Concert in Scottsdale
- Thread starter Sandra
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Hi Sandra!
Sergio's vocalists depend on a couple of factors -- one of them being his 11-year-old son, Tiago. Let me explain...
If it's a school week for Tiago, Gracinha will usually stay in Los Angeles -- she won't perform. In her place would be Jessica Taylor on lead vocals, along with Dawn Bishop. Of course, if Tiago isn't in school, Gracinha sings lead along with Jessica and Dawn. Also depends on the size of the venue. Sometimes he only needs two singers as opposed to three.
In other words, last year at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco, he had Kevyn Lettau (in a special guest appearance), Jessica Taylor and Dawn Bishop. At the Blue Note in New York (over the Thanksgiving Holiday) he had Gracinha and Jessica. In Las Vegas a couple of months ago, it was Gracinha, Jessica and Dawn. Hard to keep up at times, but this is his current line-up.
I know what you mean about not being able to get enough of Sergio's music...I've seen him perform well over 30 times! I guess that's why they call me the Brasil Nut!!!
Jon
...getting his singers (as opposed to ducks) in a row, online...
Sergio's vocalists depend on a couple of factors -- one of them being his 11-year-old son, Tiago. Let me explain...
If it's a school week for Tiago, Gracinha will usually stay in Los Angeles -- she won't perform. In her place would be Jessica Taylor on lead vocals, along with Dawn Bishop. Of course, if Tiago isn't in school, Gracinha sings lead along with Jessica and Dawn. Also depends on the size of the venue. Sometimes he only needs two singers as opposed to three.
In other words, last year at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco, he had Kevyn Lettau (in a special guest appearance), Jessica Taylor and Dawn Bishop. At the Blue Note in New York (over the Thanksgiving Holiday) he had Gracinha and Jessica. In Las Vegas a couple of months ago, it was Gracinha, Jessica and Dawn. Hard to keep up at times, but this is his current line-up.
I know what you mean about not being able to get enough of Sergio's music...I've seen him perform well over 30 times! I guess that's why they call me the Brasil Nut!!!
Jon
...getting his singers (as opposed to ducks) in a row, online...
Sergio cancelled? That's a shame! 
I recall a cancellation of many years ago...
It was a Brasil '88 concert at the Concord Pavillion back in the mid '80s. I bought the tickets, picked up my date and even called the venue for directions. We ended up being turned away by the parking attendant, who told us the concert had been cancelled. We were less than thrilled, but figured Sergio must have had good reason to cancel on short notice. It couldn't have been poor ticket sales...hoards of cars were turned away.
I'm sure he'll be back to Scottsdale again. Sorry to hear the bad news.
Jon
I recall a cancellation of many years ago...
It was a Brasil '88 concert at the Concord Pavillion back in the mid '80s. I bought the tickets, picked up my date and even called the venue for directions. We ended up being turned away by the parking attendant, who told us the concert had been cancelled. We were less than thrilled, but figured Sergio must have had good reason to cancel on short notice. It couldn't have been poor ticket sales...hoards of cars were turned away.
I'm sure he'll be back to Scottsdale again. Sorry to hear the bad news.
Jon
Sergio had scheduled a date here a couple of years ago (I think it was the week after Xmas, 2001), and cancelled. Double-bill with Gato Barbieri, which would have been great. Thing is, the tickets were way overpriced, especially for Detroit...I believe they were $400 for the best seats. Even the Stones didn't charge anywhere near that much for their best seats. Greedy local promoters, maybe? And that was even before the Ticketmaster fees!
Rudy said:
You know me, Neil. I love Jazz. It runs throughout my soul. Then there's Gato Barbieri...we saw him at the now-defunct Circle Star back in the '80s. He was absolutely shrill. I don't know if it was the sound system or what, but it put our teeth on edge. We cringed throughout the performance. Another stinker was the vocalist (I'm referring to the lead, because there were three) who sang "Odara"...yipe!
She was definitely NO Lani Hall.I've had people say that Klemmer is just as shrill as Barbieri. I don't agree. I've seen Klemmer two or three times and he was always enjoyable.
I think a lot of it has to do with the sound system itself. Regardless, our experience convinced us that Gato Barbieri is best left to records and CDs.
Rudy said:
Whoa! $400? Yipe again!! Could it have been a benefit? The most we've paid for Mendes tix was something like $100 for a Vegas performance, and that's because Dad took the entire family. (This was back in the days of Brasil '77). Then again, we did pay $100 -- $48.00 per person -- for his recent Suncoast performance back in March.
I did attend a charity performance at the Beverly Hills Hotel a couple of years ago. There were several performers other than Sergio; one of them being Jack Jones -- a former Guest of mine from Walt Disney World. Jack and I had become fast friends -- he visited Walt Disney World often with is lovely wife, Kim, and daughter Nicole. Although we contributed to the charity, Jack arranged our seats at no charge. Regardless, that show would have cost (I think) something like $500 a plate -- just $100 less than Detroit!
Jon
...saying "WHATEVER" to greedy concert promoters, online...
No, our Mendes concert was no benefit...except for the promoter and the concert hall.
Gato has an edgy growl to his sound...in the wrong hands, it could be painful to listen to in concert. David Sanborn is another example--I have seen him three times, and for two of those, my ears were ringing after the show. First time was at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, which is a hard plaster venue...the engineers seemed to have cranked up the EQ to make his tone even more piercing. The absolute worst was at Chene Park last summer--the venue is shaped like a partly-open clamshell, and has a reverb decay of at least six seconds. For Yellowjackets, engineer Geoff Gillette could only do so much to overcome the bad sound; for Sanborn, the engineers just compensated by cranking up the volume even higher, which just made the ears distort! How bad? In some cases, it took me a minute or more to recognize which song was being played.
NP: Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall..."it ain't too bad the way you're usin' me cuz I sure am using you to do the things you do"...
Gato has an edgy growl to his sound...in the wrong hands, it could be painful to listen to in concert. David Sanborn is another example--I have seen him three times, and for two of those, my ears were ringing after the show. First time was at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, which is a hard plaster venue...the engineers seemed to have cranked up the EQ to make his tone even more piercing. The absolute worst was at Chene Park last summer--the venue is shaped like a partly-open clamshell, and has a reverb decay of at least six seconds. For Yellowjackets, engineer Geoff Gillette could only do so much to overcome the bad sound; for Sanborn, the engineers just compensated by cranking up the volume even higher, which just made the ears distort! How bad? In some cases, it took me a minute or more to recognize which song was being played.
NP: Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall..."it ain't too bad the way you're usin' me cuz I sure am using you to do the things you do"...
Sergio cancelled a 4th of July concert years ago at the local waterfront arena & there weren't too many happle people either. I believe Grover Washington appeared in his place. What's up with Sergio & his frequent cancellations? Tiago isn't the only Mendes child in school, There's Isabela who is 16 or 17. Bernardo & Rodrigo are Sergio's sons from his first marriage with Marci, they're in the late 30s. Gustavo, I'm not too sure about his age. Gustavo is the son that Sergio had dedicated his Arara album to.
Hi Kevin! 
I don't think Sergio's cancellations are based on the children, per se. When I mentioned Tiago's school schedule, it was in reference to whether Gracinha would appear as a vocalist -- not if he would cancel. Many have been the time when I've seen him without Gracinha in attendance -- there was Sacramento when he introduced the Brasil 2000 group with Carol Rogers and Frances Benitez; Kimbell's East with Marietta Waters, Carol Rogers and Kevyn Lettau; Flint Center, three days following the September 11th attacks with Carol Rogers and Jessica Taylor, and his most recent New York appearance with Jessica Taylor and Dawn Bishop.
Rarely have I ever seen Sergio cancel (save for the event I had mentioned earlier in the thread, and that was many years ago.)
If he ever had reason to cancel, it would have been following the September 11th attacks. Instead, he got himself a tour van, hit the road, showed up a couple of hours before the show, rehearsed with the San Jose Symphony Orchestra and put on a great show. He began that evening by saying, "I know our country is going through a dark difficult time right now. However, music is the international language of love, and that's why we're here tonight -- to get together through music with it's healing powers..." With that, they did (as I said before) one heck of a great show. Carol Rogers cried while singing "So Many Stars," especially when she got to the phrase, "...so many hearts, so many smiles..." A great evening was had by all -- an opportunity to put World Events on hold for a little while. The theater was a sell-out that evening. I attended the event with Brandon Bergeron, a friend and fellow Cornerite.
I don't know why Sergio has cancelled some of his shows as of late. I do know that he's been on a regular touring schedule for well over two years. Otherwise, it could have something to do with promoters, etc. Hard to tell, but it definitely isn't related to whether Tiago, Gustavo or any of the other kids are in school.
Jon
...trying to get the Mendes/Leporace children in order, online...
I don't think Sergio's cancellations are based on the children, per se. When I mentioned Tiago's school schedule, it was in reference to whether Gracinha would appear as a vocalist -- not if he would cancel. Many have been the time when I've seen him without Gracinha in attendance -- there was Sacramento when he introduced the Brasil 2000 group with Carol Rogers and Frances Benitez; Kimbell's East with Marietta Waters, Carol Rogers and Kevyn Lettau; Flint Center, three days following the September 11th attacks with Carol Rogers and Jessica Taylor, and his most recent New York appearance with Jessica Taylor and Dawn Bishop.
Rarely have I ever seen Sergio cancel (save for the event I had mentioned earlier in the thread, and that was many years ago.)
If he ever had reason to cancel, it would have been following the September 11th attacks. Instead, he got himself a tour van, hit the road, showed up a couple of hours before the show, rehearsed with the San Jose Symphony Orchestra and put on a great show. He began that evening by saying, "I know our country is going through a dark difficult time right now. However, music is the international language of love, and that's why we're here tonight -- to get together through music with it's healing powers..." With that, they did (as I said before) one heck of a great show. Carol Rogers cried while singing "So Many Stars," especially when she got to the phrase, "...so many hearts, so many smiles..." A great evening was had by all -- an opportunity to put World Events on hold for a little while. The theater was a sell-out that evening. I attended the event with Brandon Bergeron, a friend and fellow Cornerite.
I don't know why Sergio has cancelled some of his shows as of late. I do know that he's been on a regular touring schedule for well over two years. Otherwise, it could have something to do with promoters, etc. Hard to tell, but it definitely isn't related to whether Tiago, Gustavo or any of the other kids are in school.
Jon
...trying to get the Mendes/Leporace children in order, online...
Rudy said:
hehehe!!!
Rudy said:
Yeah, Sanborn can be ear-piercing, agreed. We saw him at the Circle Star also. When my brother-in-law was the talent manager at a local club here in San Jose, The Cabaret, Sanborn's show was much more tolerable. As you say, depends on the sound system. I don't know why the engineers have to "crank up the volume" that way, especially for a concert featuring a saxophonist!
Jon
...with ears ringing, online...
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