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Sergio Mendes

Magic

Sony Masterworks | OKeh

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Sergio Mendes + Brasil 66 - MAS QUE NADA
Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Pretty World
1 Simbora
2 My, My, My, My, Love
3 Don't Say Goodbye
4 Sou Eu
5 When I Fell In Love
6 Meu Rio
7 Visions Of You
8 Samba de Roda
9 Atlantica
10 Olha a Rua
11 Hidden Waters
12 Magic
13 One Nation
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"The sound of Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes has been a summer soundtrack for generations of listeners." - NPR

In a career that spans more than half a century, Sérgio Mendes is an old hand at creating a unique sonic blend that electrifies a mass global audience. His knack for delivering hit after hit has made him the most successful Brazilian musician of his time. A grand conceptualizer, his well-polished talents as a pianist, composer, bandleader, vocalist and producer make him a truly singular artist. With Magic, his debut recording for the storied OKeh label, he triumphs once again, delivering a timely update on the infectious mix of Brazilian rhythms and contemporary styles from his homeland, the U.S. and elsewhere that make the Mendessound instantly recognizable.

Magic, spotlights the distinct talents of a large cast of both emerging and established Brazilian and North American musicians, vocalists, composers and producers. The eclectic line-up of multi-faceted collaborators underscores how Mendes has been so successful at forging fruitful partnerships since he emerged as a young jazz pianist in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1960s. Present to help Magic radiate its special distinctive charm are such one-of-a-kind artists as will.i.am, putting his producer's genius to work on one track, Grammy® Award-nominated singer Janelle Monáe and Grammy® Award-winning singer John Legend. Among Mendes' Brazilian guests are vocalists Milton Nascimento, Carlinhos Brown, Ana Carolina, Seu Jorge, Maria Gadú, and Gracinha Leporace, Mendes' lovely wife and a noted vocalist from the bossa nova days. Also on hand is guitarist Guinga, one of Brazil's most accomplished string masters and composers. Recording sessions in Los Angeles, Salvador, and Rio de Janeiro involved a host of top-flight musicians from both countries.

  • The Good Vibe.....an interview with Sergio Mendes / Jazz Journal
    Posted At: November 12, 2024
    Jazz Journal writes……In this interview republished by kind permission of Latino Life, the late Brazilian bossa master talks to Amaranta Wright about Rio in the 1960s and the musical strands that bind together bossa nova and jazz. Not only did he showcase bossa nova to the world, Sérgio Mendes personifies how you don’t have to be a shark to succeed in the global music business. The Brazilian music legend her...

  • Sergio Mendes celebrates life on new album; 'In The Key of Joy' / Remezcla
    Posted At: March 4, 2020

    Sabor Do Rio," the latest single by Brazilian living legend Sérgio Mendes featuring Chicago rapper Common, is a great representation of the way he's made music throughout his six-decade-long career: it sounds like his version of Brazil, it finds its strength in collaboration, and, most importantly, it induces a state of sheer joy on listeners with every single note played or sung. This feeling...

  • After 60 years, Sergio Mendes is still writing, and now releases; 'In The Key Of Joy' / npr
    Posted At: March 1, 2020

    In an over 60-year career Sergio Mendes has helped pioneer bossa nova and worked with everyone from Frank Sinatra to will.i.am. His newest album is In The Key Of Joy. As a composer, producer, keyboardist and vocalist, Sergio Mendes helped pioneer the bossa nova movement and popularize Brazilian music globally with his band, Brasil 66. In his over 60-year career, Mendes has been one of the most explorativ...

  • Sergio Mendes to perform at Santa Barbara Film Festival / Variety
    Posted At: January 7, 2020

    Sergio Mendes is set to perform after the world premiere of "Sergio Mendes: In the Key of Joy" at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on Jan. 18. The Grammy award-winning Brazilian musician will perform three songs and participate in a Q&A at the Lobero Theater with director John Scheinfeld. "Sergio Mendes: In the Key of Joy" includes interviews with Mendes, Herb Alpert, Carlinhos Brown, Harrison For...

  • Blue Note Jazz Club opens in Rio / uDiscover Music
    Posted At: September 5, 2017

    New York's famous Blue Note jazz club has arrived in Rio. Its eighth location, and first in the Southern Hemisphere, opened last Thursday (31 August) in the affluent Lagoa neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The original club opened on West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York, in 1981 and swiftly became a highly prestigious jazz location. The venue hosted concerts by Stevie Wonder and such...

  • Sergio Mendes set for Embarcadero Marina Park South with the San Diego Symphony / NBCSanDiego
    Posted At: August 6, 2017

    Sergio Mendes' musical influence covers over five decades. The pianist and composer of bossanova and Latin jazz has released 39 albums, and he's currently working on his 40th. The 76-year-old Brazilian icon doesn't let his age get in the way of touring or creating new music. Mendes spoke with NBCSanDiego -  "It's a good place to return to," Mendes said. "You know, we travel a lot all...

  • Win tix to Sergio Mendes - Dimitriou's Jazz Alley show on KNKX - Seattle
    Posted At: June 18, 2017

    ENTER TO WIN a pair of tickets to see three-time Grammy winner and Brazilian music legend Sergio Mendes: 50 Years - Celebration of Brazil '66 for Thursday, July 14 at 7:30 p.m. at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, Seattle.   One of the most internationally successful Brazilian artists of all time, producer, composer, keyboardist and vocalist, Sergio Mendes has recorded more than 35 albu...

  • Sergio Mendes set for bergenPAC / Broadway World
    Posted At: June 14, 2017

    Brazilian pianist Sergio Mendes is set for New Jersey's bergenPAC on Friday, October 18. Mendes made a mark in the worldwide music industry over five decades with his bossa nova-tinged jazz. He has recorded more than 35 albums, winning multiple Grammy Awards. The producer, composer, keyboardist and vocalist continues to influence the music scene with his work on movie soundtracks, including the ...

  • Sergio Mendes and Brasil 2017 set for Folsom's Harris Center / Capital Public Radio
    Posted At: January 27, 2017

    Sergio Mendes began his career as a jazz and bossa nova pianist making a decent living in Brazil. After a trip to New York, where he performed with some of his jazz heroes, everything changed. "There was a bossa nova concert at Carnegie Hall in November 1962," recalls Mendes. "That's the first time I came to the United States and met Dizzy [Gillespie] and Stan Getz and that's when I did my album with Can...

  • Sergio Mendes band set for Redondo Beach PAC / Easy Reader
    Posted At: December 8, 2016

    In a week or so, Sérgio Mendes and his wife, Gracinha, will board an airplane for Brazil, but in the meantime they're both preparing for tomorrow's concert at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. As with any performer whose heyday was nearly half a century ago, Sérgio Mendes isn't a name that rings a lot of bells among young people. However, from the middle 1960s through th...

  • Sergio Mendes' 'Mas Que Nada' gets a Phil N Good remix: billboard exclusive premiere
    Posted At: November 12, 2016

    Fifty years ago, Sergio Mendes released a cover version of "Mas Que Nada" with his band Brasil '66. Mendes' sped-up, more aggressively danceable take on the Jorge Ben Jor track became perhaps the definitive reading of the song. Now, celebrating five decades of Brazilian dance, DJ Trio Phil N Good, known for their remixes, have revived the Mendes version, keeping its essence but playing all the in...

  • Sergio Mendes set for Yoshi's - Oakland / The Mercury News
    Posted At: November 4, 2016

    Singer-composer-keyboardist Sergio Mendes burst out of Brazil amid the bossa nova craze in the 1960s and quickly became one his homeland's biggest and most influential stars. He's since released more than 30 albums that incorporate pop, contemporary jazz and Brazilian sounds. His latest release, "Magic," dropped in September, featuring collaborations with John Legend, Janelle Monae, wil...

  • Sergio Mendes leads 2017 'Festival of the Arts Boca' event bill / SouthFlorida.com
    Posted At: October 25, 2016

    On Monday, the Festival of the Arts Boca announced that bossa nova king Sergio Mendes and lanky, animated cat Pink Panther will lead the 2017 bill of concerts, films and author appearances in Boca Raton. Tickets will go on sale midnight Tuesday, Nov. 1, for the March 2-12 festival of top-tier thinkers and performers, with admission ranging from $9.99 to $125 per show at FestivalBoca.org. The 75-year...

  • 50 Years of Brasil 66 at the Hollywood Bowl / LA Daily News review
    Posted At: August 20, 2016

    The Hollywood Bowl was festive on Friday night, the first of two sold out evenings celebrating "Sergio Mendes & 50 Years of Brasil '66." As if celebrating the keyboard-playing 75-year-old Brazilian bandleader wasn't enough, the evening was also a celebration of the Rio Olympics and that city's festive Carnival. Complete with Brazilian singers, drummers and colorful dancers in the dazzling outfits we'...

  • Sergio Mendes celebrates his band and the Rio Olympics at the Hollywood Bowl / Los Angeles Times
    Posted At: August 15, 2016

    Sergio Mendes had come to the Hollywood Bowl as both an ambassador and a celebrant. The headlining act in a program of Brazilian music titled "An Olympic Carnival," the keyboardist and bandleader from Rio de Janeiro was representing his hometown as it hosts the Summer Games. And he was marking the 50th anniversary of Brasil '66, the group with which he broke out in the United States doing lightly samba-f...

  • Sergio Mendes still working his magic after 50 years / San Francisco Chronicle Q&A
    Posted At: July 15, 2016

    Sergio Mendes knows how to get people moving. For more than five decades, the Brazilian producer, composer, keyboardist and vocalist has kept fans around the world on their toes with his bossa nova-inspired takes on songs like "The Look of Love," "Mais Que Nada" and "Daytripper." He's winning over new ones too, thanks to his Oscar-nominated work on the soundtracks for the animated films "Rio" and "Rio 2....

  • Seattle! Listen to KIXI and win tickets to Sergio Mendes at Jazz Alley
    Posted At: June 24, 2016

    KIXI welcomes three-time Grammy winner and Brazilian music legend, Sergio Mendes as he celebrates 50 years of Brazil '66. Sergio Mendes' influence on the music industry has spanned five decades and continues to evolve through new collaborations and mediums. Producer, composer, keyboardist and vocalist, he is one of the most successful Brazilian artists of all time, And KIXI wants you to enjoy his live ...

  • '50 years of Brasil 66' tour plays Chicago - City Winery / nwitimes.com
    Posted At: June 8, 2016

    t was half a century ago that Sergio Mendes formed the unique Brasil ‘66. With that group, Mendes blended the sounds of jazz, Bossa Nova and other Latin musical genres, capturing the attention of the American music-loving public. This year, Mendes is touring with his band of musicians and singers to celebrate that milestone. "Welcome to 50 years of Brasil ‘66," Mendes said, during a recen...

  • Noise11 marks Sergio Mendes - Brasil 66, 50th Anniversary
    Posted At: May 30, 2016

    In 1966 after seven relatively unsuccessful albums on Capitol and Atlantic Brazilian bandleader Sergio Mendes auditioned for Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss' new label A&M. Alpert not only liked what he heard, he also wanted to produce. A deal was struck for Mendes to record under the name Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66 and (as they say) the rest was history. With Alpert know at the controls, Mendes recorded...

  • Sergio Mendes set to headline Ventura Music Festival / KCLU: Radio
    Posted At: April 16, 2016

    Legendary pop and jazz musician Sergio Mendes will headline at the Ventura Music Festival on July 22nd. The concert is called Sergio Mendes; A Celebration of 50 years of Brasil 66, and it will celebrate the group's amazing legacy of pop/jass/bossa nova music. Mendes has more than 50 albums to his credit, was nominated for an Academy Award for one of his songs, and is in the Grammy Hall of Fame. ...

  • Sergio Mendes continues 50th anniversary tour in Philippines
    Posted At: February 15, 2016

    Brazilian bossa nova and jazz star Sergio Mendes will be performing in the Philippines on March 12 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum as part of his world tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of the album that launched him to worldwide fame. Mendes was already a musician touring the US and Europe when he released "Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66," his first album with a new group that featured two female ...

  • Sergio Mendes set to play Musical Instrument Museum / Phoenix New Times
    Posted At: October 31, 2015

    Over the past century, no one musical style has entranced multiple cultures of fans quite like bossa nova, and since the form began to take hold back in the late '50s in Brazil and then into the U.S., there has been no name more synonymous with the musical art form than bossa nova legend Sergio Mendes. In his 55th year as a recording artist, the three-time Grammy Award winner is not slowing down. His...

  • Sergio Mendes brings Magic to this year's Seoul Jazz Festival / Korea JoongAng Daily
    Posted At: May 19, 2015

    Sergio Mendes, 74, a Brazilian pianist and composer with the spirit of jazz deep in his bones, actually grew up around classical melodies. His first foray into music started when he began learning the piano, but he became captivated upon encountering jazz as a teenager. Mendes describes the beauty and improvisation of the genre and being able to feel freedom in the compositions as "magical." Magic seems ...

  • Sergio Mendes plays the Abu Dhabi Festival / The National
    Posted At: March 19, 2015

    Sérgio Mendes hasn't even arrived in the UAE yet – where the Brazilian bossa nova legend will make his regional debut at the Abu Dhabi Festival On Friday, March 20 – but he's already gearing up for a return visit next year. "I was having dinner with John Legend the other night," he says nonchalantly, "and he said he was going over to play the Dubai Jazz Festival – that's somethin...

  • Sergio Mendes receives 2015 GRAMMY Nomination for - Magic
    Posted At: December 4, 2014

    On Friday the 57th Annual Grammy Awards revealed it's winners. and Crossover Media Artists and Projects received 12, 2015 Nominations: including Sergio Mendes latest: Magic, in the Best World Music Album category. In a career that spans more than half a century, Sérgio Mendes is an old hand at creating a unique sonic blend that electrifies a mass global audience. H...

  • Sergio Mendes endears himself to Filipino audience / Inquirer.net review
    Posted At: November 29, 2014

    It is not often that a musician will get to reach the ripe age of 70 and still be a crowd-drawer. Only a handful of artists are known to belong to this special class, and Brazilian music icon Sergio Mendes is one of them. Mendes, a legend at the age of 73, shows no signs of slowing down, as evident in his performance during his one-night concert in Manila last November 15, 2014 at the Smart Araneta Colis...

  • Sergio Mendes - Magic / The Aquarian Weekly review
    Posted At: November 5, 2014

    I was 15 in 1966 when one of my very few non-rock ‘n' roll albums became essential. It was called Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 and I wore that sucker out. I had a little $10 toy record player. This guy my mom was dating, Arnie The Window Washer, bought it for me along with a few albums. That was one of them. I guess you can say it was the first world-music album I ever heard....

  • Sergio Mendes to perform with Spokane Symphony / Spokesman-Review interview
    Posted At: October 30, 2014

    Few artists have experienced a career as long and varied as Sergio Mendes'. The Cuban-born Mendes, who performs some of his classics with Washington's Spokane Symphony this weekend, was one of the main artists to bring his country's traditional bossa nova to the States, where it became a huge success in the 1960s. "Bossa nova became a worldwide phenomenon because of the songs, because of...

  • Sergio Mendes - Magic / Blogcritics.org Review
    Posted At: October 22, 2014

    Sergio Mendes, arguably the man most responsible creating the groundswell for Brazilian pop music and jazz in the U.S. back in the day (certainly one of the prime movers), makes his debut recording for the Okeh label with the newly released Magic. At age 73, the pianist, composer, with more than 50 albums to his credit, is still going strong. If the new album is any indication, he still has the magic. ...

  • Sergio Mendes - Magic / The Desert Sun interview
    Posted At: October 2, 2014

    Sergio Mendes says his first "magical encounter" happened during his first trip to the United States in 1962 after sitting in with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley at New York's Birdland jazz club. Now 73, Mendes has shaped his five-decade career around such unexpected collaborations, performing across genres with musicians from North and South America. He continues on his latest album, Magic, whi...

  • Sergio Mendes - Magic / Something Else review
    Posted At: September 30, 2014

    In a career that spans five decades, bossa nova maestro Sergio Mendes apparently has no plans to slow down. After his worldwide breakthrough with his group Brasil '66, he continued recording hits featuring largely unknown singers. Timeless, his unlikely 2006 collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, introduced Mendes to a new generation. Since then, he has consistently released albums featuring ...

  • Sergio Mendes - Magic / Audiophile Audition review
    Posted At: September 24, 2014

    Sergio Mendes' association with the Brazilian samba and bossa nova is as close as the association of bikinis with Copacabana. From his very first LP Danco Moderno to the many others under the rubric of Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66 to The New Brazil '77 and now with his current release Magic, Sergio Mendes has kept the spirit of the music alive and has now brought...

  • Sergio Mendes - Magic / Gulf News review
    Posted At: September 23, 2014

    On his new OKeh album - Magic, Sergio Mendes continues his mission of spreading the joy of Brazilian music to a global audience. Mendes doesn't indulge in nostalgia, but instead presents mostly new original material that blends contemporary styles with Brazilian rhythms. In true Sergio Mendes style, the album features accomplished singers from varied backgrounds, including John Legend,...

  • Sergio Mendes on his early career / NPR All Things Considered: My Big Break
    Posted At: September 14, 2014

    Sergio Mendes discusses his early experiences in music on the NPR: All Things Considered - "My Big Break" series. Born in Brazil, Sergio Mendes passion for music began by playing classical piano, but after hearing Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," things from then on were never quite the same. By perfecting a mix of Jazz and local Bossa Nova styles, Mendes formed a band that was truly o...

  • Sergio Mendes - Magic / Union Tribune review
    Posted At: September 9, 2014

    Collaboration has been a major component of Sergio Mendes' five decade career. Mendes continues this trend on his latest Sony/Okeh album - Magic, which features John Legend, will.i.am and Janelle Monae, along with Brazilian artists such as Milton Nascimento and Carlinhos Brown. Mendes sums up the album title: "I'm very curious and intuitive, and I also love to learn new things....

  • Sergio Mendes on Tavis Smiley
    Posted At: September 4, 2014

    Sérgio Mendes is one of the most internationally successful Brazilian artists of all time. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, he has recorded more than 35 albums, is a three-time Grammy Award winner and an Oscar nominee (for music from the animated, 3-D feature film, Rio). His lates recording for Sony - Magic, spotlights the distinct talents of a large cast of bot...
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