Brazilian music legend Sérgio Mendes dies at 83

Sérgio Mendes, who helped define the modern sound of Brazilian music with his group Brasil ‘66, died on Thursday at the age of 83 in Los Angeles. His family, in a statement, said that the composer and arranger’s health had deteriorated due to long-term Covid.

Mendes leaves behind a great musical legacy, with a career spanning more than 60 years. In that time, he released 35 albums, which explored the sounds of bossa nova, folklore and jazz. His biggest market was the United States. Mendes won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for an Oscar. His death was confirmed to EL PAÍS by his publicist, Karen Vock.

According to the family’s statement, Mendes was with his wife, Gracinha Leporace, and his children, when he “passed away peacefully.” The family also paid tribute to the musician’s pioneering career, pointing out that he “last performed in November 2023 to sold out and wildly enthusiastic houses in Paris, London and Barcelona.”

The musician had been living in Los Angeles since the late 1960s. At the age of 21, he already had a reputation of being an excellent pianist. He flew from the city of Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, to New York to take part in a concert of Brazilian music at Carnegie Hall. That famous recital paved the way for the Brazilian legend to introduce his music to the U.S. public.

His first group, Brasil ‘65 was part of the Itamaraty initiative, an effort by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry to promote Brazilian music abroad. The group started in 1964 in Mexico and then moved on to Los Angeles and Philadelphia. But it failed to take off despite warm receptions in jazz clubs.

The group was transformed into a new band called Brasil ‘66, which had much more success. Mendes remained on keyboards, José Soares on percussion, Joao Palma on drums. Lani Hall became the singer, and her dulcet tones were key to the band’s triumph.

Mas que Nada — a cover of a song by Jorge Ben Jor — became a smash hit that allowed Mendes to define the Brazilian sound from the United States. “It was the first time a song sung entirely in Portuguese was a hit in the country and around the world,” Mendes told public radio in 2014.

The group’s style caught the attention of trumpeter Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the founders of the A&M label. The pair signed Brasil ‘66 to the label, which became the home of such eclectic artists as Cat Stevens, The Police and The Tijuana Brass, Alpert’s band. “I just fell in love with their sound,” Alpert said in a documentary.

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