Sérgio Santos Mendes, pron. IPA: ['sɛxʒiu 'sɐ̃tus 'mẽ'dʒis], (born February… Read Full Bio ↴Sérgio Santos Mendes, pron. IPA: ['sɛxʒiu 'sɐ̃tus 'mẽ'dʒis], (born February 11, 1941 in Niterói, Brazil) is a Grammy Award-winning Brazilian musician. He has released over thirty-five albums, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk.

Mendes is married to the singer Gracinha Leporace who regularly performs vocals alongside Mendes and can 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 1961. 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 Brasil '65 group name 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 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

Viola
Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

A mão que toca um violão
Se for preciso faz a guerra
Mata o mundo, fere a terra
A voz que canta uma canção
Se for preciso canta um hino
Louva à morte
Viola em noite enluarada
No sertão é como espada

Esperança de vingança

O mesmo pé que dança um samba
Se preciso vai à luta
Capoeira
Quem tem de noite a companheira
Sabe que a paz é passageira
Prá defendê-la se levanta
E grita: "Eu vou!"

Mão, violão, canção e espada
E viola enluarada
Pelo campo e cidade
Porta bandeira, capoeira
Desfilando vão cantando:
Liberdade

Quem tem de noite a companheira
Sabe que a paz é passageira
Prá defendê-la se levanta
E grita: "Eu vou!"
Porta bandeira
Capoeira
Desfilando vão cantando:
Liberdade
Liberdade

Liberdade
Liberdade . . .

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66's song Viola are a commentary on the power of music and dance in times of conflict and hardship. The song is a call to action for those who use their voices and musical instruments as weapons in the fight for freedom and justice. The lyrics describe how the hand that plays a guitar can wage war and harm the earth, but it can also create beautiful music and sing uplifting songs of hope and joy. Similarly, the feet that dance to a samba beat can also fight and defend those we love. The song emphasizes the importance of solidarity and standing up for what is right, even when it isn't easy or safe.

The lyrics also touch upon the struggles specific to Brazil, particularly the sertão, a semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil. The "viola enluarada" (moonlit viola) refers to a type of guitar that is often used in rural Brazilian music and is a symbol of hope for those who live in the sertão. The capoeira mentioned in the lyrics is a Brazilian martial art that was developed by enslaved Africans in Brazil during the colonial period. Capoeira is not only a form of self-defense but is also a way for Afro-Brazilians to express their resistance to oppression and reclaim their cultural heritage.

Line by Line Meaning

A mão que toca um violão Se for preciso faz a guerra
The hand that plays a guitar is capable of taking action and fighting if necessary

Mata o mundo, fere a terra
It has the power to cause destruction and hurt

A voz que canta uma canção Se for preciso canta um hino Louva à morte
The voice that sings a song can also sing an anthem or praise death if needed

Viola em noite enluarada No sertão é como espada Esperança de vingança
A guitar on a moonlit night in the rural countryside is like a sword and symbolizes hope for revenge

O mesmo pé que dança um samba Se preciso vai à luta Capoeira
The same foot that dances samba is also ready to fight with capoeira

Quem tem de noite a companheira Sabe que a paz é passageira Prá defendê-la se levanta E grita: 'Eu vou!'
Those who have a companion with them at night know that peace is temporary and will stand up and say 'I'll go' to defend them

Mão, violão, canção e espada E viola enluarada Pelo campo e cidade Porta bandeira, capoeira
A hand, guitar, song, and sword, along with a moonlit guitar, travel through towns and the countryside, with people who carry flags and those who fight with capoeira

Desfilando vão cantando: Liberdade
As they march and sing, they cry out for freedom

Porta bandeira Capoeira Desfilando vão cantando: Liberdade Liberdade Liberdade Liberdade . . .
People who carry flags and those who fight with capoeira march and sing for freedom, repeating the word over and over

Contributed by Eli N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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