Sérgio Santos Mendes (; 11 February 1941 – 5 September 2024) was a Brazilian musician.
His career took off with worldwide hits by his band Brasil '66. He released 35 albums and was known for playing bossa nova, often mixed with funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as a co-writer of "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio.
Mendes was primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. He was married to Gracinha Leporace, who performed with him from the early 1970s. Mendes collaborated with many artists, including Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a remake of his 1966 version of the song "Mas que nada", which was a breakthrough hit for him.
Biography
Early career
Mendes was born in Niterói, east across Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro, on 11 February 1941. As he related in In the Key of Joy, a biopic about his career, he had to wear a cast for three years because he had osteomyelitis. His father was a doctor, and he was one of the first people in Brazil to be given penicillin. Sergio studied classical music at 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 at the time that bossa nova, a jazz-infused derivative of samba, was emerging.
Sergio Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim, who was regarded as a mentor, and U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil. Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. He toured Europe and the United States where he recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann. In 1962 he played in a bossa nova festival at Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the group name Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair".
Later career
thumb|Mendes in concert, 2016
The 2006 album Timeless featured a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, including the Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Jill Scott, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch. It was released on 14 February 2006, by Concord Records. In 2012, he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song as co-writer of "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio. He was the co-producer on the soundtrack albums for two animated films about his homeland: 2011's Rio and its 2014 sequel. He was the subject of the 2020 documentary Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy. He played bossa nova which was often combined with funk. He had released 35 albums.
Death
Mendes died from complications of long COVID at a hospital in Los Angeles on 5 September 2024, at the age of 83.
Discography
- 1961: Dance Moderno (Philips)
- 1962: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Riverside/Capitol Records)
- 1963: Você Ainda Não Ouviu Nada! (a.k.a., The Beat of Brazil) (Philips)
- 1965: In Person at El Matador (Atlantic)
- 1965: Brasil '65 (a.k.a. In The Brazilian Bag) (Capitol)
- 1965: The Great Arrival (Atlantic)
- 1966: The Swinger from Rio (a.k.a., Bossa Nova York) (Atlantic)
- 1966: Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (A&M)
- 1967: Equinox (A&M)
- 1967: Quiet Nights (Philips)
- 1967: Look Around (A&M)
- 1968: Fool on the Hill (A&M)
- 1968: Sérgio Mendes' Favorite Things (Atlantic)
- 1969: Crystal Illusions (A&M)
- 1969: Ye-Me-Lê (A&M)
- 1969: The Story of... Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '77 (a.k.a., Italia – Brazil, A&M)
- 1970: Live at Expo '70 (unreleased in the US, A&M)
- 1970: Stillness (A&M)
- 1971: País Tropical (A&M)
- 1972: Foursider (A&M, double compilation album)
- 1972: Primal Roots (a.k.a., Raízes – Brazil) (A&M)
- 1973: Love Music (Bell)
- 1974: Vintage 74 (Bell)
- 1975: Sérgio Mendes (a.k.a., I Believe – Brazil) (Elektra)
- 1976: Homecooking (Elektra)
- 1977: Sergio Mendes and the New Brasil '77 (Elektra)
- 1977: Pelé (Atlantic)
- 1978: Brasil '88 (Elektra)
- 1979: Alegria (a.k.a., Horizonte Aberto – Brazil) (WEA)
- 1979: Magic Lady (Elektra)
- 1980: The Beat of Brazil (Atlantic)
- 1983: Sérgio Mendes (A&M)
- 1984: Confetti (A&M)
- 1986: Brasil '86 (A&M)
- 1989: Arara (A&M)
- 1992: Brasileiro (Elektra)
- 1996: Oceano (Verve)
- 1999: Matrix (Concord)
- 2006: Timeless (Concord)
- 2007: Encanto (Concord)
- 2009: Bom Tempo (Concord)
- 2014: Magic (Okeh)
- 2020: In the Key of Joy (Concord)
Awards
Academy Awards
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Category !! Work !! Result
|-
| 2011
| Best Original Song
| "Real in Rio"
|
|}
Grammy Awards
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Category
! Recipient
! Outcome
|-
|1969
|Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
|The Fool on the Hill
|
|-
| 1993
| Best World Music Album
| Brasileiro
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2007
| rowspan="2" |Best Urban/Alternative Performance
|"Mas que Nada" featuring Black Eyed Peas
|
|-
|"That Heat" featuring Erykah Badu and will.i.am
|
|-
| 2011
| Best Contemporary World Music Album
| Bom tempo
|
|-
|2015
|Best World Music Album
|Magic
|
|}
Latin Grammy Awards
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Category
! Recipient
! Outcome
|-
| 2005
| Lifetime Achievement Award
|Himself
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2006
| Record of the Year
| "Mas que Nada" featuring Black Eyed Peas
|
|-
|Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album
|Timeless
|
|-
| 2008
| Best Brazilian Song
| "Acode" featuring Vanessa da Mata
|
|-
| 2010
| Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album
| rowspan="1" | Bom Tempo
|
|}
thumb|180px|right|[[Gracinha Leporace and Mendes, 1971]]
See also
- List of Brazilian musicians
References
External links
- Official website
- 2012 interview in Sounds and Colours