Wikipedia : This day (February 11, 1941), in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is born Sérgio Santos Mendes, a Brazilian musician.
Official Site : Over the course of a career that has amassed an astounding track record of 35-plus albums made and millions sold, Mendes has embarked on many adventures, highlighted by his early ‘60s Bossa Rio Sextet outings in Brazil, his worldwide breakthrough Brasil’66 group.
@allmusic : 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.
@last.fm : When sales were tepid, he replaced his Brazilian born vocalist Wanda de Sa with the distinctive voice of Chicago native Lani Hall (who learned Mendes’ Portuguese material phonetically), switched to Herb Alpert’s A&M label, and released Herb Alpert Presents Sérgio Mendes and Brasil ‘66
@Discogs :
Photo : Bruno Bollaert