83-year-old Brazilian musician best known for his 3-time global smash hit, “Mas Que Nada,” dies peacefully in Los Angeles
Celebrated Brazilian pianist, songwriter and arranger, Sérgio Mendes, who helped shape the global soundscape of the 1960s with his vibrant fusion of Bossa Nova, Samba, and Pop, died today in Los Angeles. He was 83-years old. Mendes was born in Niterói, Rio’s sister city, and studied classical music at a conservatory before he heard jazz for the first time and it changed his life, leaving him to abandon formal studies to join a jazz band. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he began playing Bossa Nova, which was gaining popularity in Rio’s nightclub scene with pioneers of the genre— artistes like Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto, who encouraged his genre-blending gifts.
He soon became a musical ambassador Brazil’s bossa nova movement, one whose talent for blending Brazilian rhythms with Western styles propelled him to international stardom. In the late 1960s, he was the world’s best-selling Brazilian artist, captivating audiences with his group Brasil ’66 and their reimagining of the lively hit “Mas Que Nada”—the first Portuguese-language song to achieve global success, which, incredibly, was achieved two more times when it was re-released. It was a mid-tempo Samba song on the group’s Herb Alpert-produced debut album, written and sung by Jorge Ben Sor in 1963, and entirely in Portuguese. Three years later, Mendes, who had been singing the song in bars, gave it a jazzier, more passionate and infectious sound and it blew up around the world. Speaking on its success, he noted, “There is something very magical about that chant. People love that song—everywhere in the world.” Little wonder the group’s eponymous debut album climbed into the top 10 of the US charts, cementing his place in music history.
That was only a taste of Mendes’ six-decade career, in which he expertly combined Brazilian music with everything from jazz and rock to funk and hip-hop. He would often put Brazilian touches to English classics like The Beatles’ “The Fool on the Hill” and even the artists whose works he covered praised his clever reimaginings. Mas Que Nada later appeared in films such as ‘Austin Powers’, which brought his music to a new audience and, as a result, his previous catalogue saw a rebirth of interest in the twenty-first century. Mendes also collaborated extensively with a host of artistes like the Black Eyed Peas, whom he worked with on a 2006 hip-hop version of “Mas Que Nada,” which gave the song new life yet again, leading it to erupt for the third time globally.
Plus, in 1992 Mendes’ Grammy Award-winning album “Brasileiro” featured “Magalenha,” a lively track co-created with Carlinhos Brown whom he worked with extensively. It became a Latin standard and another of his greatest hits. Two decades later, Mendes and Brown were co-nominated for an Oscar their collaboration on “Real in Rio,” in 2012 from the animated film “Rio” soundtrack for considered for Best Original Song.
Mendes, who once described his musical ethos simply as: “Joy, celebration, party” transitioned peacefully at home with his family in Los Angeles today. He is survived by his wife/musical partner, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, and his five children, leaving behind a legacy of exuberance and rhythmic innovation.
Sources:
Denselow, Robert. The Guardian (Music) : Sergio Mendes Obituary, 8, September, 2024.
Savage, Mark. “Bossa nova legend Sérgio Mendes dies.” BBC.com, 28 Aug. 2005.