OBITUARY



Sergio Mendes
(1941-2024)

The Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes, who with his band Brasil '66 introduced Bossa Nova to a worldwide audience in the 1960s, has died aged 83 as a result of health issues related to long-term COVID. He last performed in November to sell-out and wildly enthusiastic audiences in Paris, London and Barcelona. Born in Niteroi in 1941 (connected to Rio de Janeiro by a bridge since 1974) Sergio studied classical piano as a child. His father was a doctor and tried to persuade him to follow in his footsteps, but gave up when he realized that the boy had an inborn talent for jazz. Sergio began playing in Rio de Janeiro nightclubs in the late 1950s, when Bossa Nova was becoming an international sensation. His musical mentor was none other than the Brazilian superstar Antonio Carlos Jobim. In 1964 he moved to Los Angeles and signed with Capitol Records. His early albums were instrumental and it was not until he recruited two female singers, recorded in English and named the band Brasil '66 that sales really took off. Paradoxically however it was a number sung in Portugese, Mas Que Nada (“More Than Anything”) that topped the charts (and is, incidentally, still very popular these days). I can remember dancing to it in a Madrid nightclub in the late 1960s!

Sergio appeared on TV during the 1968 American Oscars Ceremony and at the World Expo in Japan two years later. He continued touring and recording throughout the 80s and 90s and in 2006 (at the age of 65) released the comeback album Timeless, in which he appeared alongside The Black Eyed Peas pop group. The album was produced by will-i-am of ITV's The Voice fame. Sergio also helped to produce the music for the animated feature films Rio and Rio 2, receiving an Oscar nomination for the song Real In Rio. He was interviewed on BBC Radio 3 last year.

Sergio Mendes is survived by his wife, Leporace, and five children.

© Anthony Wills October 2024



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