Seemingly tied to coincide with Bossa Nova's BIG 50, Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes releases his newest production, Encanto, in June under Concord Records. Fans will be able to purchase the disc at their nearest Starbucks. Mendes' importance in the U.S. is that he made Bossa Nova even more American friendly. In fact, shortly before his Brasil '66 ensemble made it to the mainstream, Mendes moved to L.A. and has been California Dreamin' ever since. Encanto follows in the footsteps of 2006’s Timeless, on which Mendes teemed up with will.i.am and Fergie to give Bossa Nova classics an urban flavor. Here again Mendes enlists several contemporary musicians from all over the world including Latin superstar Juanes from Colombia, the multi-talented Carlinhos Brown and Vanessa da Mata from Brazil, Japan's foremost pop outfit, Dreams Come True, Belgium’s sassy Zap Mama and Italian rapper Jovanotti, as well as American stars like Fergie, Ledisi, Natalie Cole, Herb Alpert and his wife, original Brasil ’66 singer, Lani Hall. He's also going to be on tour in other cites throughout the summer. For my fellow Floridians, don't miss him at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Pete on May 14 or in Miami's JVC Jazz Fest on May 17, along with Ledisi, Anthony Hamilton, and Jorge Ben Jor. That's right, JORGE BEN fucken JOR! An icon of the Brazilian songbook, the samba-funk master will perform in the U.S. for the first time since 2004. Not to be missed. I'll be there relishing my role as messenger for those of you who can't make it.
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