Biography
Sérgio Santos Mendes (born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician whose career gained international recognition through his group Brasil '66. With over 55 releases, his music blends bossa nova with jazz and funk. In 2012, he received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song as a co-writer of "Real in Rio" from the animated film Rio.
Mendes stands out as a Brazilian artist primarily recognized in the United States, where he recorded most of his albums and conducted the majority of his tours.
He is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed alongside him since the early 1970s. Throughout his career, Mendes has collaborated with numerous artists, including The Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded his breakthrough hit "Mas que Nada" in 2006.
Born in Niterói, Brazil, to a physician, Mendes initially studied at a local conservatory aiming to become a classical pianist. As his passion for jazz grew, he began performing in nightclubs in the late 1950s during the rise of bossa nova, a jazz-influenced form of samba. He worked with Antônio Carlos Jobim, who served as a mentor, and numerous visiting U.S. jazz musicians.
In 1961, Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and released the album Dance Moderno. While touring Europe and the U.S., he recorded with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and performed at Carnegie Hall. He relocated to the U.S. in 1964, releasing two albums as Sergio Mendes & Brasil '65 with Capitol and Atlantic Records.
Mendes partnered with Richard Adler, a Brooklyn native who had previously introduced Bossa Trés and two dancers to The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. This group also featured Jobim, Flavio Ramos, and Aloísio de Oliveira, a Rio-based record and TV producer formerly part of Carmen Miranda's backing band Bando da Lua. However, the Musicians Union permitted this ensemble only one TV appearance and a single club show at Basin Street East before requiring them to leave the U.S. When Brasil '65 was formed, West Coast musicians like Shelly Manne and Bud Shank helped Mendes and his group gain entry into the local musicians union. Adler and Mendes created Brasil '65, which included Wanda Sá, Rosinha de Valença, and the Sergio Mendes Trio, producing albums for Atlantic and Capitol.
