Eumir Deodato
Eumir Deodato de Almeida (Brazilian Portuguese::; born 22 June 1942) is a Brazilian pianist, composer, arranger, and record producer, primarily in jazz but who has been known for his eclectic melding of genres, such as pop, rock, disco, rhythm and blues, cl*ical, Latin and bossa nova.
Deodato has arranged and produced more than 500 records for acts such as Frank Sinatra, Roberta Flack, Björk, and Christophe, as well as producing Kool & the Gang's hits "Celebration", "Ladies' Night", and "Too Hot".
Deodato was nominated for three Grammy Awards and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1974 for "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)." The song peaked at number 2 on the weekly "Billboard Hot 100" in March 1973. It reached number 7 on the British charts.
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 Career
- 2.1 Recording career
- 2.2 Arranging and producing
- 3 Personal life
- 4 Discography
- 4.1 Albums
- 4.2 As sideman
- 4.3 Singles
- 5 References
- 6 External links
Biography
Deodato began his musical life on accordion when he was 12 years old, and then piano two years later. He studied orchestration, conducting, and arranging. He played bossa nova in bands with Durval Ferreira and Roberto Menescal, then formed his own band with Menescal in 1962.
Career
Recording career
Deodato often plays the Fender Rhodes electric piano. He became successful as a keyboard player in the 1970s. Since then, he has produced and arranged music on more than 500 albums for artists such as Kool and the Gang, Con Funk Shun, Björk, Christophe, and k.d. lang. Guitarist John Tropea and flautist Hubert Laws appeared on his early albums.
Prelude, his first album in the U.S., was released in 1973. This album was crossover music style that attracted a large audience and was produced by Creed Taylor for his label, CTI. The album sold five million copies and earned Deodato the 1974 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the track Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001), as well as a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
His second album, Deodato 2, reached number 19 on the Billboard album chart, while the single "Rhapsody in Blue" reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973. His interpretation of Pavane pour une infante défunte ("Pavane for a Dead Princess") by Maurice Ravel was used in the 1970s by an Australian television station as background music.
In 1978, he had an orchestral hit with Whistle Bump from the LP called Love Island. The track promoted the widespread use of whistles in nightclubs at the time. However, his popularity in the discos was solidified when he released the 1979 single "Night Cruiser", from the album of the same name, which earned him a third Grammy nomination for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. Deodato continued recording through the 1980s. In 1985, he had two hits, "S.O.S., Fire in the Sky" and "Are You For Real", on the Billboard magazine top 20 Dance chart.
He recorded Live in Rio in 2007. In 2011, he released the album The Crossing, which he produced with Lino Nicolosi and Pino Nicolosi at Nicolosi Productions, with guest vocalist Al Jarreau.
Arranging and producing
Since the 1960s, Deodato has been in demand as a producer and arranger. He has worked on more than 500 albums, and fifteen have reached platinum status as defined by the RIAA.
In the early 1960s, he worked as a freelance arranger for Odeon Records. He wrote arrangements for Wilson Simonal, Marcos Valle, and for his debut album, Inútil Paisagem (1964), which was dedicated to the work of Antônio Carlos Jobim and recorded in Rio when Deodato was twenty-two. Jobim praised him in the album's liner notes. Deodato played piano alongside guitarists Oscar Castro-Neves and Roberto Menescal. He has been credited for helping to start the career of Milton Nascimento. He was part of a committee tasked with choosing songs for a festival, and Deodato chose three by Nascimento.
He moved to New York City in 1967 to work with guitarist Luiz Bonfá and vocalist Astrud Gilberto. He met record producer Creed Taylor, who hired him to write arrangements for musicians at CTI Records. This included Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and Paul Desmond. Deodato worked with Joao Donato (1970), Youg, Holt Unlimited (1973) and Luiz Bonfá (1973) also. He had other collaborations, including producing Kool and the Gang from the late 70s to the early 80s, the first solo album by Kevin Rowland of Dexys Midnight Runners in 1988, and arranging Bjork's albums Post, Telegram and *genic. For his Love Island album, Deodato co-wrote the song "Tahiti Hut" with Maurice White. "Tahiti Hut", with lyrics written for it afterwards, was recorded by the band Switch with guest vocals by Jermaine Jackson.
Deodato wrote scores for the films The Gentle Rain (1966), The Black Pearl (1977), The Onion Field (1979) and Bossa Nova (2000).
Personal life
His daughter, Kennya Deodato (b.1968), is married to actor Stephen Baldwin. His granddaughter Hailey Bieber is married to Canadian singer Justin Bieber.
Discography
Albums
As sideman
With Luiz Bonfa
- The Bonfa Magic (Milestone, 1993)
- Jacaranda (JSR, 1998)
- Black Orpheus Impressions (Sony, 2000)
With Astrud Gilberto
- Gilberto with Turrentine (CTI, 1971)
- Now (Perception, 1972)
With Antonio Carlos Jobim
- Stone Flower (CTI, 1970)
- Tide (Verve/A&M, 1970)
- Antonio Carlos Jobim's Finest Hour (Verve, 2000)
With Kool & the Gang
- Ladies' Night (De-Lite, 1979)
- Something Special (De-Lite, 1981)
- As One (De-Lite, 1982)
With Ithamara Koorax
- Ithamara Koorax Sings the Luiz Bonfa Songbook (Paddle Wheel, 1996)
- Serenade in Blue (Milestone, 2000)
With Roberto Menescal
- A Nova Bossa Nova (Elenco, 1964)
- The Boy from Ipanema Beach (Kapp, 1965)
- Bossa Nova (Odeon, 1998)
- A Bossa Nova De Roberto Menescal (Elenco/EmArcy/Universal 2004)
With Milton Nascimento
- Courage (A&M/CTI, 1969)
- Clube Da Esquina (EMI, 1972)
With Brenda K. Starr
- Brenda K. Starr (MCA, 1987)
- By Heart (Epic, 1991)
With Stanley Turrentine
- Salt Song (CTI, 1971)
- The Baddest Turrentine (CTI, 1973)
- The Sugar Man (CTI, 1975)
With Marcos Valle
- Braziliance! (Warner Bros., 1966)
- Samba '68 (Verve, 1968)
With others
- Anthony and the Camp, Suspense (Warner Bros., 1988)
- Charles Aznavour, Toujours (EMI, 2011)
- Camp Lo, Uptown Saturday Night (Profile, 1997)
- Tony Cicco, ...E Mo' Parlamm'e Musica (RCA 1987)
- Billy Cobham, Drum 'n' Voice Vol. 4 (Nicolosi, 2016)
- Dazz Band, Rock the Room (RCA Victor, 1988)
- Milton DeLugg, Accordion My Way-Ole! (RCA Victor, 1967)
- Paul Desmond, Summertime (A&M, 1968)
- Eliane Elias, So Far So Close (Blue Note, 1989)
- Roberta Flack, Killing Me Softly (Atlantic, 1973)
- Aretha Franklin, Let Me in Your Life (Atlantic, 1974)
- Fun Lovin' Criminals, Come Find Yourself (EMI, 1996)
- Fun Lovin' Criminals, The Grave and the Constant EP (Chrysalis, 1996)
- Larry Graham, Fired Up (Warner Bros., 1998)
- Kleeer, Seeekret (Atlantic, 1985)
- Kleiton & Kledir, Dois (Som Livre, 1996)
- *o Madi, Balanco Zona Sul E Outros Sucessos (Odeon, 1966)
- Chuck Mangione, Disguise (Columbia, 1984)
- Maysa, Maysa (Elenco, 1964)
- Lisa Ono, Pretty World Suite! (Supuesto! 2000)
- Jorge Pescara, Grooves in the Temple (2005)
- Pretty Poison, Catch Me I'm Falling (Virgin, 1988)
- Quarteto em Cy, Quarteto em Cy (Forma, 1964)
- Ranieri, Meditazione (CGD, 1976)
- Dom Um Romao, Lake of Perseverance (Irma, 2001)
- Kevin Rowland, The Wanderer (Mercury, 1988)
- Wanda Sa, Wanda Vagamente (RGE, 1964)
- Steve & Eydie, Steve & Eydie, Bonfa & Brazil (CBS/Sony, 1987)
- Riccardo Dalli Cardillo, The first ( DCP,2018)
Singles
References
External links
- Eumir Deodato discography at Discogs
- Eumir Deodato at AllMusic
- Eumir Deodato at AllMusic
- Eumir Deodato at IMDb