siteguide | news | touring | emg | history | the works | contact | home | search


 

B a n d      B i o s 

While touring in the new century,
Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards)
and Walter Becker (guitar)
have been supported on stage
by the super- fine musicians below.

C
lick names for bios.
 
| 2017 Tour Dates |   
 
== Reelin' In The Chips
== The Classic - East and West
Touring Band, 2017
 
Jim Beard [Keyboards: '08 - '17]
Keith Carlock [Drums: '03- '17]
La Tanya Hall [B. Vocals: '13 -Leg I '15 - '17 ]
Jon Herington [Guitar: '00-'17]
Carolyn Leonhart [B. Vocals: '00-'17]
Michael Leonhart [Trumpet, Keys: '00 - '17]
Cindy Mizelle [B. Vocals: '03 - '08: '11,'17]
Jim Pugh [Trombone: '00-'17]
Roger Rosenberg [Baritone Saxophone: '06-'17]
Freddie Washington [Bass: '06-'17]
Walt Weiskopf [Saxophone: '03-'17]
 

 
[ Band Alums since 2000 Here]
 
This [ARCHIVE] Band Bio Page no longer maintained AFTER SEPT 2017

 

Steely Dan Touring BandTHE MOOD SWINGS BAND OF 2013
[ ENLARGE ]    

 
  Steely Dan Touring Group
THE SHUFFLE DIPLOMACY BAND OF 2011 [ ENLARGE ]
 
 
s
     
 
 

 


J i m   B e a r d   
Keyboards '08-'17

   
  Jim Beard
Photo: Joni Sarkki
  Listeners who noted Jim Beard's awesome presence on Becker's Circus Money will agree with David Sanborn, who says Jim has "one of the freshest musical points of view around". Jim's ever-spirited comping and blowing, and his utterly unique amalgam of fire and lyricism, is a substantial addition to the SD stage.

Jim grew up in the greater Philadelphia vicinage and began piano lessons at age 6. He studied classical piano for 14 years (also clarinet, saxophone and string bass for a number of years) and developed a love of jazz by the age of 14 at which time he began lessons with the great George Shearing. Throughout his serious classical and jazz pursuits he enjoyed a quiet yet earnest interest in pop. While attending Indiana University, Jim played piano with many visiting jazz greats including Slide Hampton and Red Rodney. The opportunity to develop skills on Rhodes, clavinet and synths came when Jim joined a bar band, along with fellow Dan mate Jon Herington and Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp and John Fogerty alumni).

Before moving to New York in 1985, Jim also worked with Bobby Rydell, Connie Stevens and Roger Miller. Since moving to New York, Jim has toured extensively with Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter, Madeleine Peyroux, John Scofield and John McLaughlin. He has produced dozens of recordings for artists such as Mike Stern, Bob Berg, Bill Evans, Eliane Elias and has recorded with or made television appearances with Dizzy Gillespie, John Mayer, Al Jarreau, Bill Frisell, the Brecker Brothers, Marcus Miller, Meshell Ndegeocello and Toninho Horta.

Jim has over 100 published compositions featured on recordings by John McLaughlin, Michael Brecker and many others and in books such as The New Real Book. His writing has been used in television, movies and radio call signals and his piano playing can be heard in major Hollywood film scores.

Jim has released several albums under his name, two of which were voted in top 10 new CDs by Jazziz Magazine critics. His recent CD, Revolutions, features ten of Jim's compositions performed by the Metropole Orchestra conducted by Vince Mendoza. His solo piano CD Show Of Hands dropped in 2013. Jim's productions have been nominated for five Grammy awards and he won a Grammy in 2007 for his work on Some Skunk Funk (Randy and Michael Brecker)

Jim's website is here.

     
^ Top - Index
 

 


K e i t h   C a r l o c k  
Drums '03-'17

   
   Carlock
Photo: steelydan.com
  Unique, tasteful, musical, and muscular; in our opinion Keith Carlock is destined to be one of the greats.

Born in Greenville, Mississippi, Keith has been playing professionally since his early teens. He attended The University of North Texas where he studied with Ed Soph and George Lawrence.

Keith has drummed SD and Fagen gigs since 2003, and tracked each cut on SD's Everything Must Go, Fagen's Morph The Cat, and Becker's Circus Money. Tours with Sting, James Taylor, and John Mayer bespeak his growing collection of prestigious drum chairs.

Keith has also gigged and recorded with Grover Washington Jr., David Johansen, The Blues Brothers, Heads Up Superband, Rhett Tyler, Harry Belafonte, Diana Ross, Joe Beck, Leni Stern, Tal Wilkenfeld, and Oz Noy, among others. He's a member of the Wayne Krantz trio — the legendary regulars for the last several years at New York City's premiere "jazz dive", The 55 Bar. In 2007, Keith and friends launched the Nu-Jam band Rudder with a CD and US tour.

Starting in 2006, Keith joined legends like Steve Gadd and Vinnie Colaiuta on the medals podium of Modern Drummer's Readers Poll. In 2009, he ascended to #1 in the best pop, fusion, and all-around categories.

Also In 2009, Keith released his long-awaited Instructional DVD, The Big Picture: Phrasing, Improvisation, Style & Technique.

Visit Keith's website and mailing list at keithcarlock.com

 

       
 

L a T a n y a   H a l l  
Backing Vocals '15-'17
 
^ Top - Index
 
La Tanya Hall
 

Vocalist La Tanya Hall is poised to take her place as one of the foremost jazz vocalists in the world today. Her ability to reinvent the Great American Songbook is amassing glorious reviews from around the globe. It's About Time [Bridge Records - 2009], J. Hall's debut recording, has been heralded as "an impressive debut from one of jazz's brightest stars," [Popjournalism.com/February 2009]. Jazz.com describes her as "a woman ripe with talent [whose] interpretative skills are a marvel."

Her versatility in a variety of musical genres has allowed her to collaborate with some of music's most celebrated artists, including Diana Ross, Bobby McFerrin, Harry Belafonte, Burt Bacharach, Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Rob Thomas, and Patti Labelle. You can visit Ms. Hall at her website: latanyahall.com.

     
^ Top - Index
 

 


J o n   H e r i n g t o n  
Guitar '00-'17

   
  Jon Herington
Jon Gorr /fStopPhotographers.com
  "SD's New Guitar Guy" — arguably one of the most coveted slots in the annals of popular music. And also, potentially, one of the most intimidating; few musical roles receive the same amount of examination, discussion, and debate as does this one. But Jon is handling it all with "perfection and grace", turning out work which, to our minds, often evokes the melodic and rhythmic heart of cherished recorded versions while simultaneously displaying his own original and powerful musicality. Guitar Player Magazine called Jon a player with "one formidable voice" and "chops of doom".

Jon is a guitarist, composer, and producer who has been active on the New York music scene since 1985. His debut album on Pioneer's Glass House records, The Complete Rhyming Dictionary was released in 1992. A second CD, Like So, was released in 2000, and his collaboration with SD bandmate Michael Leonhart — Slow — was released in 2002. In 2011 he released Shine (Shine Shine) and Time On My Hands in 2013.

He has toured with Boz Scaggs, Madeleine Peyroux, the Jim Beard group, Bette Midler, The Blue Nile, Phoebe Snow, saxophonist Bill Evans, the contemporary jazz superband Chroma, Lucy Kaplansky, and jazz/blues organ great Jack McDuff, among others. Some of Jon's recording highlights as of this date — aside from every Steely Dan and Becker/Fagen solo disc of the 21st century — are: Jim Beard's four recordings (three of which were co-produced by Jon); Bill Evans; Michael Patches Stewart; Bob Berg; Lucy Kaplansky; Michael Brecker; Randy Brecker; Victor Bailey; Chroma (with Mike Stern and others); and Robert Secret

Jon's longstanding trio released a live set in 2013: Live: The Jon Herington Band.

You can visit Jon's official website at jonherington.com.

      ^ Top - Index
 

 


C a r o l y n   L e o n h a r t
Backing Vocals '00-'07, '09, '13 - 17

 C. Leonhart
Photo: steelydan.com
  Born into a musical family, Carolyn started singing as soon as she could talk. Her vocal talents were quickly put to use when as a young child, she sang on television commercials. At Music and Art high School in New York City, she sang in the award-winning Gospel Choir for four years, performed on "It's Showtime At The Apollo", and graduated high school with a solo recording contract with a Japanese record label.

Having grown up around the music industry, Carolyn decided that she'd better have "some kind of career to fall back on", so she went to the University of Rochester and graduated cum laud with a degree in Comparative religion, specializing in Hinduism and Buddhism. Her senior thesis, 'The Essence of Why', "won acclaim from stoners all over the Greater Rochester/Buffalo area". After graduation, Carolyn returned to NYC. In 1994, she won third place in the Thelonious Monk International Vocal Jazz Competition and sang in jazz clubs around the city. A budding congera, Carolyn also boasts that she can now hold a tumbao rhythm for almost 7 and a half bars.

Carolyn recorded backup vocals for Fagen's 2006 solo Morph The Cat, Becker's 2008 Circus Money, Steely Dan's "Two Against Nature" and "Everything Must Go" (the latter in a featured role), toured with with Al Jarreau, and is a member of the Zurich-based Lyn Leon. Releases under her own name include Steal The Moon (2000), New 8th Day (2005), and the collaborations with Wayne Escoffery, If Dreams Come True (2007), Tides of Yesterday(2010).

Visit her on Facebook

      ^ Top - Index
 

 


M i c h a e l   L e o n h a r t  
Trumpet '00-'17

   
  Michael Leonhart
Photo: steelydan.com
  "The ever-enigmatic Michael Leonhart" is how 2K concert-goers may have heard him introduced. Indeed, there is something almost unfathomable about the prodigiousness of Michael's talent, and he's become a veritable denizen of recent Steely Dan projects: In addition to performing in and writing charts for the 2K Tour horn section, Michael was also a member of the 1996 "Art Crimes" party, and served as an an arranger, performer, and conductor on "Two Against Nature".

Michael is the youngest Grammy recipient in history, winning in 1992 (at age 17) for the most outstanding musician in a U.S. high school. That same year he was named "Person of the Week" by ABC World News by dint of his musical accomplishments. Since then, he has composed and performed music for movies, television, fashion shows and theater, and appeared on over 50 albums. Michael has performed and/or recorded with such artists as A Tribe Called Quest, Brian Eno, Bill Frisell, John Lurie, Wynton Marsalis, Natalie Merchant, Mos Def, Q-Tip, Joshua Redman, Busta Rhymes, and D.J. Spooky.

Michael is sought after throughout the music and entertainment world as a trumpet player, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and singer-songwriter. He has issued the solo releases Aardvark Poses (1995), Glub Glub Vol. 11 (1997), Slow (2002; featuring 2K Bandmate Jon Herington), The Suzy Lattimore EP (2005), and The Ballad of Minton Quigley (2006) .

Michael's website is at michaelleonhart.com.

      ^ Top - Index
 

 


C i n d y   M i z e l l e  
Backing Vocals '03-'08, '11, 14-17

   
  Mizelle
Photo: steelydan.com
  Cindy can be heard on "Everything Must Go", and although 2003 was her first stint on the Steely Dan stage, you have almost certainly heard this highly-respected veteran before.

Since beginning her career as a young popular singer in Englewood, New Jersey, and being tapped as a featured soloist on the platinum soundtrack album "Beat Street", Cindy Mizelle has evolved into one of the most in-demand session singers of contemporary popular music. Her highly versatile style can be heard on many radio and television commercials, and you can catch her singing on TV specials such as VH-1 Divas Live, and the "Sweet Tree & Morgan" skits on Late Night With Conan O'Brian. Cindy has also recorded for children's television; That's her lead vocal on "Between The Lions".

Cindy's critically acclaimed solo album "Cindy Mizelle" was released in 1994, and she has contributed her vocal talents to over 120 albums by artists such as Freddie Jackson, Carly Simon, Chaka Kahn, Johnathan Butler, George Benson, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Patti Labelle, Celine Dion, Anastacia, and Alicia Keys -- as well as on Fagen's 2006 Morph the Cat, and Becker's 2008 Circus Money.

Ms. Mizelle has also toured and recorded with Whitney Houston, Dave Matthews Band, Bruce Springsteen, and on The Rolling Stones' 1990 "Steel Wheels" Tour. She may be best known as having been an outstanding background vocalist for Luther Vandross in the studio and on stage.

 

      ^ Top - Index
 

 


J i m   P u g h  
Trombone '00-'17

   
  Pugh
Photo: steelydan.com
  DanFans may remember Becker and Fagen's boast of "no trombones" on their earlier touring bandstand. Jim Pugh is the guy who made them change their tune.

Jim began playing piano at the age of five and trombone at the age of ten. After graduating from the Eastman School of Music, Jim toured extensively with the Woody Herman Band and Chick Corea before deciding to settle down and make New York City his home.

Jim promptly became New York's top-call freelance trombonist for film scores, records, and music for television and radio advertising. He's performed on over 4500 recording sessions, including dates with Paul Simon, Barbara Streisand, Tony Bennett, Madonna, Joe Williams, Billy Joel, David Sanborn, Pink Floyd, John Scofield, Wayne Shorter, Nancy Wilson, George Benson, Yo Yo Ma, Frank Sinatra, and, of course, Steely Dan. One of Jim's current projects includes a two-trombone jazz quintet, E'nJ. They have just released their third album, Just Us, available on the TNC Music Label.

Jim is the only recipient of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences Virtuoso Award for trombone, given after he was voted Trombone MVP by the New York recording community for five years.

Jim is also an accomplished composer. His Concerto for Trombone & Orchestra can be found on his latest album, X Over Trombone (Albany Records). His concerto has been performed worldwide -- including a performance by the New York Philharmonic. Jim has also composed and arranged music for National Public Radio, films, and recordings.

Since relocating to Mahomet, IL in 2007, Jim serves as Professor of Jazz Trombone at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He makes frequent appearances at schools throughout the country as a guest artist/clinician. Jim plays BAC Instruments trombones, Monette mouthpieces and Facet mutes exclusively

Read more on jimpugh.com and his UIUC Faculty Page

      ^ Top - Index
 

 


R o g e r    R o s e n b e r g   
Baritone Saxophone '06-'17

   
  Roger Rosenberg
Photo: steelydan.com
 

An A-list baritone man for over three decades, Roger Rosenberg studied at Indiana University, The New England Conservatory of Music, and under the tutelage of players like Phil Woods and composers like Harold Seletsky. He has worked with a stunning list of greats; do the names Tito Puente, Buddy Rich, Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Janet Lawson, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, John Scofield, Sarah Vaughn, Gerry Mulligan, Michael Brecker, The New York Philharmonic, Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Bob Mintzer, Eddie Palmieri, David Lahm, Tom Scott, and T.S. Monk ring a bell? Add another 40 or so heavyweight names in jazz, latin, and pop, and you've got a start on Roger's resume.

That Roger has been steadily in demand by the best of the best for so long is no mystery; his strong and searing solo voice combines with his powerful and swinging ensemble playing to make him a great addition to small and large sections alike. He excels at many styles of music and is a crack first-call N.Y. session player to boot. An accomplished woodwind doubler, he also plays clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, and flutes. His work has been acknowledged by the Downbeat critics and by an NARAS MVP award.

Roger's also a composer and leader. Mongo Santamaria's album Amanacer, which featured Roger as composer and soloist, won a Grammy for Best Latin Album. And in 2000, Jazz Key released Roger's first leader CD, Hang Time.

Watch for Roger's CD Baritonality — produced by Walter Becker — in 2009 (Sunnyside).

Although 2006 marked Roger's first tour with Steely Dan, he appeared on Two Against Nature, Everything Must Go, Fagen's Kamakiriad and Morph The Cat, and Becker's Circus Money.

Roger is based in New York City, where he teaches, plays on Broadway and in the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, and gigs with his Quartet. His new Myspace page is here.

      ^ Top - Index
 

 


F r e d d i e    W a s h i n g t o n  
Bass '06-'17

  Freddie Washington
Photo: steelydan.com
  Fun to watch and sublime to hear, "Ready Freddie" Washington started locking down the groove for the Fab-Originees in '06. Freddie grew up in Oakland California, studying bass by age 14 and dabbling in drums and piano. At 19, he bolted out of the gate by touring with Herbie Hancock for several years — and then went on to become the first-call man for the funk, pop, jazz, and rock stage and in the studio. A quick glance at his resume reveals names like Michael Jackson, Al Jarreau, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Aaron Neville, Elton John, George Benson, Lionel Richie, KebMo (and about 60 others). It was Freddie on bass for Fagen's 2006 Morph The Cat album and tour.

Freddie also writes and produces. His collaboration with Patrice Rushen, Forget Me Nots, struck sales Gold and was later sampled by Will Smith's multi-Platinum Men In Black, while their Haven't You Heard was sampled for Kirk Franklin's smash, Lookin' For You.

We know DanFans will enjoy "Ready Freddie" on stage this summer. While he of course possesses an expansive palate of expressive devices and techniques, the focus of his playing is always on generating a deep and propulsive groove. "I haven't worked in 20 years", he says.

It shows.

As Freddie's prepares his own website, here's a brief interview with him from the For Bass Players Only magazine

       
      ^ Top - Index
 

 


W a l t   W e i s k o p f   
Saxophone '03-'17

   
  Walt Weiskopf
  Saxophonist, composer and author Walt Weiskopf began his New York career performing with the Buddy Rich Big Band in 1981 at the age of 21. Since then, he has made an impressive mark as both a leader and sideman with 12 critically-acclaimed CDs and countless sideman credits, including performing and recording with Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Donald Fagen and Steve Smith's Jazz Legacy. A dynamic player with enormous technical prowess, Walt is equally well-regarded as a composer and his CDs contain predominantly original work. His five books on advanced topics in improvisation are among the most respected in the field. He lives in New Jersey and is an Adjunct Professor at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Whether for quartet, nonet, or any configuration in between, Walt's compositions and arrangements have attracted fans and critical notice. Simplicity, (Criss Cross Jazz-1993), Walt's first CD as a leader, met with immediate success. It was number one on Eurojazz radio for four straight weeks and caused Mel Martin of Saxophone Journal to write: "Walt Weiskopf's prime influence as a player appears to be John Coltrane, but he is no slavish imitator. He ... gets to musical matters in a powerful and positive way, asserting a definite viewpoint.... He displays much technical accomplishment, yet makes it sound basic and accessible.".

Walt's subsequent recordings, from A World Away in 1994 (Criss Cross Jazz) to the most recent "Live" (Capri - 2011), have also caused a critical stir. In the September 1997 issue of JazzTimes Bill Milkowski counted Walt among his "five most underrated players"; by 2000, Milkowski found that Walt had fulfilled his early promise, and is "...a major talent...a monster tenor saxophonist as well as a prolific composer and accomplished arranger."ÊWalt's Song for My Mother (Criss Cross Jazz-1994) was awarded four stars in Downbeat. Bret Primack of Jazz Central Station listed Song for My Mother as one of the ten best jazz albums of 1997 and Crusader Magazine chose this recording as its number one Jazz Pick of the Year. Tony Hall of JazzWise summed up Walt's current "Live" CD saying simply "...More "live" Weiskopf please...an excellent record."

Walt's website is at waltweiskopf.com

       
     
      ^ Top - Index


siteguide | news | touring | emg | history | the works | contact | home | search