Bossa nova ‘Mas Que Nada’ star Sergio Mendes dead at 83

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian music legend Sergio Mendes, who helped catapult bossa nova onto the global stage in the 1960s with hits including “Mas Que Nada”, died in Los Angeles at the age of 83, his family said on Friday.

Mendes’ family said the composer and pianist “passed away peacefully” Thursday at his home, surrounded by his wife and children.

“For the last several months, his health had been challenged by the effects of long-term COVID,” the statement added.

The three-time Grammy winner, who trained as a classical pianist, arrived on the scene as bossa nova — Brazil’s silky mix of samba and jazz — was taking the world by storm, popularised by Joao Gilberto’s “The Girl From Ipanema” among other hits.

Mendes’s mastery of jazz brought him to the attention of American saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, who chose the Brazilian’s group “Sexteto Rio” to record his album “Cannonball’s Bossa Nova” in 1963.

Three years later, Mendes became an international sensation in his own right with his album “Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66”, which featured the now legendary “Mas Que Nada” — his adaptation of a Jorge Ben standard.

Throughout his career, Mendes skillfully blended samba rhythms and jazz grooves with bossa nova harmonies and Californian pop to produce a deceptively simple but hugely popular style dismissed by some as “easy listening”.

He recorded more than 35 albums in total and toured with some of America’s jazz greats, including Frank Sinatra.

‘Very curious’ 

Mendes was the Brazilian with the most songs (14) in the Top 100 of the US charts, according to the Brazilian presidency.

In 1993, he received the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album for “Brasileiro”, which included several compositions by his compatriot Carlinhos Brown.

Two decades later, the pair was nominated for an Oscar for the song “Real in Rio” from the animated film “Rio”.

“Rest in peace, dear genius,” Brazilian music legend Milton Nascimento, one of the first celebrities to react to Mendes’s death, wrote on Instagram.

“We had many years of friendship, collaborations and music,” Nascimento added.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva extended condolences to Mendes’s loved ones and fans, adding: “He was one of the greatest exponents and disseminators of our music and culture in the world.”

Black Eyed Peas singer Will.i.am paid tribute to Mendes on Instagram, where he posted a photo of the two of them and the message: “An eternal friendship”.

The American group had recorded a remix of “Mas Que Nada” in 2006, introducing the song to a new generation.

Mendes continued touring as recently as 2023, playing gigs in Paris, London and Barcelona.

In a 2014 AFP interview in Paris, he described himself as “very curious” and stressed that his musical influences were distinctly Brazilian.

“In Brazil, we have great cultural and musical diversity, ranging from the music of Bahia and Rio de Janeiro to classical music and African rhythms,” he said.

Mendes is survived by his wife and musical partner of over half-a-century, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, and five children.