DEODATO'S PRELUDE ALBUM 50TH ANNIVERSARY

[lj]

This significant album recorded in September 1972, but released in 1973 remains a classic. To this day the track "Also Sprach Zarathustra" from the album, which charted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, remains the highest charted single ever by a Brazilian recording artist. And what a stellar cast of musicians Creed Taylor assembled for "Prelude". You had Ron Carter on bass, Billy Cobham on drums, Ray Barreto on percussion and Hubert Laws on flute. Talk about the flute--I notice the prominence of the flute in the arrangements of my Brazilian albums. The saxophone is mostly missing. Jobim himself played the flute. I surmise that the arrangements wanted to capture the light and airy sound of the flute which perfectly captures the ambience of Brazil.

Here is my favorite track from the album--"Carly and Carole" written by Eumir Deodato. Eumir was a musical triple threat--a master composer and arranger and keyboard artist. A true musical giant.

 

[Bobberman]

I have this one it was my first Deodato lp i Bought in 1985 I also love Baubles Bangles and Beads and the Spirit of Summer. The whole album is a gem. And sounds even better on CD

 

[rockdoctor]

I remember the day I first heard Also Sprach Zarathustra by Deodato. It was a cold, snowy day in late January or early February of 73. I heard it on an AM station and I loved it. I did not get the album until years later when I bought it in a cutout bin. It is a superb album and when I found it on CD I bought that as well.

 

[Harry]

Similar story. I was a huge fan of the movie 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and really loved the soundtrack music from it. So when the station I listened to played Deodato's "Also Sprach Zarathustra", I was fascinated with it. Not enough, though, apparently to buy it since I never bought either the album or the single, but was content to copy it from the radio on my reel-to-reel recorder. I never realized until much much later that the album version clocked in at 9:00 long. Even the single was over 5 minutes long, but I'm sure the radio station I listened to must have shortened it even further.

Somewhere along the line I'd acquired a promo 45 of the single and had it filed away for years. It wasn't until 2020 that I dug it out and cleaned it up for digitizing, and it was shortly thereafter that I finally ordered a copy of Deodato's PRELUDE on CD. Nice album.

 

[Bobberman]

Similar story. I was a huge fan of the movie 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and really loved the soundtrack music from it. So when the station I listened to played Deodato's "Also Sprach Zarathustra", I was fascinated with it. Not enough, though, apparently to buy it since I never bought either the album or the single, but was content to copy it from the radio on my reel-to-reel recorder. I never realized until much much later that the album version clocked in at 9:00 long. Even the single was over 5 minutes long, but I'm sure the radio station I listened to must have shortened it even further.

Somewhere along the line I'd acquired a promo 45 of the single and had it filed away for years. It wasn't until 2020 that I dug it out and cleaned it up for digitizing, and it was shortly thereafter that I finally ordered a copy of Deodato's PRELUDE on CD. Nice album.

Indeed it is a Nice album it's been one of my sentimental favorites since the mid 80s when I discovered it

 

[lj]

Here is an excellent review of the Prelude album with some comments by Deodato. Credit Luiz Bonfa, the legendary guitarist and composer of Samba de Orfeu and Manha de Carnaval from the film Black Orpheus, for being Eumir's sponsor and bringing him to the USA in 1967. I have an outstanding 1967 album on Columbia Records with Steve & Eydie singing the Bonfa songbook and Bonfa on guitar and Deodato as arranger.

40 Years of Eumir Deodato's iconic "Prelude"

(SHM-CD released in Japan in 2009; liner notes by Arnaldo DeSouteiro and the only CD reissue of "Prelude" digitally remastered by the re...

jazzstation-oblogdearnaldodesouteiros.blogspot.com

 

[lj]

Here is a review of another classic album arranged by Deodato--Jobim's Stoneflower from 1970. Splendid arrangements which never get in the way of the rhythm section, which for Jobim in the 1970s always comprised himself on keyboard, Ron Carter on bass and Joao Palma on drums. You can't get any better than that. Thanks to the contribution of producer Creed Taylor and arranger Eumir Deodato, this arguably is Jobim's most artistic album. And as icing on the cake we have two versions of probably the most famous song in Brazilian history--Ari Barroso's "Brazil".

Beautiful Music: Antônio Carlos Jobim - "Stone Flower"

One of the creators and masters of bossa nova teams up with Creed Taylor and Deodato to produce a creative masterpiece a decade after the genre's original burst of popularity.

www.thejazzrecord.com

 

[Harry]

I own STONE FLOWER on the 1990 CD from Columbia Jazz:

 

[lj]

I first bought the audio tape and years later bought the CD at Tower Records, as I realized the importance of the album.

 

[lj]

In 1973, I recorded on my tape recorder some real good music heard on radio KBIG Avalon, which included Deodato's "Also Sprach" and "Carly and Carole", Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly", Spinners "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", Carole King "Been to Canaan", Carly Simon "Right Thing to Do" and Herbie Mann "Do it Again". Both Mann and Deodato effectively used in their aforementioned songs the electric piano. You have to give credit to Joe Zawinhul for giving the electric piano prominence on Cannonball Adderley's 1966 smash hit "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy". Zawinhul wrote the song and his electric piano performance carried the melody. Six years later Deodato featured the electric piano on the "Prelude" album and the rest is history. I personally prefer the acoustic piano, but in the right place at the right time the electric piano sounds mighty good.

 

[Michael Hagerty]

I was in L.A. on a visit, unaware that the album had been released. I tuned in Johnny Magnus on KMPC. Johnny played a good amount of jazz on his 10 PM-1 AM show, and some longer cuts. I caught "Also Sprach" about a minute in and listened all the way through. I knew the piece from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, but had no idea who was performing this.

Johnny lets it go all the way....right down to the tail out of the electric piano notes....then opens the mic and says:

"Wow."

Turns out it was his first time playing it on air.

I bought a copy the next morning.

 

[AM Matt]

Also Deodato "2" also was released in 1973 which has "Rhapsody In Blue".

 

[Michael Hagerty]

Also Deodato "2" also was released in 1973 which has "Rhapsody In Blue".

Yep---a pretty brisk release cadence---two Deodato albums that year.

 

[Nemily]

Deodato 2 Rhapsody in Blues is my favorites, recorded on a lucious track length of 8:50. Also on the LP one of my favorite drummers Billy Cobham was courtesy from Atlantic Records.

 

[rockdoctor]

I was in L.A. on a visit, unaware that the album had been released. I tuned in Johnny Magnus on KMPC. Johnny played a good amount of jazz on his 10 PM-1 AM show, and some longer cuts. I caught "Also Sprach" about a minute in and listened all the way through. I knew the piece from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, but had no idea who was performing this.

Johnny lets it go all the way....right down to the tail out of the electric piano notes....then opens the mic and says:

"Wow."

Turns out it was his first time playing it on air.

I bought a copy the next morning.

When I first heard the single, the station did not mention the name of the artist. I could hear the electric piano and I thought it had a Sergio Mendes feel to it. At the time I was still listening to Kasey Kasem American Top 40 so I knew it would be charting soon if it was getting the airplay it needed. I never heard the full length until years later when I finally got the lp.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I need to listen to that album again, I think I would have more appreciation for it now with my more seasoned ears. I've liked "Also Sprach Zarathustra" from the first time I heard it. Before that single was popular, I remember a guy coming into our music store and asking for it by name and I thought he was making it up or had really misinterpreted the spelling or something. (Hey, I was 15 at the time.)

Currently the only Deodato album I have is In Concert, which he did with Airto Moriera. It which contains "Parana," a song I really like and sounds like something Sergio Mendes could have done wonders with during his Primal Roots/Pais Tropical era.