Sergio Mendes, who took Brazilian Bossa to the world, dies at 83

Sergio Mendes, one of the most internationally famous Brazilian musicians, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 83. The information was first reported by TMZ.

Mr. Mendes recorded more than 35 albums, many of which went gold or platinum. He won a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album with “Brasileiro” in 1993 and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song for the song “Real in Rio”, part of the soundtrack of the 2011 animated film “Rio.”

O Globo newspaper called him “the main exponent of samba-jazz.” His iconic group Brasil ’66 helped popularize bossa nova overseas.

In 1971, he performed at the White House for the first time, at the invitation of then-President Richard Nixon, during the state visit by the then Prince Juan Carlos of Spain. He would later return to the White House in 1982, invited by President Ronald Reagan, during a visit by Brazilian President João Figueiredo.

Mr. Mendes is most famously known for the song “Mas Que Nada”, originally composed by Jorge Ben Jor and released in 1963. Mr. Mendes’s 1966 cover peaked at No. 47 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the song was later covered by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzie Gillespie. Billboard magazine wrote of the song: “The international hit was many music fans’ first glimpse of Brazilian music”. 

In 2006, Mr. Mendes re-recorded “Mas que Nada” with the Black Eyed Peas. He was also friends with Frank Sinatra, with whom he toured in 1967 and again in 1980.

Sergio Mendes was the subject of a 2020 documentary film “Sergio Mendes: In the Key of Joy,” directed by John Scheinfeld. Interviewees included will.i.am and John Legend, among other collaborators.

In the documentary, will.i.am says of Mr. Mendes: “He’s a translator. He translated something that was going on in Brazil to the whole world”.

John Legend said, also in the film: “He’s able to span the generations by collaborating with new artists and up-and-coming artists”.

Born in Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in 1941, Mr. Mendes moved to the United States in 1964, just after the military coup that overthrew President João Goulart.

Mr. Mendes is survived by his wife, Brazilian singer Gracinha Leporace, and five children.