Eumir Deodato de Almeida (; born 22 June 1943) 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. Biography Deodato began his musical life on accordion when he was 12 years old, and then piano two years later. He studied orchestration, conducting and arranging. He played bossa nova in bands with Durval Ferreira and Roberto Menescal, then formed his own band with Menescal in 1962. Eumir’s paternal grandfather was a marble craftsman from Custonaci, Sicily. Career Recording career Deodato often plays the Fender Rhodes electric piano. He became successful as a keyboard player in the 1970s. Since then, he has produced and arranged music on more than 500 albums for artists such as Kool and the Gang, Con Funk Shun, Björk, Christophe and k.d. lang. Guitarist John Tropea and flautist Hubert Laws appeared on his early albums. Prelude, his first album in the U.S., was released in 1973. This album was crossover music style that attracted a large audience and was produced by Creed Taylor for his label CTI. The album sold 5 million copies and earned Deodato the 1974 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the track Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001) as well as a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. His second album, Deodato 2, reached number 19 on the Billboard album chart, and the single "Rhapsody in Blue" reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973. His interpretation of Pavane pour une infante défunte ("Pavane for a Dead Princess") by Maurice Ravel was used in the 1970s by an Australian television station as background music. In 1978, he had an orchestral hit with Whistle Bump from the LP titled Love Island. The track promoted the widespread use of whistles