Eumir Deodato
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Widely known as one of the most respected and sought-after producer,
arranger, composer, performer in the music world, Deodato was born in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from Italian and Portuguese origin. A distant
relative of Enrico Caruso, Deodato got started by playing the accordion at
age 12. Shortly after, he started studying piano as well as
orchestration, arranging and conducting, by himself, through books and
observation and spending many evenings sitting behind orchestras and
watching how they played. His first break came at age 17, when he
arranged and conducted his first recording session for a 28-piece
orchestra. Soon after, Deodato became one of the most respected
arrangers and pianists in Rio's busy music scene during the bossa-nova
era. At his parents' request, he continued his college studies for 3
more years, but eventually dedicated himself exclusively to music by
playing and recording for such artists as Milton Nascimento, 'Marcos Valle', Elis Regina
and Antonio Carlos Jobim. In 1967, Deodato moved to New York invited by
Luiz Bonfá, the legendary composer of "Black Orpheus" ('Morning Of
Carnival'). Besides arranging many of Bonfá's records, Deodato also did
extensive studio work for 'Astrid Gilberto', Walter Wanderley, Antonio Carlos
Jobim, Marcos Valle, and many other Brazilian artists who were living in New
York at that time. Shortly after that, he started working with Jazz
artists such as Wes Montgomery, Ray Bryant and Stanley Turrentine.
Later on, he achieved a strong reputation in the fields of pop and
black music, arranging for Frank Sinatra ("Sinatra & Co."), Roberta Flack ("Killing
Me Softly", "Chapter Two", "Quiet Fire"), Aretha Franklin ("Let Me In Your
Life") and many others. Deodato has also worked on several movie
scores, though this has never been his main occupation. Among them:
The Onion Field (1979), Hei zhen zhu (1970), The Gentle Rain (1966) and Target Risk (1975). He then exploded into the music
scene as a leader, with his phenomenally successful version of "Also
Sprach Zarathustra", mostly known as "2001: A Space Odyssey", taken
from his acclaimed - and now legendary - solo debut album in the USA,
"Prelude". The "2001" single became a mega hit, reaching the top pop
charts in the USA as well as in many other countries, with sales of
over 5 million copies at that time. Deodato received many awards from
Billboard, Cashbox, Record World and Payboy magazines, culminating with
a Grammy for best Pop/Rock Instrumental Performance and a nomination
for Best Pop Artist of that year. After performing at the Hollywood
Bowl with the CTI All-Stars Band, in 1972, due to a lot of requests,
Deodato formed his own group. His debut appearance as a leader, billed
as "2001 Space Concert", was at the Madison Square Garden, in New York
1973. After 7 years of world wide touring (including Australia, Japan,
China, South America, Europe) and 8 coast to coast tours of the US,
Deodato decided to concentrate on studio work once again, and get to
work as a producer as well. Besides highly successful solo albums for
the CTI, MCA, Warner And Atlantic labels, his work as a
producer/arranger earned him several more laurels. One of his first
productions was Kool and The Gang's "Celebration" (number 1 pop
single), which projected him as one of the world's top producers. Since
then he has applied his Midas touch in best selling albums for such
acts as Earth, Wind & Fire, Michael Franks, Gwen Guthrie, Chuck
Mangione, Breakfast Club, The Dazz Band, One Way, Con-Funk-Shun, Pretty
Poison, Kevin Rowland (Dixie's Midnight Runners), White Lion and Brenda
K. Starr for whom he produced the Top 5 pop hit "I Still Believe" in
1987. Not to mention three other multi-platinum albums for Kool & The
Gang: "Lady's Night", Something Special" and "As One". To this date,
Deodato has 16 platinum records to his credit as artist, arranger or
producer with combined sales of well over 25 million records in the USA
alone. His discography goes over 450 albums, including compilations and
all the albums as arranger, producer and/or keyboardist. Deodato has
also had the honor to perform with many Symphony Orchestras, including
the St. Louis Symphony (which backed him on the superb "Artistry"
album), the Cincinnati Symphony, the New York Philharmonic and the
Orchestra di Musica Leggera dell' Unione Musicisti di Roma. Artists
such as George Benson, Lee Ritenour, Sarah Vaughan, Milt Jackson, Joe
Pass, Duke Pearson, Perez Prado, The Emotions and many others have
covered his songs. In the 90s, Deodato continues to be a vital force in
the pop scene, working with Icelandic singer Bjork. Besides the
arrangements for her last three albums, "Post" (1995), "Telegram"
(1996) and "Homogenic" (1997), Deodato produced a highly praised
acoustic version of Bjork's "Isobel", sub-titled "Deodato Mix" which
became a favorite in the club scene. He has also produced material for
French singer Clémentine (touring Japan with her, as a special guest in
1994), arranged and produced a top 10 single for Brazilian singer Gal
Costa (1996). He has also performed as guest conductor with Bjork both
in Brazil (1996), and in USA, at the Tibetan Freedom Concerts at
Downing Stadium (1997). In 1998, Deodato arranged for Brazilian pop
acts: Titãs ("Vol. II", with sales over 500,000 copies) and Carlinhos
Brown ("Omelete Man"), as well as for the latest album by pop-rock band
"Penélope Charmosa", released in 1999. He was also special guest on the
latest project by Japanese pop star Akemi Kakihara, recorded in London
on summer 98. In 1999, he scored Bossa Nova (2000), a Bruno Barreto film, starring
Amy Irving and, in the year 2000, produced the CD of that score for Verve
Records.
His most recent projects including production work for Brazilian-Japanese singer Lisa Ono and for jazz singer Ann Hampton Callaway. Deodato has also worked on several movie scores, including The Onion Field, The Black Pearl, Ghostbusters II, White Nights, The Girl From Ipanema, The Adventurers (recorded with A.C. Jobim and the London Symphony Orchestra), The Gentle Rain, Target Risk, The Reporter, Beat Street, Body Rock and Bossa Nova. His recordings have also been widely used on major movies such as Being There and The Exorcist.
His most recent projects including production work for Brazilian-Japanese singer Lisa Ono and for jazz singer Ann Hampton Callaway. Deodato has also worked on several movie scores, including The Onion Field, The Black Pearl, Ghostbusters II, White Nights, The Girl From Ipanema, The Adventurers (recorded with A.C. Jobim and the London Symphony Orchestra), The Gentle Rain, Target Risk, The Reporter, Beat Street, Body Rock and Bossa Nova. His recordings have also been widely used on major movies such as Being There and The Exorcist.