Sérgio Mendes sent Brazil’s party spirit out into the world

For himself he put no label on his music. It was just what came naturally to him. Bossa nova was the style they called him king of, but to him bossa nova, like bebop, was an era, not a style. This branch from the samba tree had its time and place, and for him its chief place was Bottles Alley in Copacabana, the rough end of Rio, and especially the Bottles Bar, where great musicians would go and hang around together. There he sat as a teenager at the feet of Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto, true kings of bossa nova, to learn the rhythms and arrangements that took him away from classical piano for good. Henceforth he blended his piano-playing with bass, guitar, percussion, drums and, from 1965, two female singers. Small forces: but the effect they had on popular music was huge. By his slowing-down days he had amassed more than 40 albums, many of them gold or platinum, three Grammys and an Oscar nomination, all for taking his blend of jazz, rock and samba up to the United States, even twice to the White House, and almost everywhere from there.