Sergio Mendes
11/02/1941
One of Brazil’s most international musicians, Sergio Mendes was born in Niterói (Rio de Janeiro) and started taking piano lessons as a child, switching from classic to jazz in his youth. In the beginning of the 60s, Mendes started playing jam sessions at nightclubs. He competed in jazz festivals and was leader of the Brazilian Jazz Sextet (who recorded with Cannonball Adderley), who soon turned into Sexteto Bossa Rio, playing the Carnegie Hall Bossa Nova Festival, in 1962, in New York. The 1964 album made by Sergio Mendes & Bossa Rio, arranged by Tom Jobim, is considered fundamental for bossa nova. Still in the 60s, he toured many countries with different groups before rounding up Brazil 66, with whom he made records and very successful tours. The album "Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66" sold over a million copies, with Jorge Ben’s "Mas Que Nada" hitting the top of the charts in North-America. He played at the White House in 1967 and has made many albums, both solo and with his groups, always mixing bossa nova with jazz and Brazilian rhythms, international musicians and including songs like "Ponteio" (Edu Lobo/ Capinam) e "A Banda" (Chico Buarque). He won a Grammy in 1993.
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