Sérgio Mendes, a Brazilian music powerhouse and bossa nova pioneer has died in his hometown of Los Angeles, his family said in a statement Friday. He was 83.
Mendes, who’s known across the globe for his version of the generation-crossing hit “Mas Que Nada,” died peacefully on Thursday after battling the effects of long COVID, according to the statement.
“His wife and musical partner for the past 54 years, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, was by his side, as were his loving children,” the family said, adding he had “last performed in November 2023 to sold out and wildly enthusiastic houses in Paris, London and Barcelona.”
The Grammy-winning musician, who released more than 35 albums over nearly six decades, had been battling respiratory issues since late 2023, the Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported.
Born in Niterói, just outside Rio de Janeiro, in 1941, Mendes began studying classical music as a child before falling in love with jazz at the age of 15.
His new music inspiration led Mendes to play in nightclubs in Rio until the early ’60s, just as Brazil’s captivating new music style bossa nova began to take over the world.
Playing alongside and socializing with soon-to-become bossa nova legends including Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Morais and Baden Powell, Mendes began shaping up what would soon become his signature style, an unmistakable blend of bossa nova, samba-jazz, pop and funk.
Sergio Mendes (center) with his band Brasil ’66 at Heathrow Airport in London in 1969. (Getty)
He moved to the U.S. in 1964 when he formed his band Brasil ’65. But it was only with a retooled version of the group, renamed Brasil ’66, that Mendes exploded onto the global music scene with the Jorge Ben Jor-written song “Mas Que Nada.”
The song was the opener for the groundbreaking album “Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brazil ’66,” which peaked at No. 7 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart in 1966 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.
“Mas Que Nada,” was re-recorded with the Black Eyed Peas in 2006, reaching pop charts in nearly two dozen countries.
That version was also included on the soundtrack for the 2011 animated film “Rio” — which also earned Mendes an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, as co-writer of “Real in Rio.”
“Sergio Mendes was my brother from another country,” his longtime collaborator Herb Alpert wrote on Instagram Friday morning. “He was a true friend and extremely gifted musician who brought Brazilian music in all its iterations to the entire world with elegance [and] joy.”