Eumir Deodato

The composer/arranger rides a Brazilian wave back to Japan for his first tour in 31 years

Courtesy of Yamasan Planning

Brazilian composer/arranger Eumir Deodato falls into that mixed-blessing category of “one of the most famous musicians you’ve never heard of.” Listeners of a certain age may remember his now charmingly retro early-’70s adaptation of “Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001),” but most will have heard his music without even being aware of it.

An arranger for legends from Frank Sinatra to Aretha Franklin to Björk, Deodato at 64 can lay claim to credit as an artist, arranger or producer on more than 25 million albums sold in the US alone. The backing parts for Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly”? Deodato. The horn section in Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration”? Deodato. Björk’s “Isobel”? Deodato.

But when I catch up with the man at his suburban New York home, he’s philosophical about the recent surge in interest that’s revived his solo career. “It’s always good for the soul to have nice surprises,” he admits. “Not that I expect anything, but when you have something happening, you wonder. Sometimes you say to yourself, ‘OK, I did what I did, what happened happened. Now that’s it and I’m going to maybe do some trading on the stock market.’”

It turns out Deodato owes his current revival—which dates to the rousing reception he received after performing “Also Sprach Zarathustra” at a New York benefit concert—to contemporary DJ culture. “I have no material and no new record. It’s just a question of people rediscovering my music. I find that DJs are among my most faithful fans. They have my records and know everything I did.”

A quick tour of Tokyo’s radio dial, cafés and nightclubs confirms this impression. Bossa nova classics, samba and more recent Brazilian pop songs permeate DJ culture here, just as they do in cosmopolitan centers the world over. The rediscovery of Brazilian music, exemplified by the current Sergio Mendes/Black Eyed Peas hit “Mas Que Nada,” has seen a procession of stars from Joao Gilberto to Caetano Veloso parading through town.

But Deodato’s resurgence has a twist. “What’s different about me is my material is not authentic samba or bossa nova,” he explains. “When I did my first record, there were hundreds of records like that, and I had to decide if I was going to go that way or do my own thing. I decided to do my own thing, and eventually it was a success with ‘2001,’ which catapulted me into a career.”
The interest among aficionados in Deodato’s jazz-infused ’70s disco recently saw him headlining the UK’s Big Chill dance music festival, where he played for about 35,000 people. His upcoming Japan tour will be a more sedate affair, with Deodato and a small band slated to play concert halls like the Bunkyo Civic Hall.

As for the program, he is unapologetic in his willingness to please the masses. “I could do another record—I could do a bunch of records—but I just don’t see any need for a new record right now. The time will come, but I don’t believe that a new record has much influence on concerts. Once you do a record, you have to play those songs, and unless that record is a gigantic hit, people don’t know those songs. They’re just going to sit there looking at you thinking, ‘Come on, play “2001.”’ So what’s the point?”

Deodato’s revival couldn’t have come at a better time. Work as an arranger, he says, is drying up. “It’s getting harder because companies don’t have money to spend on projects, and arranging becomes only for very big artists. In most cases they use synthesizer parts or a local guy that charges very little or nothing.”

For someone with a back catalog as deep as Deodato’s, piracy and file-sharing are also big issues. “Music has been suffering for such a long time—no income coming from anywhere, records don’t sell, the internet provides a way to pirate, and countries pirate anyway anytime they want.”

Deodato learned the hard way that trying to defend the unauthorized use of his music was going to be a losing battle. “I tried to sue a company in Italy but it was so expensive that I had to give up,” he quips.

“I learned that even if you sue, all they are going to do is take the record out of the catalog, and I thought, ‘What’s that going to do for me?’ The only thing I can release is gas. The fact is, they’ve already released it, and a lawsuit is going to cost me a lot of money. The lawyers told me the only result will be to get them to stop selling your record, but then it’s against my interests, because I want them to sell my record.”

While content not to release new music for the moment, longtime expatriate Deodato does still have one burning ambition. “I’d like to bring my band to some of the places I haven’t been. I haven’t done anything in Brazil yet. We’re discussing it. I played Venezuela and Mexico, Guatemala, but not Brazil.”

Bunkyo Civic Hall, Oct 4. See concert listings (jazz/world) for details.

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