Eumir Deodato - Prelude (1973)

zecalouro is following the steps of Maestro Eumir Deodato since one week before his trip to Brazil for a series of concerts in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Before his arriving, we had Ideias, his second solo LP. By the time he made his first concert in Sao Paulo, we had the chance to see Inutil Paisagem, his first LP, dedicated to Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Eumir Deodato starts today the first out of two concerts in Rio de Janeiro and this time we will present another important album, recorded when Eumir Deodato was already established in the U.S. that landmark a major change on his career.

This is Eumir Deodato - Prelude (1973), for CTI. I like this record very much and it is notable how a Eumir Deodato managed with a great success an album so different from his previous works, dedicated to Bossa Nova. I will let you with AMG Richard S. Ginell this time, showing also tracks. Tracks include:

AMG Review

Prior to Prelude, Eumir Deodato was primarily known, if at all, as a tasteful, lyrical, bossa nova-based sometime arranger for the likes of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Wes Montgomery, and others. Enter Creed Taylor, who gave Deodato a chance to step out on his own as a pianist/leader, doing a few tunes of his own plus a healthy quota of CTI-patented jazz interpretations of classical pieces by Richard Strauss ("Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)"), Debussy ("Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun"), and bowdlerized Borodin ("Baubles, Bangles and Beads"). Well, "2001" -- a clever, up-tempo Latin-groove takeoff on the opening measures of Strauss' tone poem suddenly exploded and became an improbable hit single. In its wake, Prelude soared to number three on the pop LP charts, and Deodato was propelled out of the arranger-for-hire business. Though overshadowed by "2001," the other tracks also hold up well today, being mostly medium-tempo, sometimes lushly orchestrated, conga-accented affairs that provide velvety showcases for Deodato's lyrical electric piano solos. The record also made a temporary star out of John Tropea, whose electric guitar has a lot of rock & rolling zip and fire, and Hubert Laws, Stanley Clarke, and Marvin Stamm each get a little solo room too. This would be the biggest hit Deodato and CTI ever had, and though short on playing time (32 minutes), it still makes enjoyable listening.

Track List

01 - Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001) (Richard Strauss)
02 - Spirit Of Summer (Eumir Deodato)
03 - Carly & Carole (Eumir Deodato)
04 - Baubles Bangles And Beads (R. Wright / G. Forrest)
05 - Prelude To Afternoon Of a Faun (Debussy)
06 - September 13 (Cobbham / Eumir Deodato)