Aja (song)

"Aja" is a song by the American rock band Steely Dan, from their sixth studio album Aja, released in 1977. It is a jazz rock song with elements of jazz fusion, progressive rock and jazz. Writers Walter Becker and Donald Fagen play guitar and synthesizer, respectively, with session musicians playing the other parts. Fagen sings lead vocals. Production duties were handled by Gary Katz; the album was released through ABC Records. Musically, it is tonally sophisticated and a structurally complex work that was praised upon release as the most ambitious track the duo had ever attempted. The song's lyrics voice the interior monologue of a man who runs to the title character to escape the stresses of his life "up on the hill." Fagen claimed that it was inspired by the relative of an acquaintance, who had married a Korean woman named Aja. He has described the song as being about the "tranquility that can come of a quiet relationship with a beautiful woman." Despite its complexity, and unlike most of the other tracks on the album, it took less than a day to record the basic rhythm track for "Aja", which Steely Dan credited to the musicians' quick learning, without long rehearsals. Denny Dias' guitar work, including a solo, marked the last appearance on a Steely Dan record by any other founding member of the group. On the other hand, it marked the first appearances of saxophonist Wayne Shorter and drummer Steve Gadd with Steely Dan. Both played solos during the instrumental break which came to be considered among their finest work; Gadd's, the first drum solo in a Steely Dan song, was recorded in just two takes. Jazz critic Ben Sidran later called the recording session "a moment when ... pop music suddenly took a turn left." "Aja"...