Sergio Mendes & Brazil ’66- Herb Alpert Presents…….

This was only a dollar.  Probably got a discount on it, bringing it down to 80 cents.  For shame.  Such a great little album.  You may have noticed that I have been starting the month with artists who have frequently graced this blog.  This is not by accident.

This was the first album from keyboardist Sergio Mendes and his ensemble, Brazil ’66.  Released in 1966, it featured smash hit “Mas Que Nada” which in all probability was the first Portuguese song to hit it big in America.  Good little album with a bunch of real good tunes including “Going Out Of My Head” and the Beatles “Day Tripper” which I believe I posted on an earlier blog entry.

I was really surprised how big a sound Mendes got from such a small ensemble which also featured Lani Hall on vocals, Bibi Vogel on backup vocals, Bob Mathews on bass, Jose Soares on percussion, and Joao Palma on drums.

I could have gone many directions with this but decided to go with “O Pato”.

Great little album.  Satisfactory.

3 thoughts on “Sergio Mendes & Brazil ’66- Herb Alpert Presents…….”

  1. Wow , what a flood of memories.

    One of my favorite albums. Very professional performer.
    Brasil’66 came out when i was in grade school in HISD. We
    were treated to some of it in our weekly music lesson hour.
    This is important because it was the beginning of an
    international awareness that was growing with Houstonians.
    This attitude was reflected in the popularity of songs which started
    with groups like the earlier Herb Alpert and Tijuana Brass and the later Brasil ’66.

    Our international awareness increased by leaps with the (Texas)Hemisfair
    International Exhibition. (Apologies to this website on mentioning Hemisfair once again)
    On TV we would see the
    Coca-Cola “I Like To Teach The World To Sing” and then in school we discussed
    the “Up With People” performances. The apex of all this Houston-Feel-Good were
    the words uttered at the end of the 60s — “HOUSTON !…The Eagle Has Landed ” !

    1. I love the memories. I was 9 or 10 years old when i first saw Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 in the park in Chicago. I was with a group of kids with an adult escort just passing by and there were a huge crowd. I saw these 2 females performing with these pretty glittery dresses on. (Lani Hall hadn’t joined the group yet). It was so crowded I couldn’t see much more, but I knew it was a big deal very festive. I found out later who the group were. I was immediately hooked after that. That year one of the things on my Christmas list was the Album with the song “Mas que nada”. I played that album over and over. I thought the women were so pretty and the men were so gorgeous and wanted to be a part of that world!

      1. Thank you for your comments and checking out my blog. I have other Sergio Mendes albums on here if you care to search for them

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