| Over the years, I've heard that all those guys did passes on most - if not all - of the tunes on "Nightfly". Fagen eventually kept the takes by the player who best fit his vision of what the song's bass part should be. Fagen had a lot of pull and influence as a recording artist back then, and it's hard to imagine that he had any problem getting the budget required to hire all the top guns he wanted. I'll take the time to mention that this is hearsay, and not really documented in any official Fagen/SD stuff.
There's a Marcus Miller clinic on Bass Player TV where he tells the story of how he laid a bass track down for "I.G.Y.". Marcus did a slap-style groove that we'd expect, and left thinking Fagen loved it. MM's track was replaced with Anthony's track on the record. Fagen thought MM's part was "too exciting".....
All four of those players listed by the OP are among the finest bassists in the history of the instrument. They all have great time, great tone, great ideas, and individual style. However, each player will interpret the tune he's playing on through his filters, his experience, and his approach, so all will be different. I think Fagen just went with who and what he felt was best in serving the songs he created.
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"I taught them everything they know, but not everything I know" - James Brown
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