In a
career that spans more than half a century, Sérgio Mendes is an old hand at
creating a unique sonic blend that electrifies a mass global audience. His
knack for delivering hit after hit has made him the most successful Brazilian
musician of his time. A grand conceptualizer, his well-polished talents as a
pianist, composer, bandleader, vocalist and producer make him a truly singular
artist. With Magic, his debut recording for the storied OKeh label, he triumphs
once again, delivering a timely update on the infectious mix of Brazilian
rhythms and contemporary styles from his homeland, the U.S. and elsewhere that
make the Mendes sound instantly recognizable.
Magic
spotlights the distinct talents of a large cast of both emerging and
established Brazilian and North American musicians, vocalists, composers and
producers. The eclectic line-up of multi-faceted collaborators underscores how
Mendes has been so successful at forging fruitful partnerships since he emerged
as a young jazz pianist in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1960s. Present to help
Magic radiate its special distinctive charm are such one-of-a-kind artists as
will.i.am, putting his producer's genius to work on one track, and singer John
Legend. Among Mendes' Brazilian guests are vocalists Milton Nascimento,
Carlinhos Brown, Ana Carolina, Seu Jorge, Maria Gadú, and Gracinha Leporace,
Mendes' lovely wife and a noted vocalist from the bossa nova days. Also on hand
is guitarist Guinga, one of Brazil's most accomplished string masters and
composers. Recording sessions in Los Angeles, Salvador, and Rio de Janeiro
involved a host of top flight musicians from both countries.
"I
like to do things that are kind of bold, fresh and unique. That gives me a lot
of pleasure," Mendes says of the creative process that has been central to
his success. "I'm very curious and intuitive, and I also love to learn new
things - I have no formula. I believe in the magic of the encounter... and that
is what my life has been about, and also this album. For me, the most important
thing is the melody. Then the arrangement. It's all about how you present the
song. That plays a big role in what I do."
On
Magic, the three-time Grammy® Award-winner taps the entire range of music
styles he has explored, from samba jazz to hip-hop. The session's focal point
is the exuberant "One Nation." "When I began the album last
year," Mendes notes, "I went to Salvador to work with Carlinhos Brown
and write a song for the World Cup. It represents the joy, the rhythm and the
excitement of fútbol as seen through a Brazilian eye."
"Atlântica," by one of Mendes' favorite composers, is an example of
what the musician looks for to perform. "When Guinga played that song for
me two years ago, I couldn't get the melody out of my head," he comments.
"The harmonies and chord changes are incredible. The beautiful thing about
the album is that I have songs from composers like Guinga and Toninho Horta and
my friend Milton Nascimento, who wrote his tune just for this album."
Maria
Gadú, a young singer, guitarist and composer from São Paulo, is another Magic
revelation. "I met her about three years ago and said 'let's do a song
together!' What a wonderful experience it was working with her." And,
although he included songs like "Só Eu," a melodic beauty by the late
maestro Moacir Santos, his theory teacher in Rio 50 years ago, Mendes also
contributed more original works than on any previous album. "The
songwriting aspect of this album gives me tremendous pleasure," he adds.
"Sometimes
you have no idea of how younger people really appreciate your work and how
knowledgeable they are of what you've done," Mendes comments on his
collaborations with will.i.am and John Legend, "I like those experiences
very much. I love reaching out and ending up with something that's bold and
different. That's why I called the album Magic. Everything on it is
magical."
Born and
raised in Niterói, a city across Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro, young
Mendes studied piano at a local conservatory. An interest in North American
jazz led him to Copacabana's fabled clubs of the late 1950s, where he performed
with his first trio. In 1961, he formed the Bossa Rio Sextet, a groundbreaking
group that was his first of many artistic coups. "Those were the days of
the bossa nova when it was mostly performed by a guitarist and a singer,"
he recalls today. "I came up with the idea of using two trombones and a
tenor sax, and it was a revolution. People loved the sound because it was
totally different." In the two years that followed, he took the group to
New York City to perform at the historic bossa nova concert at Carnegie Hall in
1962. He recorded albums with such jazz greats as Julian "Cannonball"
Adderley, Phil Woods and Hubert Laws, and continued to work closely with his
mentor, famed composer Antônio Carlos Jobim.
By the
mid 1960s, it was time for a totally new direction, and Mendes once again
created a revolutionary sound that would prove to be pop culture phenomenon for
the following three decades. His new creation, dubbed Brazil '66, used two
female vocalists to shape ingenious bossa-spiced arrangements of a wide-ranging
repertoire that included the latest fare from Brazil, rock and R&B hits,
and carefully chosen gems from the Great American Songbook. Significantly, his
debut album with the new group, Herb Alpert Presents Sérgio Mendes & Brazil
'66, was recently inducted into the Grammy® Hall of Fame.
Throughout
his career, Mendes has continued to recharge his passion for creating fresh and
innovative music by seeking out challenging partnerships and novel sources of
inspiration. Occasionally, the process has been as simple as returning to the
elemental Brazilian sound, as he did on such albums as Primal Roots and Oceano.
At other times, it has meant embracing the spirit of a universal theme. His
album Confetti and its title tune became the anthem for the 1984 Olympic Games
while Pelé was the soundtrack for a motion picture about the world's greatest
soccer player of all time. Within the past decade, Mendes has also successfully
experimented with hip-hop and other of-the-moment styles.
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