Piano, Keyboards, Arranger, Producer | b.1943

Born Eumir Deodato de Almeida in Rio de Janeiro on 22 June 1943, Deodato became one of Brazil's most successful musicians, known for eclectic fusion of jazz, pop, rock, classical, and Latin music. Self-taught from age 12, he gained his first break at 17 arranging a 28-piece orchestra. By the early 1960s he was one of Rio's most respected arrangers during the bossa nova era, working with Antônio Carlos Jobim, Marcos Valle, and Milton Nascimento. Moving to New York in 1967 at Luiz Bonfá's invitation, he arranged for Astrud Gilberto and jazz artists including Wes Montgomery before joining Creed Taylor at CTI Records around 1970.

His 1973 debut Prelude became a sensation, featuring a funky fusion version of Richard Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" that won the 1974 Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album reached number 3 on the Billboard chart, CTI's best-seller, with John Tropea, Billy Cobham, Ron Carter, and Airto Moreira. His Fender Rhodes work defined 1970s jazz-fusion. Since then he has produced over 500 albums, with 15 reaching platinum, including Kool & the Gang's "Celebration" and work for Frank Sinatra, Roberta Flack, and Björk.