Sergio Mendes Albums (30)
What The Critics Say
Though he's always been at the front of the show, Sergio Mendes has often gotten by with the help of his friends. As in 1965, so in 2008. The newest update of Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 -- feel free to call it Brasil '08 -- has a varied cast, led by co-producer will.i.am, who adapts his style well to urban and Brazilian forms. It also includes will.i.am's Black Eyed Peas bandmate Fergie, doing "The Look of Love" in a version that may never reach the heights of the original, but never becomes as embarrassing as "My Humps." Surprisingly, it's a good performance from Fergie; although she never approaches the sultriness of Dusty Springfield's original, her quick-paced singing on the verses is some kind of career highlight. Elsewhere, Mendes deserves most of the credit, especially since will.i.am only bookends the album (he produces the first two tracks and the last two). Encanto makes room for a parade of excellent musicians, including Carlinhos Brown, Ledisi, Natalie Cole, and Herb Alpert. (Not to be left out is the rhythm section, anchored by bass veterans Alphonso Johnson or Liminha.) The material breezes over quite a few Brazilian classics of the bossa nova era, and gives them just enough freshness to sound new. "Waters of March," with Johnson's nimble bass, makes room for a fine Ledisi vocal (granted, it's difficult to fail on that song). Mendes takes several solos on acoustic piano or Rhodes, best on the Herb Alpert feature "Dreamer." Overall, Encanto is a difficult record to judge; from the cover and the first two tracks, it appears to be urban all the way. The bulk of the album, however, is modern Brazilian jazz-fusion with an array of excellent musicians. Hopefully, its two potential audiences -- dance or hip-hop fans and Latin jazz listeners -- aren't steered away from it by thinking it's only concerned with one or the other. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
At long last, Sergio Mendes seemed to be getting a bit weary of the constant chore of chasing hits in the North American pop field, and the siren call of his native Brazil beckoned. So while the overall sound of Arara remains mostly stuck in Mendes' '80s dance-pop manner, the material is all Brazilian and the CD is sometimes open to more complex rhythms than what Mendes had been using since the mid-'70s. In other words, this is not far away from the concept that The Manhattan Transfer tried on its Brasil album, but not nearly as bold nor as moving. As in the '60s, Mendes draws from the top of the deck of Brazilian writers -- Ivan Lins, Djavan, Milton Nascimento, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Dori Caymmi -- for material. There is also a remake from the Brasil '66 days, a "Mas Que Nada" electronically updated for the end of the '80s -- a little stiffer, perhaps, but the tune shines through anyway. Though only a partial return to Brazil, this record nevertheless signaled a welcome trend in Mendes' work, where he would return more and more to his roots in the future. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
'Live at the Expo '70'
Release Date 9/18/2006
Tracks 10
Label Universal/A&M
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What The Critics Say
This live album from the prime of Sergio Mendes and his "classic" Brasil '66 lineup was released for the Japanese market only (although this reissue is now easily obtainable on the Web everywhere at sky-high import prices). The official reason that this album was a Japanese-only release was probably that all of these tunes (dating from "Herb Alpert Presents" through "Ye-Me-Le") were available in the U.S. in polished studio versions. The unofficial reason may be that the two female singers in the band, Lani Hall and Karen Philipp, were not in their best form on this gig. On-stage live in Osaka, Japan, the smooth vocal blend from the L.A. studios was nowhere to be heard. Some obvious pitch problems were not corrected by re-recording, and their timbres clash, the latter effect exacerbated by the placing of each singer on a separate stereo channel (Hall on the left, Philipp on the right). Yet there is much to be said for this once-difficult-to-get release. It's an honest record, catching the sextet au naturel without the backing orchestrations of the studio records, no longer at the mercy of the airplay stopwatch and ready to groove. It's a rare chance to hear Mendes stretch out at some length on acoustic grand piano during this period, revealing that his roots as a player were and are more attuned to mainstream American jazz than strictly Brazilian idioms. The arrangements sometimes follow the contours of the studio versions for awhile, then veer away for some serious, extended jamming ("Day Tripper," "Scarborough Fair"). The vocalists do have their moments; Hall gets off some passages of persuasive passion on "The Dock of the Bay," as does the earthier-toned Philipp in spots. There is also a bonus track from the concert that's not on the original LP -- Marcos Valle's "Viola," which builds from a delicate opening to a simmering heat. "Live at the Expo '70" is not to be confused with another, musically superior import, In Concert, which was recorded only two years later with Brasil '77 but was not included in A&M Japan's 2006 Mendes CD reissue project. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
This time, Sergio Mendes freed himself from any commercial expectations, plunged deep into Brazil, and came up with a boldly experimental yet beautifully impressionistic album of Brazilian folk and popular music. Many of the tracks here are ritualistic in structure, with call-and-response vocals, sprinkled with native Brazilian percussion instruments like the agogo, cuica, atabaques and the weird single-string berimbau, creating mysterious moods and grooves. Oscar Castro-Neves -- whose guitar shines throughout the album -- and bassist Sebastiao Neto wrote one gorgeous tune, "After Sunrise," and Mendes adapts folk songs as well as Baden Powell's "Iemanja" and Dori Caymmi's now-well-known "Promessa de Pescador" to the blend of Brasil '77 female vocals and Brazilian tropical sounds. The record is dominated by a single, gigantic 19-minute piece, "The Circle Game," a rambling, multi-sectioned tour de force with extended Brazilian grooves, properly exotic jazz flute solos from Tom Scott, and dissonant improvisations touching on the jazz avant-garde. Understandably, Primal Roots remained dear to Mendes' heart even though it was not a sales blockbuster, and it gives credence to the not-often-floated idea of Mendes as innovator, whose uncompromising explorations of world music sounds place this record years ahead of its time. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Changing their name and style with the trends of the decade, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77 assume a brighter, perhaps more garish sound that tries to get closer to what was happening in North America, even when exploring Brazil. (Other Brazilians were pursuing a similar goal in tropicalismo, with differing results.) Gracinha Leporace had replaced Lani Hall completely on lead female vocals by now; like many Brazilian voices, her grittier, Portuguese-accented tone is a bit off-key, and it definitely alters the group's sound. Mendes kept on coming up with great Brazilian material like "Asa Branca" and "Tonga," and he gives himself an extended jazz piano showcase on Edu Lobo's wordless tour de force "Zanzibar." On the North American ledger, there is a pop/rock slice of countercultural social protest, "So Many People" (one of three tunes by the gnomelike Paul Williams), and Tom Scott lends a contemporary pop-jazz hand on some tracks with his funky tenor sax. Ultimately, Brasil '77 never came close to becoming the commercial force that Brasil '66 was, but Mendes kept on tweaking the mixture. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Stillness is a concept album -- the title tune opens and closes it in moody stillness -- and a transition piece all at once, for Sergio Mendes seemed to be searching for a viable way out of the Brasil '66 formula. Indeed, "Righteous Life," using a different L.A. rhythm section, is really a folk-rock record, a good one, and a far cry from the bossa-propelled '60s. So is the funky voodoo cover of Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth" in its own way, though the old Brasil '66 sound does come in very handy in a superb treatment of another folk-rock song, Joni Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning." Yet Mendes also experiments with different, more authentically Brazilian rhythm patterns in a brilliantly propulsive rendition of Gilberto Gil's "Viramundo" and a lovely Oscar Castro-Neves/Sebastiao Neto tone poem, "Celebration of the Sunrise." This would also be Lani Hall's farewell to Sergio Mendes, leaving the band in mid-album on the way to becoming Mrs. Herb Alpert and starting a solo career, to be replaced by the Brazilian Gracinha Leporace, who is now Mrs. Sergio Mendes. Overlooked in its day, Stillness is the great sleeper album of Sergio Mendes' first A&M period. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The sound and band that served Sergio Mendes well on Fool on the Hill remain intact on Crystal Illusions, with few modifications. Dave Grusin is right there with a lush, haunting orchestral chart when needed; Lani Hall is thrust further into the vocal spotlight, as cool and alluring as ever in Portuguese or English. Mendes remained on the lookout for fresh Brazilian tunes, and he came up with a coup, one of the earliest covers of a Milton Nascimento tune to reach North America, "Vera Cruz" (with Hall's English lyrics, it became "Empty Faces"), as well as Dori Caymmi's "Dois Dias." The two singles, the perky "Pretty World" and sax-streaked cover of Otis Redding's "The Dock of the Bay," are nice slices of Mendes pop, though they were not significant hits. And yes, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 did take a large risk on the title track, a lengthy, kaleidoscopic treatment of an Edu Lobo tune that, inspired perhaps by "MacArthur Park," shattered radio's time barrier at seven minutes and 50 seconds. Yet while Grusin goes into a psychedelic freakout, we get a rare chance to hear Mendes stretch out a bit on electric piano. Weird and overblown, but wonderful. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Perhaps the Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 sound was at last beginning to show signs of wear, for not only didn't Ye-Me-Le produce any hits ("Wichita Lineman" reached a lowly number 95), but the album is also less enterprising and fresh-sounding than its predecessors. There is a surprising shortage of Brazilian material, which was always Mendes' most valuable contribution in the long run, and more reliance upon routine covers of pop/rock standards like "Easy to Be Hard" and "What the World Needs Now." But there are special moments, like the hypnotic "Masquerade" (no relation to the Leon Russell/George Benson hit), Sergio Mihanovich's haunting "Some Time Ago," and another winning treatment of a Beatles tune, "Norwegian Wood," where Mendes cuts loose a killer solo on electric piano (believe it or not, the 45 rpm single version features more of that solo than the LP). ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
'Voce Ainda Nao Ouviu Nada!'
Release Date 1/1/2002
Tracks 10
Label Dubas M�sica
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