My Favorite (Sérgio Mendes) Things

10 top tracks from the late, great Brazilian bandleader, composer and arranger

The great Sérgio Mendes has sadly left us, passing peacefully away last week at his home in Los Angeles. Few figures were more important or influential in introducing Brazilian music to the US and the rest of the world; Mendes’ Brasil ’66 records not only put go-go boots on the Bossa Nova and gave songs by Burt Bacharach and The Beatles a Rio-flavored recasting, but their easy grooves, tropical warmth and (in Mendes’ own words) “sensual and simple” double-tracked vocal arrangements enabled Brasil ’66 to infiltrate countless American households that had been previously resistant to anything more exotic than Martin Denny.

That easiness and mellifluousness (and the fact that they could be found in the homes of so many square old whitefolks) is precisely why I initially approached those same records with such suspicion in my younger years. I’d gotten deep into the Herb Alpert/Tijuana Brass catalog while in college — admittedly first from a camp/kitsch angle, but I soon let my cynical guard down and simply gave into their sunny awesomeness. And yet, even though Brasil ’66 was one of the bigger 1960s acts on Alpert’s A&M label, and it was hard to beat a name like “Brasil ’66” for sheer jet-age coolness, their records just seemed like a bridge too far for me at the time. The few Brasil ’66 songs that I had heard seemed a little too eager-to-please in a Broadway show tunes kinda way, which alone was enough for me to mentally file them in the same bin as Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé. It wasn’t until around 1993, when my friend Eric put Brasil ’66’s rendition of Jorge Ben’s “Constant Rain (Chove Chuva)” on a mixtape for me, that I realized I’d been completely (and stupidly) missing out on some amazing music.

The discography that Mendes leaves behind is deep and varied. Some of his earliest recordings were in collaboration with American jazz cats like Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann, and he made some fantastic instrumental records for Atlantic and Capitol before forming the vocals-oriented Brasil ’65 (quickly updated to Brasil ’66) and signing with A&M. Brasil ’66 went through some lineup and musical changes in the late 1960s and early 1970s, eventually morphing into Brasil ’77, and Mendes went on to score a massive solo smash in 1983 with “Never Gonna Let You Go,” a song penned by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil that bears almost zero sonic resemblance to his earlier hits. Most of his subsequent albums found him weaving back and forth between adult contemporary, jazz and classic Brazilian sounds, while his 2006 album Timeless found him collaborating with a wide variety of younger pop and R&B hitmakers, including John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Erykah Badu and the Black Eyed Peas. During our 2021 interview, which was done to promote John Scheinfeld’s aptly-titled documentary Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy, Mendes told me that “curiosity, and I guess some courage” were the driving forces beyond his endless quest to explore new sounds and collaborations. (I will be posting the full transcript of our interview next week as a treat for my paid subscribers.)

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That said, my favorite Mendes-recorded jams all seem to hail from the 1965-70 sweet spot; I absolutely adore every album he recorded during this period, whether they were made with Brasil ’65/’66 or under his own name. Here, then, in chronological order, are my ten favorite Sérgio Mendes cuts; some were hits, some are deep cuts, but all of them are guaranteed to bring a little beauty and magic to your day. Thank you, Sérgio, for being the conduit to so much incredible music; may you rest in smooth and joyful peace…

Reza

The first incarnation of Brasil ’65 (which featured vocalist Wanda De Sah) toured the U.S. as part of an initiative by Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote the country’s music abroad. They only recorded two albums, a self-titled studio effort for Capitol and a live one — recorded at San Francisco’s El Matador nightclub — for Atlantic. This mostly-instrumental arrangement from the latter of Edu Lobo and Ruy Guerra’s “Reza” serves as a lovely showcase for (and for newcomers, an introduction to) Mendes’ alluringly liquid piano playing.

The Telephone Song

A non-LP track included on the flip side of Brasil ’65’s rendition of The Beatles’ “All My Loving,” “The Telephone Song” finds the second lineup of the group — featuring future Brazilian icon Marcos Valle on vocals and guitar, and his wife Anamaria on vocals — nimbly bopping through this bite-sized Roberto Menescal/Ronaldo Boscoli classic, with English lyrics by Norman Gimbel.

Girl Talk

I can’t say I’ve met an interpretation of Neal Hefti and Bobby Troup’s “Girl Talk” that I don’t dig, but I especially love Clare Fischer’s slinky arrangement of the tune, which appears on Mendes’ 1966 Atlantic album The Great Arrival. Some of the tracks on this LP feel a little needlessly overblown to me, but this one is note-perfect.

Mas Que Nada

If I had only two and a half minutes to sum up the magic of Brasil ’66 for someone who had never heard them before, their groovy 1966 interpretation of Jorge Ben’s “Mas Que Nada” would be my go-to pick. Everything about it, from the rolling rhythms and festive aura to Lani Hall’s sultry lead vocals, is absolute perfection — so much so, it’s kind of surprising to learn that the song only made it to #47 on the Billboard Hot 100. (It did, however, make it all the way to #4 on the magazine’s Easy Listening chart, which is appropriate for a song that no self-respecting mix of 1960s easy listening should be without.)

Slow Hot Wind

Titled “Lujon” in its original appearance on Henry Mancini’s 1961 album Mr. Lucky Goes Latin, “Slow Hot Wind” is one of the most evocative tracks in the entire Brasil ’66 catalog — you can practically feel the desert breeze on the back of your neck, and see the condensation forming on the outside of your cocktail glass. Mendes’ single-note harpsichord solo is the master stroke, echoing the drowsy, sun-baked pace of a summer (or September, in the unfortunate current case of my Santa Anas-fried SoCal readers) afternoon.

Constant Rain (Chove Chuva)

This track, from 1967’s Equinox LP, is the one that broke through the psychic barrier I’d erected against Brasil ’66. (Thanks again, Eric!) And yes, I have to admit that it was the sitar — played by upright bass legend Bill Plummer, who also played sitar in the Cosmic Brotherhood — that initially made me drop my guard, because I’ve always been an absolute sucker for sitar-flavored pop songs. But the whole performance is dour dynamite; it was also released as a single with “Slow Hot Wind” on the flip, thus creating my favorite two-sider in the entire Brasil ’66 discography.

With a Little Help From My Friends

The opening track of 1968’s wonderful Look Around — Wikipedia gives the album a July 1967 release date, but I’m calling bullshit on that since Billboard didn’t review it until their March 9, 1968 issue — “With a Little Help” wasn’t the first or last time that Mendes went to the Beatles well, but for me it’s his most satisfying and interesting interpretation of their material. In our interview, Mendes spoke of he and Herb Alpert totally geeking out on Sgt. Pepper’s while spending Christmas ‘67 together in Mexico; I have no idea whether or not this song was a last-minute addition to the album as a result, but the way Mendes’ arrangement extends the final chord after “I want somebody to love” definitely makes me think that some jazz cigarettes were consumed during that particular listening session.

[Correction: now that I’m looking at the interview again, it was actually New Years, it was Magical Mystery Tour that they were listening to, and it inspired Mendes to cover “Fool On the Hill”. Oh well — “With a Little Help From My Friends” still rules!]

I Say a Little Prayer

Though Mendes was still under contract to Atlantic Records in 1966, when Brasil ’66 signed with A&M Records, Ahmet Ertegun allowed him to make the jump — albeit with the stipulation that Mendes would still make jazz records under his own name for Atlantic. Produced by Ahmet’s brother Neshui, and released in the spring of 1968, Sergio Mendes’ Favorite Things was unfortunately the only additional album he recorded under this arrangement, but it’s an utter delight from start to finish. My favorite track of the bunch is this instrumental take on Bacharach-David’s “I Say a Little Prayer,” which features a gorgeous string arrangement from Dave Grusin, and a really cool blend of piano and harpsichord on the verses that gives Mendes’ playing a slightly other-worldly sound.

Pretty World

Originally penned by Brazilian songwriters Antonio Adolfo and Tibério Gaspar as “Sá Marina,” “Pretty World” was recorded for Brasil ’66’s 1969 album Crystal Illusions with new English lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bregman. The result is the closest Mendes ever got to a “flower power” anthem, and it’s a number that I always turn to when I need a hit of heartwarming optimism.

Crystal Illusions

And speaking of flower power… “Crystal Illusions,” the extended reworking of Edu Lobo’s “Memórias de Maria Saré” that closes the Crystal Illusions LP is more cinematic than psychedelic, but there’s no denying the music’s trippier aspects — especially when you listen to the track on headphones, and especially in the last few minutes where Mendes’ dissonant electric piano playfully clashes with Grusin’s sweeping and stabbing strings. Amazingly enough, A&M released a mono/stereo promo 45 of the song with its entire 7:50 running time intact, beating the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” by over half a minute in length; sadly, it was never issued as an actual retail single.

But really, there’s so much great stuff in Mendes’ catalog, this list could be easily reshuffled and reworked tomorrow. How ‘bout you? What are some of your favorite Sérgio Mendes cuts? Feel free to shout ‘em out in the comments!

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