Sergio Mendes: Oba-lá-lá

Continuing my focus on artists who died in 2024, there is no greater jazz artist to feature than Brazil’s Sergio Mendes. Mendes died on September 5. His fusion of bossa nova, Latin percussion, funk, R&B, soul, disco, and pop music created a discography unlike any of his contemporaries. His bossa nova group Brasil ’66 led to his initial fame, but he enjoyed a 50+ years long career that spanned multiple genres. Sunday is jazz day, so I’ve selected “Oba-lá-lá,” the first track on his 1961 debut album Dance Moderno, but it is impossible to understand the variety of music Mendes released without sampling his albums across the decades. He had Top 40 hits in the ’60s and ’80s. His use of strings in the early ’70s was a precursor to the future sound of disco. There was no other artist like Mendes during his 25-years long heyday from 1961 to 1986. Rest in peace, you Brazilian groove machine.

To learn more about Sergio Mendes, check out his Wikipedia page.

To listen to all of the songs of the day, check out the Radio Faux Show Song of the Day playlist.

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