occupation denny dias
Donald Jay Fagen ( born January 10 , 1948 ) is an American ___MASK83___ , singer - songwriter , and co - founder of the band Steely Dan . An antihero , or antiheroine , is a protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism , courage , or morality . These characters are usually considered " conspicuously contrary to an archetypal ___MASK51___ ". Antihero is not a villain . A villain is just the enemy of the ___MASK51___ although a antihero is a ___MASK51___ who is unsual , who doesn ' t look like a traditionel ___MASK51___ . Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid - 1960s when African American musicians created a rhythmic , danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music , jazz , and rhythm and blues ( ___MASK23___ & B ). Funk de - emphasizes melody and chord progressions used in other related genres and brings a strong rhythmic groove of a bass line played by an electric ___MASK58___ and a drum part played by a drummer to the foreground . Funk songs are often based on an extended vamp on a single chord , distinguishing them from ___MASK23___ & B and soul songs , which are built on complex chord progressions . Funk uses the same richly - colored extended chords found in bebop jazz , such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths , or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths . Steely Dan is an American jazz rock ___MASK27___ whose music also blends elements of funk , R & B , and pop . Founded by core members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen in 1972 , the ___MASK27___ enjoyed great critical and commercial success starting from the early 1970s until breaking up in 1981 . " Rolling Stone " has called them " the perfect musical antiheroes for the Seventies ". Steely Dan reunited in 1993 and has toured steadily ever since . Jazz is a music genre that originated amongst African Americans in New Orleans , United States , in the late 19th and early 20th centuries . Since the 1920s jazz age , jazz has become recognized as a ___MASK3___ form of musical expression . It emerged in the form of independent traditional and popular musical styles , all linked by the common bonds of African American and European American musical parentage with a performance orientation . Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes , call and response vocals , polyrhythms and improvisation . Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression , and in African - American music traditions including blues and ragtime , as well as European ___MASK98___ band music . Although the foundation of jazz is deeply rooted within the Black experience of the United States , different cultures have contributed their own experience and styles to the art form as well . Intellectuals around the world have hailed jazz as " one of America ' s original art forms ". Walter Carl Becker ( born February 20 , 1950 ) is an American ___MASK83___ , songwriter , and record producer . He is best known as the co - founder , guitarist , bassist and co - songwriter of Steely Dan . Dennis `` Denny '' Dias ( born December 12 , 1946 ) is an American ___MASK28___ , best known for being a founding member of Steely Dan .