Born on the 11th of February 1941 and passing away on the 6th of September 2024, Sérgio Mendes remains one of the most influential figures in Brazilian music. Mendes was not just a pianist, but also a music arranger, songwriter, and bandleader. He came into prominence during the bossa nova explosion in the early 1960s and continued to make music for six decades even after the bossa nova movement ended.
His success was built upon his ability to skilfully blend Brazilian melodies and beats with various western genres such as jazz, rock, funk and hip-hop. In the 1960s, Mendes worked on recording sessions alongside the American jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, subsequently achieving hits with covers of tunes by notable artists like The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel. He was even invited to perform at the White House in 1971 for US president Richard Nixon, and again in 1982 for Ronald Reagan.
By the 1990s, Mendes became a beloved figure in the easy-listening music scene. His appeal was further broadened in 2006 when he collaborated with Will.i.am and other members of the American rap group, Black Eyed Peas.
Whilst Mendes was not among the originators of the bossa style – a fusion of Brazilian samba-cancão, western classical influences, and American “cool jazz” that emerged in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1950s, he quickly rose to become one of its best exponents.
Charlie Byrd and Herbie Mann, prominent figures in American jazz, traveled to Rio in 1961 to explore the emerging music scene, where they performed with renowned local musicians, including Mendes. Subsequently, when Brazil introduced its bossa nova music and musicians to Carnegie Hall, New York, in November 1962, collaborating with Byrd and other American artists, Mendes was also invited. The event completely revolutionized his professional life.
During this encounter, he met Adderley who offered him the opportunity to collaborate on recordings and also Nesuhi Ertegun, Atlantic Records’ executive, who signed him and subsequently released his album The Swinger from Rio. In 1964, he reoriented his career and relocated to California. His initial two albums recorded there proved unsuccessful, but a subsequent switch in music labels and style led to phenomenal results.
Mendes met Herb Alpert, the renowned trumpeter, and Jerry Moss, co-founders of A&M records, and joined their label. Moreover, he found the special approach that would establish his worldwide fame. He assembled a band, Brasil ’66, featuring two female vocalists, Lani Hall and Bibi Vogel. Alpert produced their record, Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 (1966), which turned out to be a tremendous success. Their album included reimagined covers of western songs, such as The Beatles’ Day Tripper, whilst brilliantly maintaining the influence of Brazilian music. It gained recognition for its reinterpreted version of the timeless Jorge Ben classic, Mas Que Nada, notably sang in its native Portuguese. The album secured its spot in the US Top Ten, whilst Mas Que Nada secured the fifth position in singles charts, a first for a Portuguese song.
Mendes persistently maintained his distinctive sound of two female singers performing together in the band and achieved further acclaim with Brasilian-influenced covers, such as The Beatles’ Fool on the Hill, Simon & Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fair, and Dusty Springfield’s The Look of Love. By 1967, he had his first tour with Frank Sinatra and held his debut concerts in Japan in 1968, where he enjoyed tremendous popularity, visiting over 30 times.
Despite experiencing a downward turn in his career during the 1970s, he continuously toured and produced music, resulting in over 40 albums throughout his lifetime. In 1980, he was invited by Sinatra for a significant tour incorporating a performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall. By 1983, he had yet another successful hit with Never Gonna Let You Go.
He was bestowed a World Music Grammy for his album Brasileiro in 1992, paving the way for a compelling shift in his professional trajectory in 2006 with the release of Timeless. Will.i.am produced this album, which exhibited guest appearances by icons such as Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, and an introductory track featuring the Black Eyed Peas’ hip-hop spin on Mas Que Nada. This album was received remarkably well in Europe, claiming top spots on music charts in Hungary, the Netherlands, and the UK.
Subsequent to the album’s launch, Mendes held a concert at the Barbican in London, blending his ’60s hits with laid-back tunes and concluding with a double performance of the hip-hop reworking of Mas Que Nada. His wife, Gracinha Leporace, was part of the duo of female vocalists.
2012 saw Mendes receive an Oscar nomination for his piece, Real in Rio, from the animated movie Rio. He accomplished similar feats for Rio 2 in 2014. An audience of over 100,000 at Rock in Rio bore witness to his performance in 2015. In 2020, he unveiled his new album, In the Key of Joy. A 2021 documentary about his life, titled ‘Sérgio Mendes: In the Key of Joy’, featured inputs from notable personalities like Alpert, Harrison Ford, Pelé and will.i.am. His last performance took place in November in the previous year, wrapping up his European tour at Barbican.
Born in Niterói, within the state of Rio de Janeiro, Mendes had a multicultural heritage, with his father being black and his mother’s lineage being Portuguese. His childhood was ruled by a health struggle where he had osteomyelitis, requiring him to wear a cast for three years. However, the accessibility to penicillin, owing to his father’s profession as a doctor, saved his leg. A pivotal chapter in his life commenced when he was gifted a piano by his mother, leading him to study classical music styles at the Niterói music conservatory.
Having battled with the prolonged implications of Covid, he passed away at the age of 83. He leaves behind his spouse of over half a century, Gracinha, along with their sons, Tiago and Gustavo. From his previous marriage, which ultimately led to divorce, he had three children; Bernardo, Rodrigo and Isabella. In addition to this complex family tree, he was also a grandfather to seven grandchildren.