"Brazilian music legend Sergio Mendes spins
his remarkable magic on his newest recording, Encanto (Enchantment),
which is among the maestro's most beautifully realized in his
unparalleled career. The collection refines Sergio's singular blend of
infectious rhythms and irresistible melodies from the great Brazilian
Songbook, with his always thoroughly modern arrangements and masterful
production approach. The resulting collection is a bona fide Sergio
Mendes classic--a kaleidoscopic album that underscores the maestro's
ear for addictive melodies, as well as his ability to cast incredibly
talented singers and musicians from all over the world.
"Every time I make a new record, it's a new adventure." explains the
affable Mendes from his Los Angeles home. "My main motivation," he
enthuses, "is to record wonderful songs. In the process, I enjoy
sharing with the world the diversity of Brazilian music-- both in terms
of rhythm and melody."
"This time, I wanted to go full circle. So I decided to begin this
journey in my homeland, Brazil. I traveled to Rio and Bahia, meeting a
number of old friends that I hadn't played with in quite a while.
There's a very special musically creative environment in Brazil, which
inspires me tremendously."
Mendes was still living in Brazil during the momentous era between the
late '50s and the early '60s when the samba-based bossa nova was born.
In fact, he was one of the first practitioners of the new genre,
together with composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, guitarist Joao Gilberto
and lyricist Vinicius de Moraes.
True to his desire to go back full circle, Mendes recorded four seminal
Jobim compositions: a hip-hop version of "Agua De Beber" with Toninho
Horta on guitar, Mendes' wife Gracinha Leporace on vocals, and the man
himself showcasing his instrumental chops on a bewitching Rhodes solo;
"Waters of March," which features Grammy nominated,super talented new
artist Ledisi; "Somewhere In The Hills," with vocals by none other than
Natalie Cole and Flugel Horn solo by great German jazz artist Till
Bronner; and "Dreamer," which marks the first time that former mentor
Herb Alpert actually plays the trumpet on a Sergio Mendes album, with
brilliant vocals by Lani Hall, Alpert's wife and the original lead
singer of Mendes' Brasil ‘66.
But the most daring cover in the entire album is a new version of Burt
Bacharach's "The Look Of Love," which Mendes had originally transposed
to bossa nova heaven in 1967, when it became his biggest hit with
Brasil '66. Produced by Black Eye Pea will.i.am, this new
interpretation maintains the beguiling melody of the original, bringing
the tune to new millennium territory: keeping Sergio's original bass
line intro, with crisp drum programming and a sexy rap/vocal by The
Black Eyed Peas' Fergie.
"I mentioned 'The Look Of Love' to Will. I was looking for a way to
re-do it, with a dance beat that I heard in Brazil(which is very
popular, nowadays, with young people down there) which I thought would
be great for the song. Will loved the idea and suggested Fergie to sing
it. On Timeless, we had reworked 'Mas Que Nada', presenting it in a
different way, and it became an international hit. This time, we did
'The Look Of Love', 40 years later.
will.i.am's enthusiasm should not come as a surprise. Growing up in Los
Angeles, he collected Mendes' original bossa nova classics on vinyl and
was influenced by his smooth, pan-Latin approach to creating dance
music with sophisticated arrangements and production values. Their 2006
collaboration Timeless distilled the exhilarating feelings that
will.i.am experienced recording an album with his longtime idol.
Serious Mendes aficionados will recognize Carlinhos Brown as the
principal songwriter on Brasileiro, the seminal 1992 session that saw
Mendes changing gears and exploring Bahian rhythms and sounds. A
virtuoso percussionist, singer and songwriter, Brown has become famous
for his funky song structures and deep percussion textures. "Funky
Bahia," the song he co-wrote with will.i.am for this CD, is a perfect
cross between American mainstream and Brazilian sensibility--the kind
of multi-cultural encounters that the jazz loving Mendes has always
favored. It's sung by Will and Siedah Garrett, another Mendes alumna,
who sang in Mendes' band in the mid ‘80s and recorded on many of his
albums. Also playing on this song (Funky Bahia), as well as several
others, are 2 of the greatest musicians of their generation, Sergio's
long time friends and collaborators: the virtuoso guitarist Paul
Jackson, Jr. and the legendary bassist Alphonso Johnson. Sergio's
longtime band members, Mike Shapiro - his drummer for 20 years,
brothers Meia Noite and Gibi, percussionists also from Bahia, are also
part of this album.
"I've always dreamed of making an album with guest artists from
different cultures, singing in their native language, as a way to
illustrate the power and magic of Brazilian melodies," he emphasizes.
Besides the glorious singing of Zap Mama (in French), the album also
includes a rap by Italian super star Jovanotti, as well as a new song
by Joao Donato and Joyce - "Y Vamos Ya," - sung in Spanish by Juanes,
one of the brightest new stars in contemporary Latin pop.
"I heard about Juanes a couple of years ago and thought that he had a
beautiful voice," explains Mendes. "Fortunately, I was able to hook up
with him and have him as a guest in this project."
In fact, there is one element that unifies the songs in Encanto, and
that's the joy that can be heard in the voices of Mendes'
collaborators. No matter what country, demographic or genre they belong
to, they were all thrilled to record with the maestro, which speaks
volumes about the timeless appeal of Sergio's unique style.
"There's a sensuality to Brazilian Music, a pure kind of sentiment," he
concludes. "The melodies are catchy, the rhythms are intoxicating, the
songwriting is peerless and the harmonies are beautiful. There's a
freshness to that sound that simply refuses to go away."
Encanto is a beautiful Portuguese word that I chose as the album title
because it describes the whole project so well. It means: ENCHANTMENT,
DELIGHT, CHARM..."
Sergio Mendes, "Confetti", Phantom Sound & Vision #________ (2008).[CD Reissue]
Tracklist:
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Side 1
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Side 2
|
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Olympia
|
Alibis
|
|
Say It With Your Body
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Dance Attack
|
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Let's Give A Little More This Time
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Kisses
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The Sound of One Song
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Real Life
|
|
Morrer De Amor (To Die of Love)
|
Personnel for "Olympia": Keyboards: Sergio
Mendes, Robbie Buchanan and Michael Boddicker; Synthesizer
Programming: Michael Boddicker, Robbie Buchanan and Don Dorsey;
Olympic Choir: Joe Pizzulo, Jeffrey Osborne, James Ingram, Phil
Perry, Gary Falcone, Lani Hall, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Carmen
Twillie, Beth Anderson and Deborah Davis; Drums: John Robinson; Drum
Synthesizer Programming: Robbie Buchanan and Terry Bozzio; Guitar:
Dan Huff; Percussion: Steve Forman; Additional Background Vocals by
Joe Pizzulo, Sergio Mendes, Harold Clousing and Phil
Perry.
Personnel for "Say It With Your Body":
Keyboards: Sergio Mendes, Robbie Buchanan, and Michael Boddicker;
Synthesizer Programming: Robbie Buchanan and Michael Boddicker;
Drums: John Robinson; Bass: Nathan East; Guitar: Dan Huff and Paul
Jackson, Jr.; Percussion: Steve Forman and Ron Powell; Background
Vocals by Carmen Twillie, Julia Waters and Maxine Waters.
Personnel for "Let's Give a Little More This
Time": Keyboards and Synthesizers by Sergio Mendes, Robbie
Buchanan; Vocal by Joe Pizzulo; Synthesizer Programming: Robbie
Buchanan; Drums: John Robinson; Bass: Nathan East; Guitar: Paul
Jackson Jr. and Dan Huff; Guitar Solo: Dan Huff; Percussion: Steve
Forman; Background Vocals by Carmen Twillie, Julia Waters and Maxine
Waters.
Personnel for "The Sound of One Song":
Acoustic Piano: Ivan Lins; Fender Rhodes: Gilson Peranzetta;
Synthesizer Arrangement: Sergio Mendes and John Beasley;
Synthesizers: Sergio Mendes, John Beasley, Randy Waldman; Synthesizer
Solo: Sergio Mendes; Drums: Carlos Vega; Bass: Nathan East; Electric
Guitar: Dan Huff; Acoustic Guitar: Oscar Castro-Neves and Paul
Jackson, Jr.; Percussion: Sergio Mendes and Steve Forman; Children's
Choir: Jessica Harris, Joel Harris, Rebecca Clinger, Jennifer
Cathcart, Elizabeth Cathcart, Kristina Birk, Kristin Bernhardi;
Richard Hamilton, Latisha Smith, Brandon Roberts, Teresa Dawson and
Sandie Hall.
Personnel for "Alibis": Vocal by Joe
Pizzulo; Keyboards: Sergio Mendes and Robbie Buchanan; Synthesizer
Programming: Michael Boddicker and Don Dorsey; Drums: Carlos Vega;
Bass: James Johnson; Guitar: Paul Jackson Jr. and Dan Huff; Saxophone
Solo: Ernie Watts; Percussion: Steve Forman; Background Vocals by:
Joe Pizzulo, Gary Falcone and Tom Faragher.
Personnel for "Dance Attack": Vocal by Phil
Perry; Keyboards: Sergio Mendes, John Barnes, & Don Freeman;
Synthesizer Programming: John Barnes; Percussion: Steve Forman;
Clap-trap: Terry Bozzio.
Personnel for "Kisses": Vocal by Gracinha
Leporace; Acoustic Piano: Ivan Lins; Acoustic Guitar: Oscar
Castro-Neves; Percussion: Sergio Mendes and Steve Forman; Violins:
Gerald Vinci, Robert Sushel, Reg Hill, Mari Tsumura-Botnick,
Constance Meyer, George Kast, Norma Leonard, David Montagu, Harold
Wolf, Bill Hybell, Isabelle Daskoff & Spiro Stamos; Cellos: Mary
C. Lane, David H. Speltz, Harry L. Shlutz, Raphael Kramer.
Personnel for "Real Life": Vocal by Joe
Pizzulo; Keyboards and Synthesizers: Robbie Buchanan; Drums: Carlos
Vega; Bass: James Johnson; Electric Guitar: Dan Huff; Guitar Solo:
Dan Huff.
Personnel for "Morrer De Amor": Vocal by
Gracinha Leporace; Acoustic Guitar: Oscar Castro-Neves; Violins:
Gerald Vinci, Robert Sushel, Reg Hill, Mari Tsumura-Botnick,
Constance Meyer, George Kast, Norma Leonard, David Montagu, Harold
Wolf, Bill Hybell, Isabelle Daskoff & Spiro Stamos; Cellos: Mary
C. Lane, David H. Speltz, Harry L. Shlutz, Raphael Kramer.
Various Artists, "The Very Best of Smooth Jazz", Phantom Sound and Vision #________ (2008).[CD Compilation]
This CD Compilation contains Sergio Mendes with The Black Eyed Peas performing "Mas Que Nada".
Sergio
Mendes - Phantom Sound & Vision 
