Deodato

Prior to Prelude, Eumir Deodato was primarily known as a tasteful, lyrical, bossa nova and samba-based sometime arranger for Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Wes Montgomery, and others…

1978's Love Island found Deodato in pretty much the same space he'd been for much of the decade, concocting his own ineffable brew of fusion and funky disco, with the help of friends and cover songs along the way. Love Island finds him unleashing yet another passel of songs which are all pleasant to the ear, if not completely fresh – what makes it most interesting is that it could almost be considered a concept album, every song title apparently revolving around jungle tropics, warm winds, sandy beaches, and, more likely than not, a few beauties bearing cocktails to complete the picture…

Deodato's Knights of Fantasy, released in 1979, contains trace elements of the Brazilian producer and composer's fusion persona while melding them with disco and lite funk – as many other jazzmen were also doing at the time, from Lonnie Liston Smith to the Crusaders. The album is a thoroughly kitschy sci-fi affair with some very fine playing and horn and string arrangements, particularly on the bass- and ARP-driven "Space Dust/Sherlock," which goes on for nearly eight minutes…

This is an amazing double CD tribute compilation - to commemorate 40 years in the business, Kool & The Gang has teamed up and remade many of their top hits top to bottom featuring many of todays most up & coming vocalists and artists. I am quite surprised that this project has not made more of a splash in the states, yet…

This collection finds the fascinating video for "Cherish," both a romantic and philosophical song suggestively set in a Utopian afterlife on a beach. "Joanna," possibly the sweetest music video ever, finds the group gracefully serenading a middle-aged waitress as she recalls tender years of being wooed in the 1950s…

Aznavour forever. Rather than an album title, a self-portrait. He's somewhat prodigious, given both the dizzying heights he reaches and his unswerving loyalty to his fans and his art. Aznavour has been part of our lives forever, for most of those of us who listen to his songs…