Sergio Mendes, the renowned Brazilian musician who brought bossa nova to the global stage in the 1960s with his group Brasil ’66, has died at the age of 83 due to complications from having long-term Covid-19.
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Sergio Mendes, the renowned Brazilian musician who brought bossa nova to the global stage in the 1960s with his group Brasil ’66, has died at the age of 83 due to complications from having long-term Covid-19.
In a heartfelt statement, Mendes’s family shared that he “passed away peacefully” in Los Angeles, where he had made his home. “His wife and musical partner for the past 54 years, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, was by his side, as were his loving children.
Mendes last performed in Nov 2023 to sold-out, wildly enthusiastic audiences in Paris, London, and Barcelona,” the statement read. “For the last several months, his health had been challenged by the effects of long-term Covid.”
Born in Niterói, Brazil in the early 1940s, Mendes began his musical career studying piano at a local conservatory before captivating audiences in nightclubs across Brazil. As the bossa nova…