Eumir Deodato

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Photo insert from the first album (Prelude) - 1972
Photo insert from the first album (Prelude) - 1972

Eumir Deodato (born on 22 June 1943 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian artist, producer and arranger primarily based in the jazz realm but who historically has been known for eclectic melding of big band and combo jazz with varied elements of rock/pop, R&B/funk, Brazilian/Latin, and symphonic or orchestral music.

Mainly, his records can be categorized as pop jazz or crossover jazz. His successes as an original artist (keyboards) occurred mainly in the 1970s. Since then, he has produced more than 500 albums for acts ranging from Kool and the Gang to Björk and k.d. lang.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Brazil

Deodato was born on 22 June 1943 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, of Italian and Portuguese parents. He is a musical autodidact, starting with the accordion at age 12 but rapidly learning instrumental and orchestral skills that culminated in his first recording session at age 17. Originally working as pianist and arranger in the Rio bossa nova scene, he rapidly outgrew this and, along with many other Brazilian musicians during the military dictatorship in their country, moved to New York, working with composer Luiz Bonfá and later with producer Creed Taylor as an arranger. Additionally, he became keyboardist in Taylor's expanding group of backing artists.

[edit] Recording career

His first album in the USA, Prelude, released in 1972, was of a big band Latin jazz style that immediately attracted a wide audience. His funky version of Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra won the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and went No. 2 in the pop charts in the US and No. 7 in the UK. It was subsequently used to great effect in the 1979 film Being There, starring Peter Sellers and Shirley Maclaine.

His second album, Deodato 2, despite being of the same style and quality, however failed to meet sales expectations, and practically led to the demise of the record label CTI (Creed Taylor Inc.). His early career records used guitarist John Tropea and quintessential Jazz fusion flautist Hubert Laws. Deodato continued recording until the late 1980s on the Kenya label, but never reached the level of his early successes.

Two of his songs, 'Latin Flute' and 'Super Strut' are featured in the video game: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and on the subsequent soundtrack, titled "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Vol. 7 - Radio Espantoso".

[edit] Producer and Arranger

Deodato has been in demand as a producer and arranger since the 1960s. In all, he has worked on over 500 albums, fifteen of which have reached platinum. His skills as an arranger provided entree to the American recording industry, writing charts for Wes Montgomery, fellow Brazilian chanteuse Astrud Gilberto, and most notably Frank Sinatra, the results of which were released as the bossa nova side of Sinatra's 1971 LP, Sinatra & Company. Other collaborations have included production duties for Kool and the Gang in the early 1980s and orchestrations for Björk on her 1997 album Homogenic. Deodato had previously worked on Björk's song Isobel, making a mix which was later released on her album Telegram (album), produced by Björk, Nellee Hooper, Tricky, Howie B. and Deodato himself. He has also written scores for a number of films.

[edit] Selected Discography


[edit] Selected Single Releases

  • Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)/Spirit Of Summer
  • Rhapsody In Blue/Super Strut
  • Do It Again (LIVE)/Branches (LIVE) (B-Side is by Airto)
  • Moonlight Serenade/Havana Strut
  • Theme From Peter Gunn/Amani
  • Watusi Strut/Watusi Strut (Disco Version) (In actuality, the flip side was just a longer version)
  • Uncle Funk/Whistle Stop

Most of the songs are heavily edited from their very long album versions. Releases up to Peter Gunn/Amani are more Fusion Jazz oriented while follow ups were typically more Disco oriented.

[edit] References

  • Sleeve text from the re-release of Deodato 2

[edit] External links

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