Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes has passed away, Fox News Digital reports.
Mendes died peacefully in Los Angeles on September 5 surrounded by his wife, Gracinha Leporache Mendes, and their children, a representative for the singer confirmed.
“Over the past few months, his health has been in jeopardy due to the effects of long-term COVID-19,” the family statement said.
The family is still coming to terms with Mendez's death and details of a funeral and memorial service will be announced at a later date.
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Sergio Mendes passed away on September 5th, Fox News Digital confirmed. (Sergio Mendes Team)
Mendes won a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album in 1992 for “Brasileiro,” as well as two Latin Grammy Awards. He was also nominated for Best Original Song in 2012 for “Real in Rio,” the theme song for the animated film “Rio.”
Mendes composed the soundtrack for the film “Pele,” featuring saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, and produced an album recorded by the legendary Brazilian soccer player.
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Sérgio Mendes began his career with Brasil '66. (Sergio Mendes Team)
The international musician's song “Mas que Nada” helped popularize the Brazilian music genre Bossa Nova around the world in the 1960s.
The Black Eyed Peas later released a version of the song which topped the US charts.
The song appears on Mendes' album Timeless and features Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake and the Black Eyed Peas. The song was produced by Will.i.am.
Mendes was also mentioned in an episode of Seinfeld when Michael Richards' character Kramer decides to make some money selling used records: He takes his stack of vinyl to Bleecker Bob's Record Store, where the clerk buys the whole set for $5.
“Sergio Mendes has a huge fanbase,” Kramer said on the show, defending the Brazilian musician. “He can't walk the streets of South America.”
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Sergio Mendes will perform at the Festival of Arts Pageant of the Masters' “A Night of Magic” fundraising gala on August 26, 2023. (Getty Images)
According to his family, Mendes last performed in November 2023 in front of sold-out crowds in Paris, London and Barcelona.
The musician began his career as part of the band “Brazil '66.”
“It was so different from anything else, and so different from rock 'n' roll,” Latin music scholar Leila Cobo told The New York Times in the 2020 HBO documentary “Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy.” “But it speaks to how confident Sergio was in that sound. He wasn't trying to imitate what was going on.”
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Larry Fink of Fox News Digital and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
