young George and Ira Gershwin, they haven't reached their peak. If they don't blow it by being assholes, they'll be around for a long time." Black says he "recognized their talent as songwriters immediately. Gave them living money, introduced them around. They developed with me." Becker and Fagen regard their gig with Jay and the Americans essentially as a way of making a living; it was nowhere to get their songs performed.

They met Jeff Baxter at a studio session job. With Dias, he was one of the few to like their songs, and told them to give him a call whenever they put together their band. It was not only a musical affinity—Baxter says Naked Lunch is also one of his favorite books.

"I got into William Burroughs throughAnd Walter and I have always felt there was a place for intelligent lyrics in well-played music. We happen to write in a short, three-to-five-minute mode. In a sense we're miniaturists. We're fortunate because that happens to be a length that radio stations will program. But most of the classic jazz he and I admire is short too. In my opinion, Duke Ellington never wrote anything worthwhile over five minutes long."

Steely Dan recently paid tribute to two classic jazz musicians on Pretzel Logic. "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" was Duke Ellington's theme song for ten years, and his recording of it was made almost 50 years ago. The Dan plays it practically note for note, with Denny Dias doing Bubber Miley's trumpet solo on electric sitar and Jeff Baxter