Grammy-winning Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes dead at 83
nypost.comthe Guardian in a statement that he “passed away peacefully” in his Los Angeles home. “His wife and musical partner for the past 54 years, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, was by his side, as were his loving children,” they said. “Mendes last performed in November 2023 to sold out and wildly enthusiastic houses in Paris, London and Barcelona,” they added. “For the last several months, his health had been challenged by the effects of long term COVID.”The Brazilian superstar had a career spanning more than 30 albums released across six decades.
Mendes was known for bringing bossa nova — a style of samba — to an international audience in the 1960s with his band Brasil ’66.
With hits like “Mas que Nada” and “Magalenha,” Mendes helped shape the modern crossover Brazilian pop. “It was completely different from anything, and definitely completely different from rock ’n’ roll,” Latin music scholar Leila Cobo said in the 2020 HBO documentary “Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy.” She added, “But that speaks to how certain Sergio was of that sound.
He didn’t try to imitate what was going on.”Mendes was born in Niterói, Brazil, in 1941. He began playing in clubs and performing with mentors such as Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto, before forming his first band, the Sexteto Bossa Rio.
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