Press Release, February 24, 2006 SERGIO MENDES MAKES A POWERFUL RETURN BACK TO THE AMERICAN MUSIC CHARTS WITH ‘TIMELESS’

DT:      FEBRUARY 24, 2006
FM:     TODD BRODGINSKI/ALEXANDRA GREENBERG/MITCH SCHNEIDER
 

SERGIO MENDES, the legendary Brazilian artist who brought “Brasil ‘66” to America 40 years ago, has impacted the charts again with his new album TIMELESS, released February 14 on Concord Records/Starbucks Hear Music.  The album entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart at #44, selling over 27,000 copies in its first week.  Timeless is available now at traditional retail and Starbucks locations.

For the album, produced by and featuring will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, SERGIO and will.i.am brought in some of music’s biggest artists, each a Sergio fan, to contribute to various tracks, including John Legend, Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Black Thought of The Roots, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, Jill Scott, Q-Tip, india.arie and Justin Timberlake, among others.   The collection includes interpretations of SERGIO’s classic repertoire along with new songs, mixing Brazilian melodies with contemporary hip-hop sounds, described by the New York Post as a “…blend of Brazilian pop and urban music stylings works so seamlessly, you have to wonder why it had never been mashed before (2/12/06).”

In other SERGIO news, a June 25 performance at the Hollywood Bowl has been set to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Brasil ’66, the groundbreaking album that helped introduce Brazilian music to America.  That album included the international smash hit “Mas Que Nada,” which is included on Timeless, with SERGIO and the Black Eyed Peas reinterpreting it for 2006.  Special guests from the Timeless album will be on hand (exact artists TBA) to celebrate and perform songs from SERGIO’s legendary career.

Check out SERGIO’s website for all the latest news: www.sergiomendestimeless.com.

SERGIO MENDES – TIMELESS
CRITICAL QUOTES

“The blend of Brazilian pop and urban music stylings works so seamlessly, you have to wonder why it had never been mashed before.”

“…the two prove to have enough chemistry to make Fergie more than a little jealous…Guests like Jill Scott, John Legend and Justin Timberlake help make fresh takes on Mendes hits and other Brazilian standards, as well as new tunes like the radiant title song, where India.Arie reminds us that ‘kindness is timeless.’ So, it seems, is Mendes.”

“With deep rhymes written from a soldier’s perspective and a pleading chorus sung by Justin Timberlake (who also wrote the track), ‘Loose Ends’ clinches the disc…When Timeless succeeds, it’s beautiful, boundary-breaking music.”

“It’s a glorious excursion that’s timeless, indeed-and funky as all get out.”

“The deepest grooves are struck in ‘Fo-Hop,’ with the guitarist and singer Guinga and the Brazilian rapper Marcelo D2. It’s in a baião rhythm, sung in Portuguese, with the rapid swing of the original language, atmospheric guitar sounds and snarling rap passages.”

“Mendes and Peas frontman will.i.am blend Brazilian polyrhythms, hip-hop beats, contemporary R&B and rap for an intriguing change of pace…However, the original tracks-especially Legend’s ‘Please Baby Don’t’ and ‘Timeless’ with India.Arie-are what boost the album beyond novelty status.”

“‘Mas Que Nada,’…with its festive spirit and pure melding of its two musical cultures, was the real denouement for this joyous occasion.”

 “The CD’s finest moments feel like tributes to Mendes. Stevie Wonder vibes up the party with his lilting harmonica on the cuíca-flavored ‘Berimbau/Consolacao,’ and India.Arie takes an inspiring turn toward Rio-soul balladry on the title track. Brazilian rapper Marcelo D2 surprises with wicked Portuguese wordplay on the reggaetón-paced ‘Fo-Hop.’ The LA-based Mendes serves up a lifetime of carefree Carnaval rhythms, precious keys, and progressive timing, which are used liberally by will.i.am to re-create smooth, blended bossa-hop. Soon you’re floating over Rio like a virtual Carioca, opening your mind to the possibility that Mendes has built another bridge, one between serious-minded jazz-a-nova and contemporary music of the streets.”

“Crossing booming hip-hop rhythms with even deeper Brazilian surdo and batucada, and using the layered vocals of Jill Scott and Erkyah Badu to recreate the exquisite sound of original Brazil ’66 vocalists Lani Hall and Wanda da Sah….the fission that occurs when bossa/samba flies over a bed of hip-hop is striking. Stevie Wonder wails beautiful harmonica over a buoyant ‘Berimbau/Consolacao’; Jobim’s still exotic ‘Surfboard’ is given a wonderfully deranged treatment by the Black Eyed Peas’s will.i.am; and India.Arie sounds peacefully earthy and at home on the heavily programmed but still humanized title track."