Deodato - 1977 [1989] "In Concert"

Eumir Deodato de Almeida (Brazilian Portuguese: [ẽwˈmiʁ deoˈdatu]; born 22 June 1942) is a Brazilian pianist, composer, arranger and record producer, primarily in jazz but who has been known for his eclectic melding of genres, such as pop, rock, disco, rhythm and blues, classical, Latin and bossa nova.

Deodato has arranged and produced more than 500 records for acts such as Frank Sinatra, Roberta Flack, Björk and Christophe, as well as produced Kool & the Gang's hits "Celebration", "Ladies' Night" and "Too Hot".

Deodato was nominated for three Grammy Awards and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1974 for "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)." The song peaked at number 2 on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 in March 1973. It reached number 3 in Canada and number 7 on the British charts.

The complete title is "Deodato In Concert - Live At Felt Forum".

Recorded Live at the Felt Forum of Madison Square Garden Center (New York, NY, USA) on April 20, 1973. Live Remote recording provided by Record Plant, and engineered by Frank Hubach.

An excellent little live set from Deodato – hard to believe because the sound's just as tight and funky as his studio albums, and possibly even more interesting because he manages to pull it off equally well in a live setting! The record features percussion by Airto, guitar by John Tropea, and vocals by Flora Purim – and those are just the marquee names of a large and amazing grew of great musicians! All tracks are long and complicated, for very hynotic feel throughout. The funkiest number is "Tropea", which has a nice long 8 minute groove – and the set also features a cover of Steely Dan's "Do It Again", plus the tracks "Parana", "Branches", "Baubles, Bangles And Beads" and "Skyscraper". Amazing!

Recorded live in the Felt Forum of New York City's Madison Square Garden in the wake of Deodato's massive 2001: A Space Odyssey hit, this album has a fairly confusing history. Only three selections, "Do It Again," "Spirit of Summer," and "Tropea" were released on the original slapped-together LP In Concert, and these were combined with Airto Moreira's "Parana" and "Branches," which were recorded at the same concert. In the CD-era, the LP was split up; Deodato's tracks were combined with four unreleased tunes from the concert, giving the CD-buyer 35 more minutes of music, while the two Airto tracks were placed on The Best of Airto. The concert wasn't too eventful from the Deodato fan's point of view; his combo competently grooves on, John Tropea provides a tough rock edge, the brass section sounds overloaded and unintegrated in a concert setting, and Bob James adds unnecessary string charts later. The additional CD tracks are reprises of "2001," "Baubles, Bangles and Beads," and "September 13" from Prelude and "Skyscrapers" from Deodato 2 -- which were probably considered too redundant for release in 1974. LP fans will enjoy the Airto tracks, for they are, frankly, more exotically original and invigorating than those of his fellow Brazilians. 

All tracks are performed exclusively by Deodato's band.

Tracks Listing:

Do It Again 6:36

September 13 7:27

Baubles, Bangles And Beads 4:44

Whirlwinds 8:40

Spirit Of Summer 5:32

Skyscraper 12:31

Also Sprach Zarathustra 11:03

Personnel:

Eumir Deodato – Keyboards

John Giulino – Electric Bass

John Tropea – Guitar

Rick Marrota – Drums

Rubens Bassini – Congas

Gilmore Degap – Percussion

Joe Temperley – Baritone

Burt Collins, Joe Shepley – Trumpets

Garnett Brown – Trombone