with their sound, the lyrics, and the merging of jazz, funk, pop, and rock. Not to sound like some cliche music fan but it really did blur the lines for me of what I once considered distinct styles of genres.
I set out listening to one song over and over again: Peg. A key song off the 1977 album Aja, I had found a song that once again had an obbligato bass line, swinging melodic vocal lines with amusing lyrics, and obscure music samples that left my ear always with something new to hone in on, but this time all in one song.
I wanted to recreate the song, to capture the same essence of what the merging of these genres meant, yet with my own style, my own influence, my own musical instruments.
I set out just learning the piano piece, the complex yet simple intro featuring a chromatic walk down switching between major 7’s to Dominant 7(#9) chords had me hooked. The iconic intro chromatic walk down featured one of the oldest jazz harmonic “tricks” in the book. The tritone substitution.
Beyond the piano I was compelled to look into the iconic Chuck Rainey bass line to capture that same descending chord progression with some jazzy roots.
Next up was the guitar; I knew I wasn’t up for Jay Graydon’s iconic guitar solo, but I set out to learn the chord progressions with occasional guitar embellishment.
Where I added my touch was playing Donald Fagen’s vocal line on my tenor saxophone. Adding my own emphasis on licks and notes made me feel as though I had repurposed the song, adding my own influence and style to it.
Before I knew it I had essentially covered the entire song, the piano, bass, guitar, and saxophone. I had layered a complex set of harmonies for the chorus using my saxophone, layered the piano chords with the bass line, and added in guitar chords for embellishment, all that was left was a drum track to pull the piece together, to infuse life into this recreation.
Nick covered the drums fantastically, pulling in all of the elements that Rick Marotta created, like a grooving pocket, and then adding his own style.
My dad even added his own amazing vocal tracks layering tons of harmonies for the chorus. He really had such a Michael McDonald feel to it, it’s quite uncanny.
What’s left is an amazing cover of a song made by a father and son duo. I couldn’t have been more happy with the product. I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Wow, an amazing cover and a great breakdown of the song! Peg is one of my all time favorites too. Fantastic work. I hope you continue to make music wherever you’re going to school.