Superstrut (Deodato) (LP 2364 -2365)

Deodato  Artistry (Vinyl, MCA Records, 1974) **  

Deodato  First Cuckoo (Vinyl, Astor Records, 1975) ***  

Genre: jazz rock 

Places I remember: Electric City Music (Napier)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Black Dog (First Cuckoo)

Gear costume: Funk Yourself (First Cuckoo) 

Active compensatory factors: I still have no idea why I continue to buy albums by Deodato. He holds some kind of lingering appeal. 

There's the cool electric piano, the gentle sway of his playing and the side men like John Tropea, Steve Gadd, Lou Marini, Hugh McCracken, Hubert Laws and others. But I could easily pass up these albums. And yet I don't. Curious.

Artistry is a live album and a polite one at that. Nothing much going on and I'll probably never listen to it again. The cover image is even a meh expression by Deodato. A weird image for a live album.

First Cuckoo is better but still not essential. The version of Black Dog is interesting (it's hilariously credited on the cover to Gene Paige, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones).

The final track, the title track, is all strings. I'm not a fan!

Where do they all belong? I dare say these won't be the last Deodato albums I buy, but that's it for now.

Baubles, bangles and beads (Deodato) (LP 679)

Deodato  Prelude (CD, CTI, 1973) **** 

Genre: Jazz Fusion

Places I remember: HMV Oxford St.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Also Sprach Zarathustra

Gear costume: September 13

Active compensatory factors: I particularly love the Deodato of the CTI label. 

Driven by the link to the 2001 A Space Odyssey film and some brilliant musicians - this was a huge album for him.

The album features some great jazz musicians - John Tropea (guitar), Ron Carter and Stanley Clarke on bass and the one and only Billy Cobham on drums. 

Combine all that with Deodato's wonderfully lyrical piano playing and it's a great recipe for success.

It doesn't necessarily follow though that the album is going to be brilliant and commercially successful just because of the players involved. You need the chops yes, but you also need the leadership and vision of someone to make it work. Creed Taylor is the producer and he could obviously see the possibilities in Deodato.

Where do they all belong? And that's it for Deodato. Check him out!

Love island (Deodato) (LP 613)

Deodato Love Island (Vinyl, Warner Bros. Records, 1978) *** 

Genre: Jazz fusion 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Tahiti Hut

Gear costume: Take The A Train

Active compensatory factors: I continue to be seduced by the jazz fusion gumbo that Deodato serves up (as he's Brazilian I guess that should be Feijoada rather than gumbo).

As with other Deodato albums, the guest list is impressive: John Tropea, George Benson, Larry Carlton, Rick Marotta, Randy Brecker are a few of more well known ones.

Sometimes forgotten in all this, is Eumir Deodato. He composes most of these songs, and his cool, laid back keyboard style is the featured instrument throughout. 

Where do they all belong? Bound to be more coming but that's it for Deodato on vinyl for now. Prelude is the biggie coming on CD.

Havana strut (Deodato) (LP 287)

Deodato Whirlwinds (Vinyl - MCA, 1974) ***

Genre: Jazz funk/ fusion 

Places I remember: Chaldon Books and Records (Caterham on the hill) 

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Do It Again




Gear costume: West 42nd Street  

Active compensatory factors: I have a soft spot for Brazilian keyboard player, Eumir Deodato.

He's funky, a shape shifter, jazz cool and pretty weird (check out the severed head portrait on the cover - what the heckfire's going on there?).

He's also wildly prolific - I count over twenty albums in the seventies, with a staggering five albums released in 1973 alone.

The musicians are usually cream of the crop: Whirlwind is no exception - John Tropea, Tony Levin and Billy Cobham all add their brilliance.

This one is a solid contributor to the canon, featuring some revamped Glenn Miller swing (Moonlight Serenade), alongside Ave Maria and a funky version of Steely Dan's Do It Again. And that's just side one!

Weird, but it works.

Where do they all belong? In the cosmic stew of the jazz genre there is a spot for Deodato.