Sérgio Mendes

Sérgio Mendes

Sérgio Mendes is a Brazilian musician from Niterói, Brazil, born in 1941 and active across bossa nova, jazz, latin, latin jazz, disco and soft rock. He is closely associated with bossa nova, often blending it with funk, and his career reaches a wide international audience through recordings, touring and television performances. He dies in 2024.

Early career

Born Sérgio Santos Mendes, he studies at the local conservatory in Niterói with the aim of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grows, he begins playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s, at the same time that bossa nova is developing as a jazz-influenced form of samba. He plays with Antônio Carlos Jobim, whom he treats as a mentor, and with visiting American jazz musicians. He forms the Sexteto Bossa Rio and records Dance Moderno. He also tours Europe and the United States, records with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann, and performs at Carnegie Hall. He moves to the United States in 1964 and records two albums as Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’65 for Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.

Brasil ’66 and international success

Mendes achieves worldwide recognition with Brasil ’66 after replacing his Brazilian-born vocalist Wanda de Sa with Lani Hall, who sings his Portuguese-language material phonetically. He also moves to Herb Alpert’s A&M label and releases Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66, which goes platinum largely because of the success of “Mas Que Nada” and Alpert’s support. The original lineup of Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’66 includes Mendes on piano, Lani Hall and Janis Hansen on vocals, Bob Matthews on bass, Jose Soares on percussion and Joao Palma on drums, with John Pisano appearing as guest guitarist.

This group records three albums between 1966 and 1968, including the best-selling Look Around. A major line-up change follows for Fool on the Hill, with Karen Philipp replacing Hansen, Dom Um Romão and Rubens Bassini sharing percussion, Sebastiao Neto on bass and Oscar Castro-Neves on guitar. The later arrangement has a more orchestral and big band sound.

His wider breakthrough comes after he performs “The Look of Love” at the Academy Awards in April 1968. The Brasil ’66 version of the song reaches number 4 in the US charts, and later singles such as “The Fool on the Hill” and “Scarborough Fair” also chart strongly. From 1968 onwards, Mendes becomes one of the best-known Brazilian artists internationally, performing in large venues as well as at the White House for Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon.

Later work

Although his US profile dips in the mid-1970s, he remains popular in South America and Japan. He records two albums for Bell Records in 1973 and 1974, then several for Elektra from 1975 onwards, continuing to draw on American pop, Brazilian songwriting and new soul directions. During this period he works with Stevie Wonder, who writes “The Real Thing”, a minor hit with an R&B influence.

In 1983 he returns to A&M and has major success with a self-titled album and several follow-ups that receive significant adult contemporary radio play. “Never Gonna Let You Go”, featuring Joe Pizzulo and Leza Miller, reaches number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spends four weeks at number 1 on the adult contemporary chart. He works with Lani Hall again in 1984.

His 1992 Elektra album Brasileiro wins a Grammy, and by this stage he is widely regarded as a leading figure in pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. A late-1990s lounge music revival renews attention on his catalogue, especially the classic Brasil ’66 recordings. In Brazil, Os Mutantes regularly dedicate “Cantor de Mambo” to him in concert.

Collaborations and late-period recordings

Mendes’s 2006 album Timeless brings together a large group of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guests, including will.i.am, the Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Chali 2na, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. The album includes a re-recorded version of “Mas que Nada” with the Black Eyed Peas and additional vocals by his wife, Gracinha Leporace, who often performs with him. The song becomes a notable chart success in the UK and other parts of Europe, and it is also known in Brazil as the theme music for Globo’s Estrelas.

Mendes is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of “Real in Rio” from the animated film Rio. He has more than 55 releases across his career and performs under several group names, including Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’66, Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’77, Sérgio Mendes Trio and Sergio Mendes Sextet.