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
Puzzle of Hearts
Sérgio Mendes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In this life I ever found you
I don't know why you put up with me
When I go on hurting you so
Why you stay heaven knows
It's true that I would be lost
Without your tender arms to anchor me
Wandering off empty and cold
Until you have taken hold
Like a puzzle of hearts
Your love makes me whole
Each of us missing
Part of the other's soul
As long as I live
No less will I give
Like a puzzle of hearts
Scattered far and wide
We're on a journey
Starting from different sides
And each day I wake
With each step I take
I see your face
And fall into place
Assim que o dia amanheceu
Lá no mar-alto da paixão
Dava pra ver o tempo ruir
Cadê você? Que solidão
Esquecera de mim
It's true that I would be lost
Without your tender arms to anchor me
When all my schemes have abandoned me
Wandering off empty and cold
Until you have taken hold
Like a puzzle of hearts
Your love makes me whole
You are the missing part
Of my lonely soul
As long as I live
No less will I give
The lyrics to Sergio Mendes's song Puzzle of Hearts are a reflection of the singer's profound gratitude and amazement at the love and devotion of their partner, despite their imperfections and failings. The singer is acknowledging that they do not understand how they were fortunate enough to find their partner, and is overwhelmed by their partner's patience with and endurance of the singer's flaws. Through a metaphor of a puzzle, the singer is describing how they and their partner complete each other, and how their love makes the singer feel whole. Despite challenges and differences, the singer asserts that they will never stop giving everything they have to their partner.
The Portuguese lines in the song add an extra layer of complexity. They describe the singer's emotions as the dawn breaks over the sea of passion, and the confusion and loneliness that arises from their partner's absence. The inclusion of these lines serves to deepen the emotional impact of the song, and add a touch of poetic beauty.
Line by Line Meaning
Believe me, I'll never know how
I can't fathom how I ever met you in this life.
In this life I ever found you
I'm grateful to have found you in this lifetime.
I don't know why you put up with me
I don't understand why you tolerate me despite hurting you.
When I go on hurting you so
Even when I continue to hurt you.
Why you stay heaven knows
It's a mystery why you continue to stay with me.
It's true that I would be lost
Without you, I would be lost forever.
Without your tender arms to anchor me
Your presence provides me with a sense of security.
When all my schemes have abandoned me
When my plans fail and I'm left alone.
Wandering off empty and cold
Feeling hopeless and alone.
Until you have taken hold
Until you step in and hold me close.
Like a puzzle of hearts
We fit together perfectly like a puzzle.
Your love makes me whole
Your love completes me in every way.
Each of us missing
We were incomplete without each other.
Part of the other's soul
We complete each other's soul.
As long as I live
I'll love you forever.
No less will I give
I'll never give you any less of my love and affection.
Scattered far and wide
We started our journey far apart from each other.
We're on a journey
We're embarking on a journey together.
Starting from different sides
Our paths began far away from each other.
And each day I wake
The first thing I think of is you every morning.
With each step I take
Every step I take is leading me closer to you.
I see your face
Everywhere I look, I see your beautiful face.
And fall into place
Everything falls into place when I'm with you.
Assim que o dia amanheceu
As soon as the day began.
Lá no mar-alto da paixão
In the tumultuous sea of passion.
Dava pra ver o tempo ruir
I could see time passing us by.
Cadê você? Que solidão
Where are you? I'm alone without you.
Esquecera de mim
Have you forgotten about me?
Contributed by Skyler A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
david
on Waters of March (Les Eaux de Mars) - French Version
haaaaaaaaaaaaaa