The gig that changed Donald Fagen’s life: “Quite an education”
Retrospectively, when exploring the lives of visionary musicians, it is clear from their early years that they were almost fated to do something different from the norm. John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain are three who veered off the beaten path from the outset, with Steely Dan member Donald Fagen, another whose story affirms this well-worn trajectory.
Fagen realised that he was to have a unique perspective on the world from early on after his parents relocated from his hometown in Passaic, New Jersey, to Kendall Park, a new suburb of South Brunswick. Aged just ten, the move greatly troubled him, as he hated suburban life. He would later liken it to being in prison and figured that was the moment “I lost faith in [my parents’] judgment… It was probably the first time I realised I had my own view of life.”
Luckily for Fagen, he wasn’t the only one in his generation who lost all confidence in his elders. This was the late 1950s, and the great rock ‘n’ roll and R&B explosion was tearing up tradition. It opened his eyes to a world where anything seemed possible and provided an escape from the suburban ennui he detested so greatly.
Luckily, another family member was already kicking back against convention, Fagen’s cousin Barbara, who recommended him jazz music at the young age of 11. A much younger age than many delve into the genre’s complex countercultural world, this set the scene in his taste and style coalescing. It was then that his trajectory really started to peel off from the standard, even in light of the nascent cultural rebellion his generation was launching.
Almost instantly, Fagen grew bored of rock ‘n’ roll and became a professed jazz snob, finding a home in the refinement and excitement of the genre. This transition was also significant to his tale in that he concurrently began developing what he describes as “an anti-social personality”, a vital part of Steely Dan’s spirit. He was so dedicated to the form that he even attended the Newport Jazz Festival, quite remarkable for someone not long out of primary school. It’s hard to envision a child of such an age visiting a cultural spectacle like that today. Alas, times have changed markedly.
Most importantly, though, from the age of 12, the young Fagen continued down his path, learning the ins and outs of the trade by travelling via bus to Manhattan’s historic jazz club, Village Vanguard. There, he would witness the era’s greats in action, such as Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, Sonny Rollins and Charles Mingus. It was an enlightening period that would lead to him learning the piano, his weapon of choice in Steely Dan.
When speaking to Rolling Stone for a Q&A in 2006, Fagen reflected on that formative era visiting the Vanguard and revealed that one particular Mingus show there changed his life by educating him about the complexity and severity of the adult world.
He said: “Charlie Mingus. Not only was he musical, he was cultural and political. And he was crazy — manic-depressive, really. One night in ’62 or ’63, Coleman Hawkins opened for him, so Charlie comes onstage in a terrible mood and went on a rant about record companies cheating musicians.”
Continuing, he added: “Hawkins had retired to the bar in the back and proceeded to get drunk, and Mingus started letting into him: ‘Yeah! That’s it, Coleman Hawkins. You Uncle Tom motherfucker! You been workin’ for whitey your whole life, makin’ that money, and you don’t say a word….’ I’d just come in from the suburbs, so that was quite an education in the real world [laughs]. In Mingus’ reality, at least.”
While Fagen was also be drawn to funk in his late teens – another critical aspect of Steely Dan’s potpourri – jazz was always at the centre of their work. I wonder how his life and general spirit would have developed without that cantankerous Mingus moment, as their lyrics wove surreal tales about tangible characteristics, warts and all.
