Jan 17, 2017

RhoDeo 1703 Roots

Hello,

The music of Brazil encompasses various regional music styles influenced by African, European and Amerindian forms. After 500 years of history, Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as samba, bossa nova, MPB, sertanejo, pagode, tropicalia, choro, maracatu, embolada (coco de repente), mangue bit, funk carioca (in Brazil simply known as Funk), frevo, forró, axé, brega, lambada, and Brazilian versions of foreign musical genres, such as Brazilian rock and rap.


Today's artist is a Brazilian musician. He has over 55 releases, and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2012  Our man is married to Gracinha Leporace, who has performed with him since the early 1970s. Mendes has also collaborated with many artists through the years, including the Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his breakthrough hit "Mas Que Nada"..... N'Joy

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For most of the second half of the '60s, Sergio Mendes was the top-selling Brazilian artist in the United States, charting huge hit singles and LPs that regularly made the Top Five. His records with his group, Brasil '66, regularly straddled the domestic pop and international markets in America, getting played heavily on AM radio stations, both rock and easy listening, and he gave his label, A&M, something to offer light jazz listeners beyond the work of the company's co-founder, Herb Alpert. During this period, he also became an international music star and one of the most popular musicians in South America.

Dance Moderno Born the son of a physician in Niteroi, Brazil, Mendes began studying music at the local conservatory while still a boy, with the intention of becoming a classical pianist. He was living in Rio de Janeiro as the bossa nova craze hit in the mid- to late '50s, and at age 15, he abandoned classical music in favor of bossa nova. Mendes began spending time with other young Brazilian musicians in Rio de Janeiro, absorbing the musical ferment around him in the company of such figures as Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto. Their company was augmented by the periodic visits of American jazz giants such as Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Byrd, Paul Winter, Roy Eldridge, and Herbie Mann. Mendes became the leader of his own group, the Sexteto Bossa Rio, and was heard with them by many visiting musicians.

He made his first recording, Dance Moderno, in 1961 on the Philips Records label. By 1962, Mendes and his band were playing at Birdland in New York in an impromptu performance with Cannonball Adderley (who was officially on the bill). Mendes and Adderley cut an album together for Capitol Records that was released later that year.
Bossa Nova York His early music, represented on albums like Bossa Nova York and Girl from Ipanema, was heavily influenced by Antonio Carlos Jobim, on whose recording Mendes worked. Mendes liked what he had found on his visit to New York, and in 1964 he moved to the United States, initially to play on albums with Jobim and Art Farmer, and formed Brasil '65 the following year. The group recorded for Capitol without attracting too much notice at first. In 1966, however, Mendes and his band -- renamed Brasil '66 -- were signed to A&M Records and something seemed to click between the group and its audience.

Equinox The group, consisting in its first A&M incarnation of Mendes on keyboards, Bob Matthews on bass, João Palma on drums, Jose Soares as percussionist, Lani Hall (aka Mrs. Herb Alpert and A&M's co-founder) on vocals, and Janis Hansen on vocals, was successful upon the release of its first album for the label, with its mix of light jazz, a bossa nova beat, and contemporary soft pop melodies. Their self-titled debut LP rose to number six nationally, propelled by the presence of the single "Mas Que Nada." Their second album, Equinox, yielded a trio of minor hits, "Night and Day," "Constant Rain (Chove Chuva)," and "For Me," but their third, Look Around, rose to number five behind a number three single of the group's cover of the Beatles' "Fool on the Hill" and an accompanying hit with "Scarborough Fair," based on the Simon & Garfunkel version of the folk song. Crystal Illusions, from 1969, featured a version of Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and the hit single "Pretty World." Depending upon one's sensibilities, these covers -- especially "Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair" -- were either legitimate, internationalized pop versions of the originals, or they were "elevator music."

During this period, Mendes also made several recordings for Atlantic Records separate from his A&M deal, principally aimed at a light jazz audience, and several of them in association with Jobim. Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Hubert Laws, and Claire Fisher were among the jazz figures who appeared on these records, which never remotely attracted the same level of interest or sales as his records with Brasil '66. Mendes successfully walked a fine line between international and domestic audiences for most of the late '60s until the end of the decade. Ye-Me-Le was notably less successful than its predecessors, and its single, "Wichita Lineman," was only a minor hit. Mendes seemed to lose his commercial edge with the turn of the decade, and his next two A&M albums: Stillness, a folk-based collection that contained covers of Joni Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning" and Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth," and Primal Roots, an album of traditional Brazilian music, failed to make any impression on the charts whatsoever.

The group moved to the much smaller Bell Records label in 1973, and then Mendes jumped to Elektra for his first official solo album, Sergio Mendes. He relaunched his recording career two years later with Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77 to little avail, and then, after a five-year layoff from the public eye, Mendes returned to A&M in 1982. His 1983 comeback album, Sergio Mendes, was his first Top 40 album in nearly a decade and a half, and was accompanied by his biggest chart single ever, "Never Gonna Let You Go," which hit number four. Since then, Mendes has had limited chart success with the single "Alibis" and the LP Confetti. He remained a popular figure internationally, even when his record sales slumped in America, as evidenced by the fact that his entire A&M catalog (and much of his Atlantic work) from the '60s has been reissued on CD in Japan. Indeed, his popularity in the rest of the world, versus America, was even the basis for a comic vignette in one episode of the television series Seinfeld.

During the '90s, Mendes performed with a new group, Brasil '99, and more recently, Brasil 2000, and has been integrating the sounds of Bahian hip-hop into his music. In 1997, A&M's British division released a remastered double-CD set of the best of Mendes' music from his first seven years on the label. Most of Mendes' back catalog was reissued as the 21st century dawned, and in 2006, Concord Records released Timeless, his first album of newly recorded material in eight years. A mere two years later, Encanto appeared, including co-productions from will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas. A third album on Concord, Bom Tempo, was released in 2010. After appearances at numerous festivals and a global tour, Mendes took a short break before beginning to record again. He signed to Sony's revived OKeh imprint and cut a completely new set of songs in Los Angeles, Salvador, and Bahia, with a host of special guests and old friends, including John Legend, will.i.am., and Brazilian artists such as Carlinhos Brown, with whom he cut the first single, "One Nation," issued on One Love, One Rhythm: The 2014 FIFA World Cup Official Album. Mendes' album Magic was released in September.

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Equinox continues the scrumptiously winning sound that Sergio Mendes cooked up in the mid-'60s, this time a bit more fleshed out with John Pisano's guitar, a slightly thicker texture, and even an imitation sitar (this was, after all, 1967). Again, the mix of American pop tunes old and new and Brazilian standards and sleepers is impeccable (although it didn't yield any substantial hits), and the treatments are smooth, swinging, and very much to the point. While Mendes reaps a predictable harvest from Antonio Carlos Jobim -- he was one of the first to discover and record "Triste" and "Wave" -- he also likes to explore the work of other outstanding Brazilian writers like Jorge Ben, Joao Gilberto, and especially Edu Lobo (whose "For Me," with its bright flashes of combo organ, is one of the album's highlights). Lani Hall's star was just rising at this time, and it is her cool, clear voice that haunts the memory most often. Like its predecessor, Equinox is exceedingly brief in duration, yet not a motion is wasted.



Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77 - Pais Tropical (flac  222mb)

01 País Tropical 2:42
02 So Many People 3:20
03 Morro Velho 4:24
04 Zanzibar 4:55
05 Tonga (A Tonga da Mironga Do Kabulete) 4:25
06 Gone Forever 3:35
07 Asa Branca 2:15
08 I Know You 4:07
09 After Midnight 4:36
10 Pais Toropical(Japanese Version) 2:36

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77 - Pais Tropical    (ogg  84mb)

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In the mid- to late '60s, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 were one of the most successful acts doing stark Latin pop for A&M. By the early '70s, the members of the classic Brasil '66 lineup had moved on and styles had changed. Mendes ended up on Elektra/Asylum in the mid- to late '70s, when the label was best-known for its laid-back and polished pop/rock artists like Carly Simon, the Eagles, and Jackson Browne. For this 1977 set, Mendes didn't pick up an acoustic guitar and sign on Waddy Watchel, however. Sergio Mendes & the New Brasil '77 has Mendes in a fully updated, glossy R&B/pop/jazz mode. For fans that might not be the best news. The covers of "Love Me Tomorrow" and "Mozambique" have all of the accoutrements of stylish late-'70s R&B/jazz and most of their facelessness. The sleek cover of "If You Leave Me Now" does have Mendes' trademark close, halting harmonies, and an inventive arrangement. Stevie Wonder contributes two B+ tracks, "Love City" and "The Real Thing," and both warmly bear his harmonic signatures. Players who were part of Wonder's great '70s band Wonderlove also contribute tracks, like the aforementioned "Mozambique" and the playful "P-Ka-Boo." Like many artists doing albums like this, Mendes all but disappears in the gloss of the mix. The results are fair to good, but anyone liking his '60s work can't help but feel disappointed.



Sergio Mendes e The New Brasil 77   (flac  207mb)

01 Love Me Tomorrow 3:30
02 Love City 3:32
03 Mozambique 3:02
04 If You Leave Me Now 3:50
05 Penninsula 2:14
06 Why 3:29
07 The Real Thing 4:45
08 P-Ka-Boo 3:56
09 Life 3:53

Sergio Mendes e The New Brasil 77      (ogg   78mb)

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At long last, Sergio Mendes seemed to be getting a bit weary of the constant chore of chasing hits in the North American pop field, and the siren call of his native Brazil beckoned. So while the overall sound of Arara remains mostly stuck in Mendes' '80s dance-pop manner, the material is all Brazilian and the CD is sometimes open to more complex rhythms than what Mendes had been using since the mid-'70s. In other words, this is not far away from the concept that The Manhattan Transfer tried on its Brasil album, but not nearly as bold nor as moving. As in the '60s, Mendes draws from the top of the deck of Brazilian writers -- Ivan Lins, Djavan, Milton Nascimento, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Dori Caymmi -- for material. There is also a remake from the Brasil '66 days, a "Mas Que Nada" electronically updated for the end of the '80s -- a little stiffer, perhaps, but the tune shines through anyway. Though only a partial return to Brazil, this record nevertheless signaled a welcome trend in Mendes' work, where he would return more and more to his roots in the future.



Sergio Mendes - Arara (flac 260mb)

01 Sarara (Bring Me The Sunlight) 4:00
02 Mas Que Nada 3:50
03 Some Morning 3:46
04 Nightlife 3:37
05 Cinnamon And Clove (Cravo E Canela) 3:30
06 Balafon 3:28
07 Surrender 4:21
08 Keep This Heart 3:28
09 Toucan's Dance (Instrumental) 3:48
10 The Island 3:37

Sergio Mendes - Arara    (ogg  95mb)

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What 1989's Arara hinted at, 1991's Brasileiro delivers with a vengeance, for at long last, here is a genuine, back-to-Brazil tour de force by expatriate Mendes. Taking up the long-abandoned thread of his prophetic Primal Roots album of 1972, Mendes went back to the taproots of his heritage, calling upon a plethora of explosive Brazilian rhythms and sounds recorded mostly in Brazil. Though he returned to California to pile on additional tracks from L.A. sessionmen and give the production a finished sheen, there is no sense of any watering down; the thrust of the music bears the added weight and polish easily. With the rat-a-tat opening of thunderous Bahian-influenced percussion from the streets of Rio, "Fanfarra (Cabua-Le-Le)" gets the CD off to a tremendous start, and "Magalenha" continues the assault directly from the hands of Bahian percussionists. Energetic fusions of this and that abound on this recording. Combining forro and samba reggae with Indiado stomps and shouts (the convincing horn riffs are performed on synths), "What Is This" -- good question -- is a romping Bahian take on hip-hop, and "Kalimba" grafts Portuguese vocals onto a swinging American funk groove. Mendes once again draws upon the giants and comers of Brazilian songwriting -- Ivan Lins, Gilberto Gil, Joao Bosco, Carlinhos Brown, and Guinga -- and the unusual 3/4-meter samba "Pipoca" is the creation of do-everything mystery man Hermeto Pascoal. Dominating the signature Mendes vocal blend is Gracinha Leporace (Mrs. Mendes), who sounds more vibrant than ever on these tracks, and bassist Sebastian Neto also returns to the Mendes fold. This was Mendes' most electrifying album in at least two decades; you have to go back all the way to -- well -- Primal Roots to hear this artist operating at such a peak.



Sergio Mendes - Brasileiro     (flac  353mb)

01 Fanfarra (Cabua-le-le) 4:01
02 Magalenha 3:37
03 Indiado 4:16
04 What Is This? 4:44
05 Lua Soberana 4:13
06 Sambadouro 3:15
07 Senhoras Do Amazonas 4:40
08 Kalimba 4:18
09 Barabare 3:23
10 Esconjuros 3:39
11 Pipoca 3:09
12 Magano 4:34
13 Chorado 3:23
14 Fanfarra (Despedida) 0:29

Sergio Mendes - Brasileiro      (ogg   137mb)

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2 comments:

Guitarradeplastico,scraping oddities said...

many thanks

mr8382004 said...

many thanks for all these Sergio Mendes posts, btw do you have his albums Brasil 86 and Brasil 88?
thanks