Donald Fagen - The Nightfly

A portrait of the artist as a young man, The Nightfly is a wonderfully evocative reminiscence of Kennedy-era American life; in the liner notes, Donald Fagen describes the songs as representative of the kinds of fantasies he entertained as an adolescent during the late '50s/early '60s, and he conveys the tenor of the times with some of his most personal and least obtuse material to date. Continuing in the smooth pop-jazz mode favored on the final Steely Dan records, The Nightfly is lush and shimmering, produced with cinematic flair by Gary Katz; romanticized but never sentimental, the songs are slices of suburbanite soap opera, tales of space-age hopes (the hit "I.G.Y.") and Cold War fears (the wonderful "The New Frontier," a memoir of fallout-shelter love) crafted with impeccable style and sophistication. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Name Credits Abraham Laboriel Bass Andrew Thomas Screen Design Anthony Jackson Bass Bob Ludwig Mastering Cheryl Smith Assistant Engineer Chuck Rainey Bass Cory Frye Editorial Supervision Daniel Bazerus Vocals (Background) Daniel Lazerus Vocals (Background), Overdub Engineer, Engineer Dave Bargeron Euphonium, Vocals (Background), Trombone, Horn David Dieckmann Authoring David Tofani Sax (Alto), Saxophone, Horn Dean Parks Guitar Donald Fagen Liner Notes, Horn Arrangements, Horn, Piano (Electric), Keyboards, Organ, Vocals, Synthesizer Harp, Arranger, Vocals (Background), Synthesizer, Harmonica Ed Greene Drums Elliot Scheiner Tracking, Engineer, Mix Down, Producer, Mixing Frank Floyd Vocals, Vocals (Background) Gary Katz Producer George Delmerico Art Direction George Lydecker Authoring Ginger Dettman Project Assistant Gordon Grody ?, Vocals (Background), Vocals Greg Allen Art Direction, Design Greg Phillinganes Synthesizer, Soloist, Piano, Piano (Electric), Synthesizer Bass, Clavinet, Keyboards Hugh McCracken Harmonica, Guitar James Gadson Drums James Hamilton Photography Jeff Porcaro Drums Larry Carlton Guitar Leslie Miller Vocals (Background), Vocals Marcus Miller Bass Michael Brecker Sax (Tenor), Horn, Saxophone Michael Omartian Piano (Electric), Keyboards, Piano Mike Morongell Assistant Engineer, Digital Editing Assistant Randy Brecker Flugelhorn, Horn, Trumpet Rick Derringer Guitar Rob Mounsey Horn Arrangements, Synthesizer, Horn, Keyboards Robin Hurley Producer Robin Lane Assistant Engineer Robin Lane & The Chartbusters Assistant Engineer Roger Nichols Engineer, Sequencing, Percussion, Special Effects Ronnie Cuber Saxophone, Horn, Sax (Baritone) Spencer Christu Authoring Starz Vander Lockett Vocals (Background), Percussion Steve Jordan Drums Steve Khan Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic) Steve Pokorny Project Assistant Steve Woolard Project Assistant Valerie Simpson Vocals (Background), Vocals Wayne Yurgelun Assistant Engineer, Digital Editing Assistant Will Lee Bass Zachary Sanders Vocals, Vocals (Background)