Brasil 66 Mini BIOs

[Rio Gal]

Hello EVERYBody. There seems to be some confusion in this forum about birthdates, especially about Lani Hall & Karen Phillipp. I am going to provide the CORRECT birthdates of several B66 members. Sergio Mendes:2-11-41 Lani Hall:11-01-45 Karen Philipp:9-21-46 Sebastiao Neto: 11-05-31 Laudir de oliveira; 6-06-48 Claudio slon: 11-14-43 Dom um Romao: 8-3-25. Sorry folks, I do Not have the birthdates for Gracinha Leporace, Joao Palma, Janis Hasen, or Rubens Bassini.

 

[JMK]

I'm curious where you got your info, specifically on Lani. I had her birthyear as 1946, but others have it as late as 1948. I'm curious about your birthyear since every press release about Lani states she was "still a teenager" when she met Sergio for the first time in late 1965/early 1966 in Chicago. With your reckoning, she would have already been 20.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

I'm curious where you got your info, specifically on Lani. I had her birthyear as 1946, but others have it as late as 1948. I'm curious about your birthyear since every press release about Lani states she was "still a teenager" when she met Sergio for the first time in late 1965/early 1966 in Chicago. With your reckoning, she would have already been 20.

According to the forum, Lani was born in 1948...I'll go with that...


Dan

 

[Rio Gal]

Let me tell you that the press isn't always right, nor is the press always truthful about the stories they tell. I used to live in L.A. and my roommate was dating a member of Sergio's band, his bassist. I got Lani's real birthdate from an INSIDE source. My roomate & I met Sergio and the band after a concert many many years ago and we had a HECK of a great time. So if you nimrods choose to believe everything the press says, then you are ignorant, naive, narrowminded, and STUPID. Why don't you get off the forum, walk to the 7-11, and buy all of the trashy ta bloids!!!!

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Let me tell you that the press isn't always right, nor is the press always truthful about the stories they tell. I used to live in L.A. and my roommate was dating a member of Sergio's band, his bassist. I got Lani's real birthdate from an INSIDE source. My roomate & I met Sergio and the band after a concert many many years ago and we had a HECK of a great time. So if you nimrods choose to believe everything the press says, then you are ignorant, naive, narrowminded, and STUPID. Why don't you get off the forum, walk to the 7-11, and buy all of the trashy ta bloids!!!!

Why don't you tell us how you REALLY feel? And, while we're at it...what the heck is a "ta bloid"? It sounds like the sound I made during my last trumpet solo in jazz band in high school, when I accidentally banged my music stand with my Bach Strad 37...why is this so important to you?


Dan, saying..."Get a life..."

 

[Jilanha]

Let me tell you that the press isn't always right, nor is the press always truthful about the stories they tell. So if you nimrods choose to believe everything the press says, then you are ignorant, naive, narrowminded, and STUPID. Why don't you get off the forum, walk to the 7-11, and buy all of the trashy ta bloids!!!!

Hey Miss Rio Gal! CHILL OUT OR GET OUT!! Yes, you are right about the press not being always truthful about their stories, HOWEVER it 's totally UNNECESSARY for you to insult this forum by calling us stupid.But some people on here are ignorant and a few people on here are arrogant. However MOST of the folks are nice on the forum. Did you have a bad day today dear? Awww..... TOO BAD!


Why don't you tell us how you REALLY feel? And, while we're at it...what the heck is a "ta bloid"? It sounds like the sound I made during my last trumpet solo in jazz band in high school, when I accidentally banged my music stand with my Bach Strad 37...why is this so important to you?


Dan, saying..."Get a life..."

AND YOU DAN- our friend Rio Gal had meant to type TABLOID. It's obvious she's had a bad day, can't you tell? She can't even type right. You're not helping matters by saying "Get a life." Rio Gal was pretty generous for sharing her knowledge with us.

 

[Paula]

I recall reading an article from a January, 1974, edition of the Los Angeles Times reporting that Mr. Alpert and Ms. Hall had taken out a marriage licence. In the article, Mr. Alpert's age was cited as 38 and Ms. Hall's as 28. This would suppport the 1945 birth year for Ms. Hall.

Paula

 

[Rudy]

So if you nimrods choose to believe everything the press says, then you are ignorant, naive, narrowminded, and STUPID. Why don't you get off the forum, walk to the 7-11, and buy all of the trashy ta bloids!!!!

I don't know folks...I think Rio Gal just wore out her welcome. Rio Gal--your account has been suspended until further notice. Please re-read our forum rules and conduct yourself in an adult manner. Specifically the section about personal attacks on other members. We also ask that you not register with a yahoo.com or hotmail.com e-mail address.

And just FYI, we're closely watching one other member in this thread...see our forum FAQ section about duplicate accounts and see if it applies.

 

[W.B.]

I recall reading an article from a January, 1974, edition of the Los Angeles Times reporting that Mr. Alpert and Ms. Hall had taken out a marriage licence. In the article, Mr. Alpert's age was cited as 38 and Ms. Hall's as 28. This would suppport the 1945 birth year for Ms. Hall.

That would indeed make sense in the context you mentioned. And certainly I'd put my stock in the earlier year of birth in Ms. Hall's case, too. Only one question, though: Where did she and Ms. Philipp hail from originally? (If that isn't too much to ask.)

On the other end of the spectrum, however (and probably off-topic at that), is actress-dancer Ann Miller. It appears that for many years, her official biography actually added a few years to her birth date (I.I.N.M., given as 1919 instead of 1923). I remember reading in Groucho Marx's book, The Groucho Phile (long out of print), that Ms. Miller was, for all practical purposes, underage when she appeared in the 1938 Marx Brothers film Room Service. (And in a way, this would be pertinent, given Groucho's one-off A&M connection, what with his An Evening with Groucho LP. Which was released about roughly the same time period as Ms. Hall's solo debut Sun Down Lady.)

 

[Harry]

Over the years, I've learned to trust Paula in matters of Sergio Mendes/Lani Hall! So the 1945 date is likely true. Perhaps the 'signed with Mendes as a teenager' is a fabrication or urban legend. Or, she might have been 19 going on 20 at the time.

Harry
...about to head to work, online...

 

[JMK]

My, my, my--post an innocent question and open a can of worms! The "press" I referred to was not a ta bloid (I kind of like that--sounds like a word in Danish or something), but A&M's own releases about Lani, most of which quote Ms. Hall herself (who I can only surmise is the ultimate "insider" about herself ) stating "I was still a teenager when I met Sergio Mendes." The only reason I questioned 1945 (which one way or the other makes more sense than 1948--would she really have gone on tour with Sergio as a 17 year old?) was that most accounts have her meeting Sergio in 1966, which means she would have already turned 20. And Lani just doesn't seem vain enough to have shaved a year off her age for PR reasons.

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Over the years, I've learned to trust Paula in matters of Sergio Mendes/Lani Hall! So the 1945 date is likely true. Perhaps the 'signed with Mendes as a teenager' is a fabrication or urban legend. Or, she might have been 19 going on 20 at the time.

Harry
...about to head to work, online...

I'm with Harry. Paula is an authority on Mendes - her research goes deep into his roots. She's also an authority on Lani Hall - her favorite singer of all time. It's been said that Sergio approached Lani's parents to request permission for her to join the group, sign the contract, move to Los Angeles, etc. This would indicate that Lani was, indeed (as Harry said), 19 going on 20.

Jon...the "Brasil Nut"

 

[JMK]

Does anybody have any more info on Sergio & Lani's first meeting. The only direct reference in terms of date I have is in one of Lani's PR sheets from A&M where she states she met him in (supposedly early) 1966 when she was performing in a Chicago club (there is another A&M PR sheet where she states "I was still a teenager..." blah, blah, blah). Now with this birthyear info I'm guessing it must have been fall of 1965. Paula?

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I don't know folks...I think Rio Gal just wore out her welcome. Rio Gal--your account has been suspended until further notice. Please re-read our forum rules and conduct yourself in an adult manner.

HeeHee! Well, it's been some time since we've had a troublemaker pop in. I guess we were due. Ya gotta love the old "my friend dated somebody in the band" routine. But like most everyone else, if Paula has some info on Sergio - or any Brazilian act, for that matter - then that's good enough for me.


Capt. Bacardi
...now officially on vacation, online...

 

[Paula]

From what I have gathered from various sources (a video that Jon supplied featuring an interview of Herb & Lani prior to their San Francisco "Bullish" tour performance in 1984 and the Portuguese and English articles featured in the booklet that accompanied the GRANDES NOMES box set), the following should be close to the story of how Sergio and Lani hooked up.

Lani was performing at a nightclub in downtown Chicago (this gig started as a dare from a friend) when Sergio, whose Brasil '65 group was performing in the vacinity, stopped by and quickly determined that Lani would do well in the new configuration he was contemplating for his group. The newly reconfigured Mendes group, after some months of practicing, auditioned for A&M and were signed in either late 1965 or early 1966. And yes, this would fit the story of Lani joining up with Mendes as a teenager.

To respond to an earlier query, Lani Hall hails from Chicago, more specifically the Albany Park neighborhood, for which she named her 1982 album.

Paula

NP: MESTRE CAPIBA, Raphael Rabello e convidados

 

[W.B.]

Thanks for the tip.

Also . . . it's a shame that there's no biographical info to speak of on ex-B'66 vocalist Janis Hansen. By contrast, there is some info on the other Janis Hansen, the actress-turned-talent agent; according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), and based on what info there is here on the B'66/77/88 etc. members as shown on this thread, "that" Janis is about a year older than Sergio Mendes. (Or, to be more specific, the actress-turned-talent agent, according to such guide, was born June 14, 1940, in Celoron, N.Y.) Coincidentally, the actress began making appearances on episodic TV programs around the same time Mr. Mendes first spotted Ms. Hall, if not just prior -- and certainly before the vocalist Janis Hansen joined Brasil '66.

 

[JMK]

Janis, much like Lani with Sergio, was spotted by an NBC executive at one of her first gigs with a college band she was performing with, and before she knew it, she was a regular on the Andy Williams show. One of the dancers on that show was dating Sergio's manager and that connection fell into place. After she left Brasil '66, she of course went on to The Carnival, and then became "the voice of Ford" in a series of commercials in the early 70s. (Was that the era of "a better idea"?--trying to remember a jingle if there was one).

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Janis, much like Lani with Sergio, was spotted by an NBC executive at one of her first gigs with a college band she was performing with, and before she knew it, she was a regular on the Andy Williams show. One of the dancers on that show was dating Sergio's manager and that connection fell into place. After she left Brasil '66, she of course went on to The Carnival, and then became "the voice of Ford" in a series of commercials in the early 70s. (Was that the era of "a better idea"?--trying to remember a jingle if there was one).

So there we have it...Lani was discovered by Sergio while singing in a nightclub, Janis was hooked up through a social connection, Karen answered an ad in Variety (four months after graduating from Redlands University) and replaced Janis. That leaves Gracinha and the story of just exactly how she and Sergio met up. We know it had something to do with Bossa Rio. Question is, had Sergio met Gracinha long before this? Anyone know?

Jon...the "Brasil Nut"

 

[JMK]

Sergio & Gracinha go back to way before Bossa Rio, which I have from my "inside" source (little joke there, forgive me). Gracinha you have to remember was already a "known" commodity in Brasil, what with Grupo Manifesto and her guest appearances on Edu Lobo's Philips LP (which Sergio covered tunes from), among others. Plus remember the Oscar C-N connection with her own Philips album. The Brasilian music (or at least Bossa Nova) community was/is rather incestuous once you get to digging into the interrelationships. One of the surprising things I didn't know until just a couple of years ago was that Flora Purim was married to Dom um Romao before she hooked up with Airto!

 

[vinman37]

Hey this is getting pretty good! Let's keep it going. We know that Lani left the band to start her solo career. What about Karen? And how did Bonnie, Cruz, Carol and Marietta get into the picture?

Oh and how did Sergio meet Pele?

 

[Brasil_66_Fan]

Only one question, though: Where did she and Ms. Philipp hail from originally? (If that isn't too much to ask.)

According to a program from their summer '70 tour, Karen is a native of Abilene, Kansas, graduated from Redlands University in California, and holds a B.A. in literature & Russian(!) languages. One other notable quote from Sergio: "It doesn't matter at all where the female members of Brasil '66 come from. To me, Karen and Lani are like instruments - they could be saxophonists from Czechoslovakia. My main concern is the overall sound." Maybe some of the usual PR fabrication for the fans?

BTW, read somewhere years ago that Lani went to Bateman High School in Chicago - always wonder where that is/was every time I drive through it...

 

[Jilanha]

Even though Rio Gal has been suspended, I must say that she that provide the accurate birthdates for most of Brasil 66. Lani Hall wasn't born on November 1st though, her birthday is November 6. A&M records .com does list her birthyear as 1948. Laudir's birthdate might be wrong too. Most sources list Laudir DeOliveira's birthyear as 1940, while a couple have it listed as 1948.Rio Gal provided Sebastiao's birthdate correctly because I checked it for myself.I never knew his birthdate. Yes, Rio Gal was wrong, however she wasn't completely wrong. I would like to address that THE ODD COUPLE's Janis Hansen is NOT the Janis Hansen from Brasil 66.( I know that most of you already know this, but there's still a couple of you who still think both Janis's are the same person.) For future reference, I don't want to discuss THE ODD COUPLE, so ENOUGH ALREADY. This is Sergio Mendes's forum. For many years even I had beleived that both Janis's were the same person up until a year ago when I had actually seen Janis Hansen in THE ODD COUPLE. She looks nothing like Sergio's Janis.They don't even have the same EYECOLOR!

 

[bob knack]

Quote---BTW, read somewhere years ago that Lani went to Bateman High School in Chicago - always wonder where that is/was every time I drive through it...

I heard that Lani went to Roosevelt High but I didn't know anything about Newton Bateman Elementary. If she was born in '48, she was three years ahead of me. I graduated from there in '65. She was from the Albany Park Neighborhood which is a bit Northwest of Bateman. I didn't think she lived close enough to Bateman to be in that district. Wouldn't that be something if I came that close to knowing her and didn't!

Bateman is in the 4200 block of North Richmond Avenue a "side street", about 3000 West. The busy streets surrounding on four sides are California Ave. on the East, Kedzie Ave on the West, Irving Park Road on the South and Montrose Ave on the North. Around the corner on the 4100 block of Francisco is where I spent about 40 years of my life. Small World 'eh?

They built a new addition and the school yard where I played 16" Chicago softball every summer evening after school is now only a memory.

 

[W.B.]

All these discussions and discrepancies of Brasil '66ers' biographical info expostulated herein remind me of something in a paperback book I'd bought of assorted rock 'n' roll trivia that was published more than 20 years ago. One of the entries was of Herb Alpert, in which the book went on about such tidbits as his small role in The Ten Commandments, his co-writing Sam Cooke's hit "Wonderful World," and his son Dore being (in the words of the book) "named after the first two notes of the musical scale." Then it mentioned his being married to Ms. Hall, and the fact that she'd been in Brasil '66 -- but, inexplicably, referred to her as "Lani Alpert"! Which, while technically true, does not (to the best of my knowledge) jibe in terms of her post-'70's recorded output, credits-wise.

I wonder if any of you are familiar with this rock-trivia book I'm talking about . . .

 

[JMK]

Well, Lani does refer to herself as "Lani Alpert Hall" in the credits of several of her solo efforts, so that's almost right. I kept waiting for Herb to list himself as Herb Hall Alpert for his releases during those years.