During the same interview , Fagen called the song " a journey in time and space . " He has long claimed it was named after a South Korean woman a high school friend 's brother married after serving in the Army in that country . He is not sure about the spelling , however . " We thought that was a good name , a very romantic sort of image , " Fagen said , " the sort of tranquility that can come of a quiet relationship with a beautiful woman . " The song was recorded during the early 1977 '' Aja '' sessions at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles . Gary Katz produced the song , as he had for every Steely Dan album . Roger Nichols and three other recording engineers did that task , work for which they would later share that year 's Grammy Award for Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording
that year 's Grammy Award
20th Annual Grammy Awards
Aja (song)