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Walter Becker
Walter Becker (born Walter Carl Becker, 20 February 1950, in Queens, New York) is an American musician and record producer. He is perhaps best known as the guitarist (and sometimes bassist) and half of the duo at the core of the jazz-rock band Steely Dan.
Becker grew up in Westchester County and Forest Hills and is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, (class of 1967). After starting out on saxophone, he switched to guitar and received instruction in blues technique from neighbor Randy Wolfe who, as Randy California, played with Jimi Hendrix and was soon to found the group, Spirit.
He met his long-time musical partner, the other half of Steely Dan, Donald Fagen, while attending Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Becker and Fagen's youthful career included a stint with Jay and the Americans under pseudonyms, and in the early 1970s, as pop songwriters, prior to forming Steely Dan.
Following Steely Dan's breakup in 1981, Becker moved to Hawaii, and began a career as a record producer, producing artists as diverse as Rickie Lee Jones, China Crisis and Michael Franks. Becker is actually credited as one of five official members of China Crisis on the sleeve of their 1985 album Flaunt The Imperfection, which he also produced; he also produced tracks on their 1989 album Diary of a Hollow Horse, although he is not credited as a band member on that release.
Becker reunited with Fagen briefly to collaborate on the debut album of U.S. singer, former fashion model Rosie Vela. Their partnership resumed in the mid-1990s as they undertook a tour under the Steely Dan moniker in 1993, and Becker produced Fagen's album Kamakiriad in that year as well. In turn, Fagen co-produced Becker's belated solo debut album, 11 Tracks of Whack (1994).
Becker and Fagen reunited again in 2000 to release the first Steely Dan studio album in two decades, Two Against Nature, which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Everything Must Go followed in 2003. He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007. Becker continued to record and perform for another ten years.
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Remembering Walter Becker
by Matt Hooke
Steely Dan combined rock and jazz in a way no other artist has ever done. Their music is not simply jazzers slumming it" to make profitable rock recordings, but a precise blend of the two genres that shows the musicians love for both. On Sunday one of the two architects of Steely Dan, Walter Becker, died at the age of 67. Becker co-wrote all of the bands material with lead singer Donald Fagen, including radio classics like Aja," ...
read moreWalter Becker: Circus Money
by Mike Perciaccante
Coming a mere 14 years after his last and first solo recording, Walter Becker's Circus Money sounds a lot like Steely Dan--jazzy, pop infused rock over witty, somewhat sarcastic and sardonic lyrics. By mixing in a bit of reggae, Becker has released an album that fits in well with the Steely Dan canon, yet stands up well on its own.
Featuring the expected strong production values and superb performances, Becker and company have produced a disc that is ...
read moreSteely Dan's Donald Fagen and Walter Becker to Guest Host on Sirius Satellite Radio
Source:
All About Jazz
WHO: Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan WHAT: SIRIUS' Pure Jazz channel will welcome jazz-influenced rock pioneers Donald Fagen and Walter Becker from Steely Dan. Fagen and Becker will each co-host an hour playing classic jazz favorites. They will also share their thoughts about artists who continue to inspire them, including Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie. WHERE: Pure Jazz SIRIUS channel 72 WHEN: Saturday, August 2 at 10 pm ET and rebroadcast on Sunday, August 3 ...
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Steely Dan's Walter Becker to Release "Circus Money" in UK!
Source:
Noble PR
Sonic360 is pleased to announce the UK release of Circus Money, Walter Becker's first solo album in 14 years. It is," the artist acknowledges, a unique career strategy." The album is released in the UK on Monday July 14th.
Over the past 38 years, Becker and his long-time collaborator Donald Fagen have released 10 albums under the Steely Dan moniker. Circus Money is Becker's second solo effort. To suggest that the new album, produced by Grammy Award winning Larry Klein, ...
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