Dennis Dias (born December 12, 1946) is an American guitarist, best known for being a founding member of

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

Career

Dias was working with his own band out of his basement in

Hicksville, New York Hicksville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. The population of the CDP was 41,547 at the 2010 census. History Valentine Hicks, son-in-law of abolitionist ...

, when he placed an ad in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' in the summer of 1970 that read: "Looking for keyboardist and bassist. Must have jazz chops! Assholes need not apply".

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his w ...

and

Walter Becker Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.Russonello, Giovanni,Listen t ...

responded to the advertisement. They joined his band and immediately began playing their own material. Dias fired the rest of the band, and the three of them moved to California, adding drummer Jim Hodder, guitarist

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense consu ...

, and vocalist David Palmer before recording for ABC/Dunhill Records as Steely Dan. Dias recorded as a permanent member of the band on 1972's ''

Can't Buy a Thrill ''Can't Buy a Thrill'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in November 1972 by ABC Records. The album was written by band members Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, recorded in August 1972 at the Village Recorder in ...

'' (with an

electric sitar An electric sitar is a type of electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the sitar, a traditional musical instrument of India. Depending on the manufacturer and model, these instruments bear varying degrees of resemblance to the traditional ...

solo on the song " Do It Again"), on 1973's ''

Countdown to Ecstasy ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Steely Dan, released in July 1973 by ABC Records. It was recorded at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado, and at The Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, California. ...

'', and on 1974's ''

Pretzel Logic ''Pretzel Logic'' is the third studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released on February 20, 1974, by ABC Records. It was written by principal band members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, and recorded at The Village Recorder in West L ...

''. Following a tour promoting ''Pretzel Logic'', Becker and Fagen decided to break the band up and use

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s on future albums. Though no longer a member of the band, Dias continued to work with them as a session guitarist, appearing on 1975's ''

Katy Lied ''Katy Lied'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan, released in 1975 by ABC Records. It was certified gold and peaked at No. 13 on the US charts. The single "Black Friday" charted at No. 37. The album was the first after th ...

'', 1976's ''

The Royal Scam ''The Royal Scam'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Steely Dan. It was produced by Gary Katz and was originally released by ABC Records in 1976. ''The Royal Scam'' features more prominent guitar work than the prior Steely Dan album ...

'', and 1977's '' Aja''. In 1991 he joined Toto on their Summer Festival Tour. He also recorded with

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

Wilfrido Vargas Wilfrido Radamés Vargas Martínez (; born April 24, 1949 in Altamira, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) is a band leader, trumpeter, vocalist, arranger, composer and producer who was instrumental in making the merengue style a worldwide pheno ...

and

Pete Christlieb Pete Christlieb (born February 16, 1945) is an American jazz bebop, West Coast jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist. Biography Christlieb was born in Los Angeles, California, United States, and is the son of bassoonist Don Christlieb. Christlieb ...

. Some of Dias's original material was recorded on a 1999 CD called ''Matter of Time'', with Lisa Jason (Vocals) and Andy Bergsten (Bass) as the core of the band. As of 2012, Dias was playing with

Spanky and Our Gang Spanky and Our Gang was an American 1960s sunshine pop band led by Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane. The band derives its name from Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies of the 1930s (known to modern audiences as ''The Little Rascals''), because of the si ...

. In 2014, he was playing with Denny Dias and Friends, a Boston-based band formed with Lisa Jason and Andy Bergsten with session musicians from around the country. In 2015, they planned a tour that included the

Iridium Iridium is a chemical element with the symbol Ir and atomic number 77. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum group, it is considered the second-densest naturally occurring metal (after osmium) with a density of ...

in NYC.

Discography

With

* ''

'' (ABC, 1972) * ''

'' (ABC, 1973) * ''

'' (ABC, 1974) * ''

'' (ABC, 1975) * ''

'' (ABC, 1976) * '' Aja'' (ABC, 1977) With others * Soundtrack to ''

You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat ''You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat'' is a 1971 comedy-drama film directed by Peter Locke. It involves a young hippie and his search for the meaning of life while in Central Park. Its soundtrack includes some of th ...

'' (1971) with

and

, credited as Denny Diaz * David Garfield and Friends, ''Tribute to Jeff'' (Intercord, 1997)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dias, Denny 1946 births American rock guitarists American male guitarists Living people People from Hicksville, New York Guitarists from Philadelphia 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians