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Artist
Sérgio Mendes
12+ albums
Bossa Novajazzbraziliansambalatin
about
Sérgio Mendes (born Sérgio Santos Mendes in Niterói on 11 February 1941; died 6 September 2024) was a Brazilian musician remembered for playing bossa nova, often crossed with funk. His career took off with worldwide hits by his band Brasil '66. He had over 55 releases. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of the song "Real in Rio" from the animated film "Rio". Mendes was married to Gracinha Leporace who regularly performed vocals for her husband and can also be heard on his 2006 version of the song Mas Que Nada with Black Eyed Peas. Early career The child of a physician in Niterói, Brazil, Mendes attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late-1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was taking off. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (whom he regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 196. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the name Sergio Mendes and Brasil '65 with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. Brasil '66 When sales were tepid, he replaced his Brazilian born vocalist Wanda de Sa with the distinctive voice of Chicago native Lani Hall (who learned Mendes' P
