What Do You Expect? They're Swedish!

Friday night at the Fasching Jazz Club in Stockholm, a group of musicians gathered to cover the varied discography of the acclaimed group, Steely Dan. Because of the artistry of the original musicians and the fact that the dedicated fans of Steely Dan are many and highly suspect of any band of pretenders, it would be a daring undertaking for any band.

So you can imagine that skepticism was high when 13 musicians, none over the age of 25, crowded onto the stage of the venerated jazz club. It was doubtful that these kids would have the chops to pull off the music that some of the most talented musicians in jazz and rock have performed. In addition, some of the songs were older then the oldest of the group known as The Stealy Band.

It takes pluck to perform your very first live gig in the oldest jazz club in Stockholm. It takes audacity to choose the complex music and often highly ironic lyrics of Steely Dan as your musical Carte de Jour. But on this night, the assembled group of musicians and singers from the Royal College of Music, not only were proficient, but the standing ovation from the overflow and appreciative crowd was testament that the kids had nailed it. To paraphrase the famous movie line, this band had the overflow crowd by the second bar of Time Out Of Mind, the opening number.

Rock music has always been the outlet for adolescent ache. But it's rare when rock captures the complications of adult sorrows almost purely with its sound. Steely Dan is the most unlikely hit-singles band. Steely Dan has abandoned many musical conventions and literal lyrics for an unpredictable, free-roving style. Less a band than a concept, Steely Dan is one of the most advanced, successful, and mysterious units of popular music. Combining pop hooks with jazz harmonies with complicated time changes and cryptic lyrics, this band sounds like no one else.

It would be a reach to say the The Stealy Band group captured the nuances of those jaded and sardonic lyrics. As an example, on Deacon Blues the Steely Dan founders Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, paint a picture of dark simplicity: "Drink Scotch whiskey all night long and die behind the wheel." Becker has been quoted, "We're about people who are more or less at the end of their proverbial tethers.” That's Steely Dan: frustration and failure at the heart of the party. As it happens, not many of these young achievers could be acquainted with that side of Steely Dan. They couldn’t be Kid Charlemagne. They can't know Josie. Don't know Peg. Yet.

Steely Dan is famous for their use of chord sequences and harmonies that explore the area of musical tension between traditional pop music sounds and jazz. In fact, they are known for their use of the mu major chord, often simply known to rock musicians as the "Steely Dan chord". It would be foolish of anyone to expect that these relatively inexperienced players could match the chops of such stellar former Steely Dan members as Jeff Baxter, Larry Carlton, Rick Derringer, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Gadd and Bernard Purdie. However, the enthusiasm and eerily dead on arrangements of Stealy Dan overcame any lack of playing (or life experience) shortcomings.

Running through a set list consisting of classics like The Royal Scam, Dirty Work, Deacon Blues, Reelin’ In The Years, Ricki Don’t Lose That Number and Josie, the young members did not shrink from their assignments. Vocalist Oskar Nilsson, sounding closer to early Steely Dan vocalist David Palmer then the later sounds of Donald Fagen was excellent, keeping the energy up all night. The four piece horn section (Kristian Brink and Jakob Gustafsson on tenor sax; Rikard Lindgren, trumpet; Lisa Bodelius, trombone) were spot on in their fills and solos. The rhythm section of bassist Kristofer Sundstom, keyboardist Edvin Nahlin and drummer Carl Ottosson kept the necessary pulse and harmonic support.

Guitarists Efraim Olofsson and Alexander Kronbrink had the unenviable chore of trying to replicate the signature Steely Dan guitar lead. Some of those solos are in the top 100 guitar solos of all time. Yet, somehow, The Stealy Band’s twin attack pulled it off to the delight of the audience, especially on Kid Charlemagne. While the guys were not note for note perfect, like they say, they were good enough for jazz.

The female soul-inspired backup singers in Steely Dan have the role of being not only the supporting vocalists, but are the foils to the middle aged angst of the protagonists in such songs as Babylon Sister, Peg and Hey, Nineteen. They often are the visual center point, as there isn’t much showmanship bombast coming from the rest of the band. As would befit a group in their first stage show, the trio of Ida Lindberg, Matilda Lindell and Emmma Salmonsson didn’t capture the necessary sultriness when not singing their parts. However, when the group stepped up to the microphone and opened their mouths, their talent captured the moment, especially on Babylon Sister and the encore, My Old School.

I have to give a nod to the soundboard at Fasching. To mike a 13-piece band that includes such diverse sounds as horns, voices, keyboards and electric guitars and then make them all sound distinct without any individual piece being overpowering is not easy. The Fasching crew did it with aplomb and some better-known groups could take a lesson from the guys at Fasching.

The standing ovation at the end of the two set show was proof of the crowd’s acceptance of The Stealy Band. The band received many cheers throughout the night's performance. When the audience would applaud and cheer at the end of each solo the players gave no acknowledgment. Not from any arrogance but from the stunned realization that the house was accepting their effort. Acceptance? Hell, they crowd loved them! When somebody at the table pointed out the humble lack of appreciation, a friend from Sweden responded, "What do you expect? They're Swedish!"

The show by The Stealy Band was, literally, better than advertised. There was a rumor going around that this was a one off show. That the whole set was a school laboratory project. That the members were doing it for school credit! If an exiting crowd that asks the question, “Will they play again?” means anything, then HEY! PROFESSOR! Give The Stealy Band an A+!