Mendes is married to Gracinha Leporace who regularly performs vocals for her husband and can also be heard on his 2006 version of the song Mas Que Nada with the Black Eyed Peas.
Early career
The child of a physician in Niterói, Brazil, Mendes attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late-1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was taking off. Mendes played with Antônio Carlos Jobim (whom he regarded as a mentor) and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil.
Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 196. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the name Sergio Mendes and Brasil '65 with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records.
Brasil '66
When sales were tepid, he replaced his Brazilian born vocalist Wanda de Sa with the distinctive voice of Chicago native Lani Hall (who learned Mendes' Portuguese material phonetically), switched to Herb Alpert's A&M label, and released Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66, an album that went platinum based largely on the success of the single "Mas Que Nada" (a Jorge Ben cover) and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured regularly.
The original lineup of Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 was Mendes (piano), vocalists Lani Hall and Janis Hansen, Bob Matthews (bass), Jose Soares (percussion), and Joao Palma (drums). John Pisano guested as guitarist. This lineup recorded three albums between 1966-1968 (including the best-selling Look Around LP), before there was a major personnel change for their fourth album Fool on the Hill.
Karen Philipp replaced Hansen as the second female vocalist, while veteran drummer Dom Um Romão teamed with Rubens Bassini to assume percussionist duties. Sebastiao Neto was the new bassist and Oscar Castro-Neves the guitarist. This lineup had a more orchestral and big band sound than their predecessors. Most significantly, in the early 1970s, lead singer Hall pursued a solo career and became Alpert's second wife. Some accounts claim that Mendes was upset with Alpert for years for "stealing" Hall away from his group.
Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably "Mas Que Nada") met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated Burt Bacharach and Hal David song The Look of Love on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, peaking at #4, and eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie, Casino Royale. Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles, "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair". From 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world, enjoying immense popularity worldwide and performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for both Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon.
Middle career
Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-1970s, but he remained very popular in South America and Japan. His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974, followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit, "The Real Thing".
In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed huge success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. "Never Gonna Let You Go", featuring vocals by Joe Pizzulo and Leza Miller, equalled the success of his 1968 single "The Look of Love" by reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also spent four weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart. In 1984, Mendes worked with singer Lani Hall again.
By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. His stature in his native Brazil is reflected by "Cantor de Mambo", a song by fellow Brazilians Os Mutantes, which they regularly dedicate to Mendes in concert.
Later career
Timeless features a wide array of neo-soul and alternative hip hop guest artists, most prominently will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas. It was released February 14, 2006 by Concord Records.
The album features the Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Black Thought, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, India.Arie, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder and Pharoahe Monch.
The 2006 re-recorded version of "Mas que Nada" with the Black Eyed Peas had additional vocals by Gracinha Leporace (Mendes' wife); a version that is included on his album Timeless. In Brazil, the song is pretty well-known for being the theme song for the local television channel Globo's Estrelas.
The Black Eyed Peas' version also contains a sample of their 2004 hit "Hey Mama". The re-recorded song became popular on many European charts. On the UK Singles Chart, the song entered at #29 and rose to and peaked at #6 on its second week on the chart.
Official website of Sérgio Mendes: http://www.sergiomendesmusic.com
Esconjuros
Sérgio Mendes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bótum bemol na clave do verão
Quem diz uma palavra com sentido verdadeiro e rê
Que traga um som paisagem prá canção
Falei alarido palavra de vidro
Quebrada na voz, ô, ô
Palavra raiada mais estilhaçada
O amor quando jura a gente esconjura
Pois não vai render, ô, ô
Já fiz uma figa talvez eu consiga
Parar de sofrer parar de sofrer
Diabo de vigário urubú no campanário
Só fala de pecado no sermão
Quem diz uma palavra com sentido de mistério e rê
Que ponha um sortilégio na canção
Falei prostituta palavra de fruta
Manchando lençóis, ô, ô
Palavra encarnada e mais machucada
Que o caso entre nós
O amor quando jura a gente esconjura
Pois não vai render, ô, ô
Um galho de arruda madrinha me ajuda a
Parar de sofrer parar de sofrer, ô, ô, ô
Ternura e pirraça desgraça e ventura
A gente costura dois a dois
É feito esse riso que escorre em meu choro
Gozando depois, ô, ô
Cabloca sem vestido no chicote do marido e rê
Moída de pancada sem razão
Quem diz uma palavra de sentido milagreiro e rê
Que mude essa injustiça na canção
Falei liberdade palavra de muitos
Que se aprende a sós, ô, ô
Que custa tão caro que eu nem comparo
Ao caso entre nós
O amor quando jura a gente esconjura
Pois não vai render, ô, ô
Um pé de coelho prá mim bom censelho
É parar de sofrer parar de sofrer
O corpo da princesa na raiz da mandioca e rê
Coloca realeza rente ao chão
A moda sertaneja na viola carioca e rê
Traz o brasil de volta prá canção
Traz o brasil de volta prá canção
Traz o brasil de volta prá canção
Traz o brasil de volta prá canção
Traz o brasil de volta prá canção
Traz o brasil de volta prá canção . . .
Sérgio Mendes's song Esconjuros is a tribute to the richness of Brazilian culture and its musical heritage. The lyrics reflect the magic and mystique of the country, as well as its inequalities and injustices. The title of the song refers to a magical ritual used to ward off evil spirits, and the lyrics suggest that words have the power to cast spells and change the world.
The song begins with a description of a cicada's buzzing in the hollow of a cashew tree, which sets the key of summer. The lyrics urge the listener to speak a word of truth that can add to the landscape of the song. The singer speaks a loud word, like a glass breaking, that is shattered and full of crackle, more so than the situation between the two lovers.
The lyrics then reflect upon the difficulties of love, how it can become cursed and difficult to hold onto once commitment is declared. The singer tries a new approach, with a talismanic gesture to try to make things better. The next verse references religious hypocrisy and urges the listener to add magical elements to their words to make their message heard.
The final verse adds references to Brazilian traditions, from the sertanejo style of music to the root of the mandioc plant, effectively bringing the listener back to the heart of Brazil. The overall message of the song is one of the magic contained within Brazilian culture, and how the right words can create change in society.
Line by Line Meaning
A zonza da cigarra no ôco do cajueiro e rê
The dizzy cicada in the cashew tree hole and rê
Bótum bemol na clave do verão
Flat button on the key of the summer
Quem diz uma palavra com sentido verdadeiro e rê
Whoever says a word with a true meaning and rê
Que traga um som paisagem prá canção
That brings a sound landscape to the song
Falei alarido palavra de vidro
I spoke loud word of glass
Quebrada na voz, ô, ô
Broken in the voice, oh, oh
Palavra raiada mais estilhaçada
Word hashed and shattered
Que o caso entre nós
Than our case
O amor quando jura a gente esconjura
When love swears, it curses us
Pois não vai render, ô, ô
Because it won't give up, oh, oh
Já fiz uma figa talvez eu consiga
I already did the fig sign, maybe I can
Parar de sofrer parar de sofrer
Stop suffering, stop suffering
Diabo de vigário urubú no campanário
Devilish vicar, vulture in the bell tower
Só fala de pecado no sermão
Only talks about sin in the sermon
Quem diz uma palavra com sentido de mistério e rê
Whoever says a word with a sense of mystery and rê
Que ponha um sortilégio na canção
That puts a spell on the song
Falei prostituta palavra de fruta
I spoke prostitute word of fruit
Manchando lençóis, ô, ô
Staining sheets, oh, oh
Palavra encarnada e mais machucada
Word made flesh and more hurt
Que o caso entre nós
Than our case
Um galho de arruda madrinha me ajuda a
A rue branch from Godmother helps me
Parar de sofrer parar de sofrer
Stop suffering, stop suffering
Ternura e pirraça desgraça e ventura
Tenderness and tantrums, misfortune and happiness
A gente costura dois a dois
We sew two by two
É feito esse riso que escorre em meu choro
It's like this laugh that flows in my tears
Gozando depois, ô, ô
Enjoying later, oh, oh
Cabloca sem vestido no chicote do marido e rê
Naked native woman whipped by her husband and rê
Moída de pancada sem razão
Beaten up without reason
Quem diz uma palavra de sentido milagreiro e rê
Whoever says a word with a miraculous sense and rê
Que mude essa injustiça na canção
That changes this injustice in the song
Falei liberdade palavra de muitos
I spoke freedom word of many
Que se aprende a sós, ô, ô
That one learns alone, oh, oh
Que custa tão caro que eu nem comparo
That costs so much that I don't even compare
Ao caso entre nós
To our case
Um pé de coelho prá mim bom censelho
A rabbit's foot is good advice for me
É parar de sofrer parar de sofrer
To stop suffering, stop suffering
O corpo da princesa na raiz da mandioca e rê
The body of the princess in the cassava root and rê
Coloca realeza rente ao chão
Places royalty close to the ground
A moda sertaneja na viola carioca e rê
The country style in the Rio guitar and rê
Traz o brasil de volta prá canção
Brings Brazil back to the song
Traz o brasil de volta prá canção
Brings Brazil back to the song
Traz o brasil de volta prá canção
Brings Brazil back to the song
Traz o brasil de volta prá canção
Brings Brazil back to the song
Traz o brasil de volta prá canção
Brings Brazil back to the song
Contributed by Riley A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
joao amarante de Oliveira Silva
Grande Sérgio Mendes, sempre bom, é clássico.
M L I
Sergio. This is a wonderful track. I remember borrowing this CD from a friend in college when this album was released.
Jane Doe
such a legend
Julieta Vasquez
Ay me recuerda a sivuca, lo amo, 🇨🇱❤️🇧🇷
Nephtali Cabrera
El maestro
Nr1from1978
I wish I could understand the lyrics
redblinddog
per great Sergio but the female voices are wrong for this piece. Maybe a Janet Monheit would be a better fit. I not sure that Janet can sing in Spanish but her voice excellent see Janet's "So Many Stars".
Eduardo Moreno
ela está cantando lindamente em portugues, qualquer tradução ou versão seria muito estranho para não dizer ruim
Julieta Vasquez
Brasil portugués, gran diferencia con el español nuestro.
Julieta Vasquez
@S P Smith 🤣🙌