Sergio Mendes - 1968 - Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things

Sergio Mendes

1968

Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things

01. My Favorite Things 2:52

02. Tempo Feliz (Happy Times) 2:34

03. Ponteio 2:26

04. Veleiro (The Sailboat) 3:21

05. A Banda (Parade) 2:30

06. I Say A Little Prayer 2:08

07. Comin' Home Baby 3:00

08. Boa Palavra (The Good Word) 3:08

09. O Mar É Meu Chão 3:24

10. So What's New 3:01

Bass – Joe Mondragon

Bass [Fender] – Larry Nechtel

Drums – Dom Um Romao

Flute, Soprano Saxophone, Saxophone – Tom Scott

Guitar – John Pisano

Percussion – Joao Donato

Percussion – Moacir Santos

Piano, Harpsichord, Electric Piano – Sergio Mendes

Producer – Nesuhi Ertegun

As Sergio Mendes reached the peak of his first A&M period with Brasil '66, his old company, Atlantic, continued to release new instrumental Mendes albums, of which this was the last. As on the Brasil '66 recordings of the time, Mendes exposes fresh material from the '60s bumper crop of great Brazilian songwriters: Edú Lobo, Dori Caymmi, Baden Powell, Chico Buarque, and Caetano Veloso. Dave Grusin returns with his swirling, ambitious orchestral arrangements; John Pisano is back on rhythm guitar (along with a lounge-like bossa nova take of his "So What's New"); and Mendes continues to toy with the Fender Rhodes electric piano and electric harpsichord on a number of cuts. Yet this album has an entirely different sound than Mendes' A&Ms, with a typically trebly Nesuhi Ertegun production and more varied rhythm tracks (only on the title track does the rhythm section sound like that of Brasil '66). Buarque's "A Banda" -- which Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass took to the singles charts in the fall of 1967 -- conjures the effect of a ramshackle marching band in a Brazilian parade, and Caymmi's "The Sea Is My Soil" is an evocative mood-swinging tone poem. Ertegun gives Mendes a shot at one of his own favorite things, "Comin' Home Baby," perhaps hoping for hit lightning to strike yet again on this tune (it didn't). Ultimately, this comes off as a pleasant side trip from Mendes' prime period.

In 1968, Sérgio Mendes released Sérgio Mendes' Favorite Things. It was not titled “Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66” like his other releases released between 1966 and 1970, only his own name. Does this tell us anything about the music? I think so. There are fewer tunes here that were well-known to the US target audience than they'd gotten accustomed to at the time, but significantly more Brazilian songs. There's also almost no singing. The excellent team of musicians was given the opportunity to add tiny little improvisations here and there, Dave Grusin provided the album with tasteful arrangements where maestro Mendes wished, and the recording quality is good. Overall, Sérgio Mendes' Favorite Things feels closer to the things Antônio Carlos Jobim was releasing back then. I admit that I could've done without A Banda (I always thought this track was one of the very few silly tunes penned by Chico Buarque). But otherwise, I've nothing to criticize about the song selection. It was still that refined easy listening typical for Sérgio Mendes, but since it was 1968, when the musical possibilities were open in all directions, it's fair to assume that he drew from the full and that Favorite Things was, and still is, an enjoyable and entertaining release.

A sweet little pairing of the keyboards of Sergio Mendes and the early arranging styles of Dave Grusin – and a set that's quite different than some of Sergio's vocal albums with Brasil 66! The style here is all instrumental – and Mendes plays both piano and electric piano, plus a bit of harpsichord too – working with a hip LA group that features Grusin on organ, Tom Scott on flute and soprano sax, and John Pisano on guitar – plus a bit of Brazilian percussion from Joao Donato and Moacir Santos! The result is a heavenly 60s groove – some slight larger backings, plus great work from the jazzy group at the core.