Sergio Mendes And Brasil '66 Stillness

On the heels of its successful Latin album, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) mines the same vein with Brazil – seemingly a decision that diverges from its California pastiche aesthetic, but still one very much in line with the trends…

The musical relationship between Sergio Mendes and Antonio Carlos Jobim was a very important one in the careers of both men. Jobim was, of course, the premier composer of bossa nova, and Mendes was one of the most important popularizers of Brazilian music, helping to bring Jobim's compositions to a very wide audience. Mendes recorded 11 of Jobim's songs overthe course of his first two Atlantic Records albums. The Beat of Brazil and The Swinger From Rio, Featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim, the latter of which is reissued here.

Though trumpet legend Herb Alpert and wife Lani Hall have been together for more than three decades, it's hard to believe that Anything Goes is their very first album together. A musician and entrepreneur, Alpert is best known for his work in the 1960s with his Tijuana Brass, five number one hits, eight Grammy Awards and fifteen gold albums. As co-founder of A&M Records, Alpert's impact on music has been even greater. ~ AllAboutJazz

In The Key Of Joy is the first new album from Sergio Mendes in 5 years. It features an array of guests artists that join him in creating an album with the forward leaning sound that has come to define his music. Guest artists include Common, Cali y El Dandee, Buddy, Hermeto Pascoal, Roge, Guinga, Sheléa, Sugar Joans, Gracinha Leporace and Joe Pizzulo. The album accompanies the documentary by the same name, which is a joyful cinematic celebration of this singular musical artist who remains as vital and relevant today as when he exploded on the scene with his group, Brasil ’66. The deluxe edition of the album features some of his greatest hits and serves as the official soundtrack to the documentary. It features classic songs by Sergio Mendes such as Mas Que Nada, Never Gonna Let You Go, Fanfarra - Cabua-Le-Le and many more.

After bouncing around Philips, Atlantic, and Capitol playing Brazilian jazz or searching for an ideal blend of Brazilian and American pop, Sergio Mendes struck gold on his first try at A&M (then not much more than the home of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass and the Baja Marimba Band). He came up with a marvelously sleek, sexy formula: dual American female voices singing in English and Portuguese over a nifty three-man bossa nova rhythm/vocal section and Mendes' distinctly jazz-oriented piano, performing tight, infectious arrangements of carefully chosen tunes from Brazil, the U.S., and the U.K. The hit was Jorge Ben's "Mas Que Nada," given a catchy, tight bossa nova arrangement with the voice of Lani Hall soaring above the swinging rhythm section…

Having hit upon another smash formula – cover versions of pop/rock hits backed by lavish strings, a simplified bossa nova rhythm, and the leader's piano comping – Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 produced two more chart-busting singles, again turning to the Beatles for sustenance with the title track (number six) and Simon & Garfunkel for "Scarborough Fair" (number 16). But again, the bulk of the album was dominated by Brazilians, and by one in particular: the hugely gifted Edu Lobo, whose dramatic "Casa Forte" and infectious "Upa, Neguinho" were the best of his four songs. The tracks were longer now, the string-laden ballads (arranged by Dave Grusin) more lavish and moody, and Lani Hall emerged as the vocal star of the band, eclipsing her new partner, Karen Philipp (although Hall is upstaged on "Lapinha" by future Brasil '77 member Gracinha Leporace).

Sergio Mendes took a deep breath, expanded his sound to include strings lavishly arranged by the young Dave Grusin and Dick Hazard, went further into Brazil, and out came a gorgeous record of Brasil '66 at the peak of its form. Here Mendes released himself from any reliance upon Antonio Carlos Jobim and rounded up a wealth of truly great material from Brazilian fellow travelers: Gilberto Gil's jet-propelled "Roda" and Joao Donato's clever "The Frog," Dori Caymmi's stunningly beautiful "Like a Lover," Harold Lobo's carnival-esque "Tristeza," and Mendes himself (the haunting "So Many Stars" and the title track). Mendes was also hip enough to include "With a Little Help From My Friends" from the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper LP…