922 Sergio Mendes and Brazil ’66 “Mas Que Nada” 1966

“In describing his trademark Brasil ‘66 sound, the pianist/arranger says, ‘You can relate to it in an organic way, It makes you dream and it makes you feel good. It’s very rhythmical so you can dance to it, and it has haunting melodies that you take to bed with you, so you can hum and whistle them.’ Born February II, 1941 in Niteroi, Brazil, Sergio Mendes studied classical music in the local conservatory before being lured away by jazz, then bossa nova. He started his professional career in Rio in the late 1950s. Alongside Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, Milton Nascimento and all the Brazilian greats, Mendes helped spread the gentle gospel of bossa nova across the world. In the ‘60s, as the leader of Brasil ‘66, he perfected a kind of Latin pop that was part easy listening, part psychedelia, and was the perfect bookend to the swanky sounds of fellow A&M artists Hurt Bacharach and Herb Alpert” (Bill DeMaine, Performing Songwriter, January 2006). 

Sergio Mendes and Brazil ’66 “Mas Que Nada”