Also Sprach Zarathustra 1973
Eumir Deodato is a Brazilian pop producer and funk artist. His successes as an original keyboard artist occurred in the 1970s. Since then, he has produced more than 500 albums for different bands ranging from Björk to Kool and the Gang. His music is also featured in the famous video game Grand Theft Auto and it’s soundtrack album.
Deodato was born on 1943 in Brazil. 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 Luis Bonfa and later with producer Creed Taylor as an arranger. Additionally, he became keyboardist in Taylor’s expanding group of backing artists.
Recording career
His first album in the USA, Prelude, released in 1973, 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 1974 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and went No. 2 in the pop charts in the US and No. 7 in the UK.
His second album, Deodato 2, despite being of the same style and quality, however failed to meet sales expectations, and practically lead to the demise of the record label, Creed Taylor Inc. (CTI). He continued recording until the late 1980s on the Kenya label, but never reached the level of his early successes.
Complete Discography
(1964) Inútil Paisagem
(1972) Percepção
(1973) Prelude
(1973) Deodato 2 - Also Sprach Zarathustra
(1974) Whirlwinds
(1974) Deodato/Airto in Concert
(1974) Artistry
(1975) First Cuckoo
(1976) Very Together
(1978) Love Island
