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Mendes initially wanted to become a classical pianist but jazz slowly crept into his musical ears. With the growing awareness of bossa nova music which is aptly described as jazz music with a hint of samba, Mendes started to develop his own brand of music. He has performed at the Carnegie Hall and has toured both in the United States and in Europe. He finally settled in the US in 1964 and inked a deal with Capitol and Atlantic Records for the recording of two albums under the group name Brasil ’65. Popular solo artists Lani Hall became his vocalist. Brasil ’65 became history as Mendes replaced it with Brasil ’66 when he moved to the A&M label of Herb Alpert. Lucky for him, the Brasil ’66 album produced the hit single “Mas Que Nada” and the album turned platinum. However, his team-up with Hall ceased after she went solo and got married to Alpert in the 1970s. Mendes however made his mark in the American music industry after his 1968 Academy Awards performance where he did “The Look of Love” by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, a song which was nominated for the Oscars. Get your Sergio Mendes Tickets and be amazed by this musician’s great musicality.
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