Sergio Mendes | Artist
Sérgio Santos Mendes is a Brazilian latin-jazz musician born 1941 in Niterói Brazil. His career took off in the United States and worldwide with hits by his group Brasil '66. He has over 55 releases and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. Initially training to be a classical pianist, Mendes' interest in jazz grew, and he started playing in Rio nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova was emerging. Mendes played with Latin music legend Antônio Carlos Jobim and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played at the Carnegie Hall. he moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the group name Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 with Capitol and Atlantic Records. Due to low sales, the record companies convinced him to include English songs in his set, so Mendes recruited vocalists Lani Hall (later Alpert's wife) and Sylvia Dulce Kleiner aka Bibi Vogel, along with a crack rhythm section, to form a new combo Brasil '66. This new line-up then recorded two more albums, the best-selling Look Around and Fool on the Hill, on Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss' new A&M label. The group became a huge success with their first single, "Mas que Nada" written by fellow Brazilian singer Jorge Ben. Mendes really hit the big time when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the Bert Bacharach song quickly shot into the top 10, eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying more hits with the singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair." From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world, enjoying immense popularity worldwide, and performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon. After reaching a peak of stardom, Mendes' career in the US stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained popular in South America and Japan. Mendes has over 50 studio album releases between the various incarnations of Brasil '65-'88, plus those from the Sergio Mendes Trio and Solo works. Standout albums include Quiet Nights (1963), Bossa Nova York (1964), Brasil '65 (1965), Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (1966), Equinox (1967), Fool on the Hill (1968), Look Around (1968) and Primal Roots (1972). By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' body of work, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums.
Artist Website: sergiomendesmusic.com
Featured Albums: Sergio Mendes
Related Artists: Herb Alpert, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Cannonball Adderley, Brasil'66, Brasil'77, Sergio Mendes Trio
