Sergio Mendes probably holds the bossa nova sales record for 8-track tapes. He
sold tons of crossover bossa records for A&M from the mid-1960s to the
early-1970s. For most Americans, his “Mas Que Nada” is the definitive version
(sorry Jorge Ben Jor), but his vocal arrangements often got him tagged with
labels like “lounge” or “easy listening.” Nevertheless, he kept selling. The perennially
popular musician takes stock of his life and career in John Scheinfeld’s documentary,
Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy, which has a special screening-reception
this Thursday to benefit the Sonoma Independent Film Festival.
Despite
achieving his international fame in the U.S., Mendes was still enough of a
Brazilian icon to work with Pele scoring the football legend’s 1977 documentary.
He was also jazz enough to recruit Gerry Mulligan to play on it. Jazz fans
might wish Scheinfeld discussed those original sessions more, but most
Brazilians will be more interested in his reunion with Pele, which is captured
in the film.
Originally
in Brazil, Mendes was mentored by Tom Jobim, but he left to pursue a musical
career in the USA, as a way to escape the stifling climate under the military regime.
His Brasil ’65 band sounded more like the classic bossa artists, but it had
trouble catching on. However, the soft, warm vocals of Brasil ’66 were an
immediate hit for A&M. The label owner-producer Herb Alpert was also quite
interested in Brasil ‘66’s vocalist, Lani Hall (his future wife). Much like
Mendes features prominently in Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M
Records, Alpert and Hall are logically heard from throughout Key of Joy.
Scheinfeld
does a nice job covering the greatest hits of Mendes’s career and the
ups-and-downs of his life. The last half-hour or so is largely dominated by
Mendes’s collaborations with the likes of Will.i.am, Common, and John Legend,
but unlike documentary rip-offs of Tony Bennett’s Duets, these sessions each
came about organically, in very different contexts, rather than as a contrived
gimmick to bestow new commerciality on an older artist.
Like it or not, A&M Records truly shaped the sound of the 1960s and
1970s. They were the record label home to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass,
the Carpenters, Captain & Tennille, Carole King, Sergio Mendes, and Burt
Bacharach. They also signed 1980s-defining bands like the Police and the Go-Go’s.
Even though they are no longer an active label, they have more than enough
history to fill the two-part Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records,
directed by Ryan Suffern, which premieres this Sunday on EPIX.
Herb
Alpert was a scuffling musician when he founded Carnival Records over a hand-shake
with Jerry Moss, a relatively green record promoter. Turns out the name was
taken, so they simply dubbed themselves A&M. Musician-led labels historically
had a hard time of it (arguably, Charles Mingus’s Debut was one of the most
prolific at that point, which is saying something), but they had an early
breakout hit with Alpert’s Mexican-flavored over-dubbed trumpet stylings on “The
Lonely Bull,” which got them off and running.
Instead
of talking heads, Suffern uses archival interviews and disembodied voices accompanying
footage of the era to tell the labels history (employing the techniques seen in
Ailey and Billie). Ironically, the record label opened their
studio complex on the grounds of the old Charlie Chaplin Studio, the one-time
home of the silent star (but he did write the tune “Smile”).
Frustratingly,
Suffern never discusses the years Creed Taylor’s CTI Records operated as an
imprint at A&M. (There are entire art books dedicated to CTI covers, but
the history of their association is admittedly complex.) Several important jazz
artists are briefly referenced during the two-parter (including Gerry Mulligan
and Dave Brubeck), but the only jazz-related artist who gets any serious
discussion is A&M’s first big, non-Alpert signing, Sergio Mendes, who came
along just in time for the Bossa Nova explosion.
