DAVE STRYKER
Jersey-based jazz guitarist Dave Stryker’s trio, also featuring organist Jared Gold and drummer McClenty Hunter, will open Steely Dan concerts from June 21 to Aug. 13. These include stops at the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, N.Y., June 29; the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, June 30; and the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., Aug. 10 and 12-13.
It is possible that Stryker got Steely Dan’s attention by covering the group’s “Pretzel Logic” (listen below) on his 2019 album, Eight Track III. The series has featured jazz covers of pop, rock, R&B and soul songs from the ’70s.
The tour was initially conceived as a double bill of Steely Dan with Steve Winwood, but has been postponed twice because of the pandemic. Aimee Mann was initially announced as the replacement for Winwood, but then was told that her services wouldn’t be needed.
“No one is entirely sure why, but it seems they thought their audience wouldn’t like a female singer-songwriter?” Mann wrote on Instagram.
In a subsequent press statement, Steely Dan frontman Donald Fagen denied that Mann’s gender had anything to do with it. “Although I have the greatest respect for Aimee as a writer and performer, I thought it might not be the best matchup in terms of musical style,” he wrote.
The group Snarky Puppy is currently opening for Steely Dan but Stryker will step into that role, starting June 21.
In addition to recording and performing, Stryker is an adjunct professor at Montclair State University, Rutgers University and Indiana University; and teaches students online through the artistworks.com web site.
For more about him, visit davestryker.com.
Here is some of his “Pretzel Logic”:
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3 comments
Lol, it’s not Skinny Puppy, it’s Snarky Puppy.
Thanks, will correct.
Boy, I wish it was Skinny Puppy. That would be hilarious to be in that audience. I’ve seen both Skinny and Steely numerous times – that Venn diagram doesn’t even REMOTELY overlap. Got tickets to see the Dan tonight in Richmond. Was bummed about both Winwood and Mann being cancelled, but oh well.