Eumir Deodato (born June 22, 1942) – Super Strut (1973)

For his second U.S. solo album Deodato 2, the multi-talented keyboardist, composer and producer wrote this jazz-funk masterpiece, featuring Billy Cobham on drums.

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Eumir Deodato is a multi-talented Brazilian keyboardist, composer, arranger, and producer. Besides his own prolific solo work, he has produced or arranged over 500 records for other artists, including Roberta Flack, Bjork, and Kool & the Gang.

Deodato’s first solo LP released in the United States was the monster hit Prelude, produced by Creed Taylor for his CTI Records label, which hit stores in January, 1973. It shot to #1 on the jazz charts, then crossed over in sales numbers never seen before or since by CTI, and hit #3 on the Billboard 200 album charts. Prelude eventually became the label’s best-selling record ever, with more than five million copies sold. The album helped solidify the crossover appeal of jazz-funk, nine months before Herbie Hancock’s breakthrough fusion LP Head Hunters was released that October.

Prelude’s success was fueled by its epic opening cut “Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001),” Deodato’s take on the theme from Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Released as a single, it hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and won that year’s Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Deodato was also nominated as Best New Artist, although he was edged out by Bette Midler.

Another of Prelude’s highlights was the superb jam “September 13,” which Deodato co-wrote with the album’s drummer Billy Cobham. Other players rounding out its superb lineup included Ron Carter on bass and electric bass, Stanley Clarke on electric bass solo on “Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001),” John Tropea on electric guitar, Ray Barretto on congas, and Hubert Laws on flute.

For his second U.S. solo album, Deodato 2, he wrote the jazz-funk masterpiece “Super Strut.” Many of the same all-star musicians from Prelude returned for Deodato 2, like Cobham, Tropea, and Clarke. They were joined by new additions Gilmore Degap and Rubens Bassini on percussion, plus Alvin Brehm and Russell Savakus on Arco (acoustic) bass guitar.

Like Prelude, Deodato 2 was recorded at Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Sessions took place during April and May, 1973 and it released that July. The following year, “Super Strut” was part of his live set at the 1974 Mississippi River Festival, which was subsequently released as the live album Artistry.

In 1979, Deodato began a hugely successful collaboration with Kool & the Gang by producing their mega-hit LP Ladies Night. It went to #1 R&B, and #13 on the Billboard 200, on its way to becoming the group’s first platinum album.

The title track was a #1 R&B smash, and peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its next single was the laid back jam “Too Hot,” which hit #5 R&B and #3 on the Hot 100. The entire album charted at #5 on the disco charts, propelled in the clubs by the extended versions of both hit singles plus their superb B-sides, “If You Feel Like Dancing” (the flip of “Ladies Night”) and “Tonight’s The Night” (the B-side of ‘Too Hot”).

The same year Deodato began producing Kool & the Gang, he released his own album Night Cruiser (1979) which featured a dancefloor-friendly blend of jazz, funk and disco similar to the sound of Ladies Night.

Its title track became a huge disco hit and earned him another Grammy nomination, this time for Best Instrumental R&B Performance. The album itself hit #7 on the jazz charts, and #53 on the R&B album charts.

Further info:

“Eumir Deodato,” interview hosted by Torsten Schmidt, Red Bull Music Academy, Seattle, 2005.

#jazz #funk #disco #EumirDeodato