Sérgio Mendes was born on 11 February 1941 in Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Growing up, Mendes attended his local Conservatory of Music, having originally hoped to become a classical pianist. 

 

But in 1956 Mendes heard a recording of the jazz hit ‘Take Five’ by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, which he credits with having changed his musical perception. In the late 1950s he began playing in nightclubs, where he was exposed to bossa nova, which was then a still-emerging style of samba music with jazz influences. He found a mentor in Antônio Carlos Jobim, one of the early pioneers of bossa nova, and had the opportunity to play with renowned jazz musicians including saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and flautist Herbie Mann. 

 

In 1961, Mendes formed the Bossa Rio Sextet – a group of musicians who featured on his first album, Dance Moderno, which was released that year. Three years later, following international tours, Mendes relocated to California in the US. Here, he began working with the producer Richard Adler, putting together a group that included musicians Wanda de Sah and Rosinha de Valenca, together with the Sérgio Mendes Trio. 

Initial poor album sales prompted Adler to suggest that Mendes and his fellow musicians should try singing in English as well as Portuguese. In 1966 a new line-up for the group (dubbed Brasil ’66) was born, featuring American singers Lani Hall and Bibi Vogel – though its members would continue to change over the years. Their first single together, ‘Mas Que Nada’ became a huge success, helping their first album – ‘Herb Alpert Presents Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’66’ – to go platinum. 

But it was a live televised performance of ‘The Look of Love’, at the 1968 Oscars ceremony, that made Mendes a household name. After this, the Brasil ’66 version of the song became even more successful than the original Oscar-nominated version, which Dusty Springfield had recorded for the soundtrack of Casino Royale. 

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Mendes continued to draw on wider musical genres, injecting pop influences into his work and collaborating with musicians such as Stevie Wonder. But he struggled to repeat his successes of the ‘60s, until in 1983, ‘Never Gonna Let You Go’ marked a comeback, reaching number 4 in the US charts. Singles ‘Olympia’ and ‘Alibis’ also achieved chart success, with ‘Olympia’ being used as the theme song for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. 

 

As popular music has continued to evolve, so has Mendes’ sound. In 2006, his album ‘Timeless’ was produced by American rapper will.i.am and featured guest artists from hip hop groups such as the Black Eyed Peas and Jurassic 5, to neo-soul and R&B acts including Erykah Badu and John Legend. Meanwhile in 2011, Mendes acted as Executive Music Producer for the animated film Rio – set in his native Brazil – earning an Oscar nomination for the song ‘Real in Rio’. 

 

Our activity for this month explores call and response. Start by using body percussion such as clapping, clicking and stamping. Silent beats can be included by a nod of the head. 

 

The leader plays a call and the rest of the group copies in their response. Start with simple rhythms and then make them more complex in terms of the rhythm and mix of actions. 

 

This activity can also be done using percussion instruments, asking the group to copy the sounds as closely as possible, even if they are playing different instruments. For example, if the leader is using an agogo bell with two bells, how can the triangle players initiate the two sounds? One approach might be to have an open sound - just hitting the triangle - and then a closed sound made by holding one arm of the triangle. 

 

Call and response can also be done vocally, either using sounds such as “La” or words. 

 

For more advanced musicians, pitch can be introduced on tuned instruments.