Deodato

Eumir Deodato was born Eumir Deodato de Almeida on June 22, 1942, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to a family of Italian and Portuguese descent. He took up accordion at twelve and entered the Academia Mário Mascarenhas at fourteen, where he studied with Hilda Comeira. Deodato also learned piano and studied orchestration through books and observation of professional ensembles. At seventeen, he arranged and conducted a recording session with twenty-eight musicians.

In 1959, Deodato joined the Rio bossa nova circuit with guitarists Roberto Menescal and Durval Ferreira. He played piano at dances and nightclubs and began composing for instrumental groups. By 1962, he led an ensemble with Menescal and arranged the Equipe dance album Los Danseros en Bolero. He also joined the sessions for the 1963 Elenco album A Bossa Nova de Roberto Menescal e Seu Conjunto, which included his composition “Baiãozinho.”

Deodato established himself as an Odeon arranger with sessions for Wilson Simonal, Maysa, and Marcos Valle. In 1964, he arranged and conducted Inútil Paisagem, a collection of Tom Jobim songs for the inaugural release on Roberto Quartin’s Forma label. Deodato played piano with bassist Luiz Marinho, drummer Juquinha, guitarists Roberto Menescal and Oscar Castro-Neves, and an expanded horn-and-string ensemble. The sessions brought him into contact with saxophonist Paulo Moura, trombonist Edson Maciel, and flutist Copinha.

Early Output

Deodato also made the 1964 Odeon album Idéias…, which included the originals “Tempinho Bom” and “Tristeza Não Existe.” He developed a series of instrumental dance albums for Equipe under the name Os Catedráticos, with organ, piano, guitars, brass, and Latin percussion. The group cut the 1964/65 albums Impulso!, Tremendão, and Ataque. Deodato worked with a rotating ensemble that included bassist Sérgio Barrozo, drummer Wilson das Neves, guitarist Neco, percussionist Rubens Bassini, and trumpeter Maurílio Santos.

In 1965, Deodato arranged the Odeon album O Compositor e o Cantor by Marcos Valle and contributed to The Gentle Rain, a film soundtrack project with guitarist-composer Luiz Bonfá. He also played in Os Gatos, a studio ensemble assembled around Durval Ferreira and other Rio instrumentalists. Deodato arranged their 1966 album Aquele Som dos Gatos and continued writing orchestral scores for Brazilian singers.

Festival organizer Augusto Marzagão recruited Deodato to oversee preliminary song selections for the Festival Internacional da Canção. In 1967, he selected three Milton Nascimento songs for the second festival, including “Travessia” and “Morro Velho.” Deodato also worked with pianist Luiz Eça on arrangements for the 1967 Philips debut by Nascimento.

U.S. Career

By 1968, Deodato relocated to New York, where he worked with Luiz Bonfá and Brazilian musicians active in American studios. Singer Astrud Gilberto appointed him co-arranger on her Verve album Beach Samba. Deodato shared orchestration with Don Sebesky and impressed producer Creed Taylor, who hired him for an album by guitarist Wes Montgomery. The association developed into regular assignments for the A&M/CTI jazz roster.

Deodato arranged portions of the 1968 A&M album Summertime by saxophonist Paul Desmond and the 1969 debut Courage by Milton Nascimento. He continued with Jobim on the 1970 albums Tide and Stone Flower, both produced by Taylor. In 1970, Deodato also partnered with Brazilian pianist João Donato on the Blue Thumb album A Bad Donato, for which the two shared arrangements.

During 1970–71, Deodato worked on Chapter Two and Quiet Fire by singer Roberta Flack and the Reprise album Sinatra & Company by Frank Sinatra. He arranged and conducted the 1971 CTI album Salt Song by saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. Deodato also joined Turrentine and Astrud Gilberto for the CTI release Gilberto with Turrentine.

In 1972, Deodato returned to the Brazilian studio circuit for the London album Percepção, an eight-piece instrumental program that included “Dia de Verão,” “Adeus Amigo,” and an interpretation of “Bebê” by Hermeto Pascoal. He also renewed Os Catedráticos with guitarist Durval Ferreira, bassist Sérgio Barrozo, drummer Ivan Conti, and percussionist Orlandivo. They cut material in Rio for the Equipe album Os Catedráticos 73, subsequently issued internationally as Skyscrapers.

“Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)”

In July 1972, Deodato appeared with the CTI All-Stars at the Hollywood Bowl. Creed Taylor then arranged a solo recording project at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Deodato assembled a large studio ensemble with guitarist John Tropea, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Billy Cobham, flutist Hubert Laws, and percussionists Airto Moreira and Ray Barretto. The September sessions included a rearrangement of the Richard Strauss theme used in the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. CTI issued the material as Prelude., which spawned the single “Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001),” a 1973 No. 2 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Deodato formed a touring band and premiered the 2001 Space Concert on April 20, 1973, at the Felt Forum in Madison Square Garden. CTI also issued Deodato 2, with Tropea and Cobham among the returning players. Deodato partnered with João Donato on the 1973 Muse album Donato Deodato, arranged and conducted from sessions with Airto, trumpeter Randy Brecker, and harmonica player Maurício Einhorn.

In 1974, Deodato won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance with “Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001).” CTI issued selected performances from the Felt Forum concert on In Concert, shared with Airto Moreira. Deodato moved to MCA Records and produced Whirlwinds at Record Plant East in New York, with Tropea and Cobham among the session players. He also performed with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under conductor Leonard Slatkin on July 14, 1974, at the Mississippi River Festival. MCA released the concert as Artistry.