🎷 AotW: Jazz Deodato - PRELUDE

[Captain Bacardi]

Deodato
PRELUDE
CTi Records 6021

Released 1972

Peaked at #1 on the Jazz Album chart, #3 on the Billboard 200 Album chart (1973).
"Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, #5 on the Adult Contemporary chart (1973).

Produced by Creed Taylor

Songs:

1. Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001) (Richard Strauss/arranged and adapted by Eumir Deodato) - 9:00
2. Spirit Of Summer (Eumir Deodato) - 4:04
3. Carly & Carole (Eumir Deodato) - 3:38
4. Baubles, Bangles And Beads (Robert Wright/George Forrest) - 5:20
5. Prelude To Afternoon Of A Faun (Claude Debussy/arranged and adapted by Eumir Deodato) - 5:13
6. September 13 (Eumir Deodato/Billy Cobham) - 5:24

Arranged by Eumir Deodato
​

Musicians:
Eumir Deodato - Piano, Electric Piano
John Tropea - Electric Guitar (solos on 1, 4, 6)
Ron Carter - Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass (4)
Stanley Clarke - Electric Bass (solo on 1)
Jay Berliner - Guitar (solo on 2)
Billy Cobham - Drums
Airto - Percussion
Ray Barretto - Congas
Trumpets: John Frosk, Marky Markowitz, Joe Shepley, Marvin Stamm (solo on 5)
Trombones: Wayne Andre, Garnett Brown, Paul Faulise, George Strakey, Bill Watrous
French Horns: Jim Buffington, Peter Gordon
Flute/Alto Flute/Bass Flute: Phil Bodner, Hubert Laws (solo on 5), George Marge, Romeo Penque
Violins: Max Ellen, Paul Gershman, Emanuel Green, Harry Lookofsky, David Nadien, Gene Orloff, Elliot Rosoff
Violas: Al Brown, Emanuel Vardi
Cellos: Seymour Barab, Charles McCracken, Harvey Shapiro


Recorded at Van Gelder Studios
Rudy Van Gelder - Engineer
Recorded September, 1972

Cover Photograph - Robert Funk
Liner Photograph - Duane Michals
Album Design - Sib Chalawick


Available at Amazon.com (with song samples): http://www.amazon.com/Prelude-Recor...binding_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1384563210&sr=1-1




Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captain Bacardi]

In 1977 this album was reissued with a different cover and titled 2001. It was CTi 7081:

Capt. Bacardi

 

[alpertfan]

The only track I've heard from this album is "September 13", and it isn't half bad. BTW, if you search for that song on YouTube, there's a comment made by Deodato's CTI labelmate's Stanley Turrentine's son, claiming that his father wrote the tune and was not given credit.

 

[Harry]

I've never heard or owned the album, but am very familiar with the hit single version of the lead track, "Also Sprach Zarathistra". The Richard Strauss composition was famously used as the theme of my favorite movie, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and an edited version of the track on this album was played on various hit radio stations back in 1973. In fact it peaked at #2 on the top 40.

I do own the single version on a promo 45:



Runout groove text is: 5 26 A1 RVG 524 - 1 and stamped "VAN GELDER". It's stereo on both sides, and both are the 5:06 version.

I can't help but think that some radio stations may have edited the thing down even further, as in 1973, most stations were still trying to cram as many songs into an hour as they could. And since this was an instrumental, a number of stations would have used this record to lead up to news time at the top of the hour, fading it out whenever necessary.

I've never heard the full 9:00 minute version, but I'm sure someone must have uploaded it to YouTube by now.

Harry

 

[Rudy]

IMHO even at five minutes it runs on too long. I liked a couple of tracks from the Deodato 2 album but just never warmed to this one--at times it just meanders.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I like the hit single, but did not like the album. As with most jazz albums, the solos and noodling go on too long for my tastes. There's a lot of talent in those segments but it usually just leaves me cold.

Outside of the single version of "Zarathustra," the only song on a Deodato album that I liked a lot was "Parana" from the album "Deodato/Airto In Concert" and it's actually one of the two Airto tracks on that album.

 

[Dave]

The guitar licks on some of the songs are energetic and fun to learn & John Tropea, as Eumir's sideman on this & the successors trade endlessly on this sort of a legacy on "no right or wrong way to play Jazz"...

The arrangements are energetic & engaging, though do get tiring & the talent involved could have put all this effort into more than just six songs...

But Deodato repeating this approach throughout his remaining works jazzes his way into mega-tedium, along with the overblown arrangements and dated produscion...

The title-track is the best he'd gotten, and Elvis wanted to open his concerts with it, though went with the original classical compostion instead (and somehow had gotten priveledge to use the entire piece)... However, the remaining tracks have to actually let up on what they've worked up to really keep being inspiring...

There was an import CD that had five out of the six songs here, and a few off the successor, Deodato 2, which I'd briefly owned as well...


-- Dave

 

[AM Matt]

The song "Spirit Of Summer" is a close second to "2001" my # 1 (long version than short 45 version)!! Matt Clark Sanford, MI

 

[AM Matt]

On the 45 "2001" version, it says "Universal Stereo". Matt Clark Sanford, MI

 

[Rudy]

On the 45 "2001" version, it says "Universal Stereo". Matt Clark Sanford, MI

I wonder if that was a code name for CSG processing...