Sérgio Mendes, the celebrated Brazilian musician whose 1966 hit Mas Que Nada made him a global superstar and helped launch a long, Grammy-winning career, has died aged 83. The Brazilian pianist, songwriter and arranger died on Thursday after months battling the effects of long COVID. “His wife and musical partner for the past 54 years, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, was by his side, as were his loving children,” a statement issued by his family said. Mendes was born in Niterói — Rio de Janeiro’s sister city — and studied classical music at a conservatory before joining jazz groups. One of the most successful Brazilian artists internationally, Mendes recorded more than 35 albums, many of which went gold or platinum. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he began playing bossa nova as the genre was heating up in Rio’s nightclub scene, and brought it to international audiences. Mendes formed the group Brazil ’66, which produced the worldwide hit Mas Que Nada that became his signature song and helped perpetuate the Brazilian music boom of the 1960s. American musician Herb Alpert, who helped Mendes launch his international career, said on Instagram he was “an extremely gifted musician who brought Brazilian music in all its iterations to the entire world with elegance and joy”. A three-time Grammy award winner and Oscar nominee, Mendes last performed in November 2023 to sold out and wildly enthusiastic houses in Paris, London and Barcelona. Mendes’s other hits were an eclectic blend ranging from covers of the Beatles’ The Fool on the Hill and With a Little Help from My Friends, to his own Brazilian chant, Magalenha. He also composed the soundtrack for the film Pelé, featuring saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, and even produced an album recorded by the great Brazilian soccer player. Mendes’s family said it would provide details regarding funeral and memorial services at a later date. AP/Reuters
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