Sergio Plays Chicago Wednesday

[Steve Sidoruk]

suntimes


Bossa nova legend Sergio Mendes winning over new generations


BY LAURA EMERICk
Staff Reporter/[email protected]
Last Modified: Jun 25, 2012 02:15AM

Sergio Mendes, the Brazilian icon who helped define the sound of summer as part of the ’60s bossa nova wave, first encountered Chicago in a completely different season: the dead of winter.
“Oh, it was so cold, it was in the middle of February, in either 1965 or 1964, I’ll never forget it,” said the pianist-composer-arranger, 71, who will perform Wednesday at Ravinia. “For a guy from Rio like me, Chicago really made an impression.”
While in the Windy City, Mendes also met singer Lani Hall, a Chicago native who would become an integral part of his hugely popular and era-defining group, Brasil ’66. It set American pop to Latin/bossa nova/jazz arrangements for hits such as “The Look of Love,” “Goin’ Out of My Head” and “The Fool on the Hill.”
Hall was singing at the Old Town club Mother Blues, where Mendes also was performing. After meeting Hall, he got the idea for Brasil ’66. “I loved the concept of having two lead female vocalists; it set us apart from other groups,” he said in a phone interview last week. “Then I decided that along with recording Brazilian songs, we also would arrange well-known songs by Burt Bacharach, the Beatles, and Simon & Garfunkel, and put them into a Brazilian groove. So I owe a lot to Chicago and have lots of great memories about my experiences here.”
Last year marked Mendes’ 50th anniversary in the business, and he doesn’t intend to retire anytime soon. To mark the occasion, he released the two-disc career retrospective “Celebration” (Verve/Universal). He also picked up his first-ever Oscar nomination for the song “Real in Rio,” from the animated film “Rio” (2011).
“I feel I’ve been really blessed and really lucky to still be around,” he said. “For me, every day is a new experience. I think I’ve lasted so long because I’m very curious. I’ve always liked trying different things.”
That explains his career resurgence a decade ago, when he came out of semi-retirement after will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas invited Mendes to perform on “Sexy” from the group’s disc “Elephunk” (2003). Then will.i.am recruited contemporary tastemakers Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Q-Tip and Jill Scott to appear on “Timeless” (2006), Mendes’ first studio disc since 1996. “It was a great experience and a surprise to learn that they all really love Brazilian music,” he said. “It’s beautiful to see how Brazil music has such an international appeal.”
After his current tour, which begins at Ravinia (where he last played in 1968!), Mendes will start on his next studio disc and the music for “Rio 2.” “I’ve never produced the music for a movie before, so I’m really excited about this project,” he said. “The director [Carlos Saldanha, who also helmed ‘Rio’] is a Brazilian, so of course we hit it off.”
As for his next disc, he’s not sure yet of its direction, but “it’s all about great songs that stay in their heart,” he said. “It’s melodies that have made Brazilian music so important — for the last 50 years, and for me, I hope, many more years to come.”

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/13388180-421/bossa-nova-legend-wows-new-generations.html
Copyright © 2012 — Sun-Times Media, LLC

 

[Mr Bill]

Whew! When I first saw the headline I thought maybe he was going to do a bossa version of "25 or 6 to 4." Upon deeper reflection that wouldn't've been so bad...

 

[Bobberman]

Its great to see mendes still performing and recording like alpert hes blessed with the gift of longevity and who knows if mendes had not been in chicago the first time we would not have been blessed with lani halls superb voice and talent.and brasil66-onward in my opinion would have been an entirely different situation.

 

[Harry]

Here's the review of that show from the Chicago Tribune dated June 29th, 2012:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...s-20120629_1_sergio-mendes-ramsey-lewis-music

Sergio Mendes and Ramsey Lewis take fresh looks at jazz
June 29, 2012|Howard Reich | Arts critic
The 1960s never really go away, at least not musically, the latest evidence arriving Wednesday night at the Ravinia Festival, in Highland Park, courtesy of Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes.
Many listeners remember that era from its social and political upheavals, as well as its rock-and-roll ferment. But there was another, less turbulent sound – the music of Mendes and his Brasil '66 (and his work thereafter). Steeped in Brazilian rhythm and sensibility but made easily accessible for the uninitiated, Mendes' music fell gently on the ear, its ethereal textures and joyous spirit a balm in troubled times.

Roughly half a century later that music has lost none of its ability to ease tension and brighten mood, though Mendes has put more tone and heft to it than one remembers from long ago. Or at least the large ensemble he led from the keyboard at Ravinia showed a good deal of muscle, the sound full, the voices big, the instrumentals nearly rambunctious.

Mendes does not view the Brazilian music and aesthetic he helped popularize, in other words, as a delicate, soft-hued postcard from white sandy beaches. To him, this music carries urgency and drive and the passion of discovery. Though some of this approach diminished the sensual beauty of these classic works (the evening's over-amplification did not help), there was no questioning the vitality of Mendes' approach or the durability of the music itself.

Surely every Brazilian lounge band in America plays "Waters of March" before last call, but Mendes' version – with three exuberant female vocalists and an array of percussion – was more jubilant than most. With impetuous tempo and richly contrapuntal scoring, Mendes seemed to be saying there's more to this piece than the elevator-music cliche to which Brazilian music often is reduced. These waters rarely have rushed so forcefully.

Similarly, in period pieces such as "The Look of Love" and "Fool on the Hill," which Mendes' Brasil '66 famously had covered, the musicians avoided nostalgia in favor of robust, full-blooded performances. Too bad, though, that Mendes attempted to update songs such as "Agua de Beber" and "Mas Que Nada" with a thoroughly gratuitous rapper. Like all substantive music, Mendes' need make no concessions to later trends and seems silly (at best) when doing so.

Ramsey Lewis, Ravinia's artistic director of jazz, opened the evening leading what he calls his Electric Band, and as its name implies, the ensemble did sometimes drift into the bland pastures of smooth jazz (too smooth, in fact).

But for the most part, Lewis presided over strong, sometimes striking work. He opened with a two-fisted version of "Wade in the Water" and followed with the poignant melody of "Love Song," which very nearly succumbed to a dreary, New Age instrumental backdrop.

Yet Lewis redeemed himself (very nearly, anyway), with an elegantly conceived pairing of John Coltrane's "Dear Lord" and Lewis' "Blessings." Both works address spirituality, and Lewis, to his credit, did not indulge in sacred-music platitudes. Instead, he offered an extended contemplation on the subject, his solos practically Schumannesque in their use of melody and arpeggiated accompaniment, his ensemble passages slow, understated and at times sublime.

Lewis' duets with bassist Joshua Ramos stood out, the two producing a serene musical dialogue that helped clear the palette after the lite-jazz meanderings that preceded it.

[email protected]
Twitter @howardreich

Harry

 

[Rudy]

Had it not been so far away, this would have been an ideal gig: Ramsey Lewis is a favorite of mine as of late, although I've liked "Sun Goddess" and "Tequila Mockingbird" for decades. And I grew up spinning Brasil '66 rekkids. Great pairing.