The Boss of bossa nova

Sergio Mendes

If you need further proof that you should go through your parents' and grandparents' old records, it's the revival of 60s hit-maker Sergio Mendes.

The pop career of Brazilian-born Mendes, now 65, effectively ended in the mid-70s. Yes, he kept touring and scored a rare revival with his Grammy-winning Brasileiro album in 1992, but the man who epitomised bossa nova and martini-chic never again scaled the heights he did with his band Brasil 66.

He'd come up through the jazz and samba clubs in Brazil, played with local legend Antonio Carlos Jobim, and later recorded with jazz legends Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann. But it wasn't until he moved to the United States permanently in the early 60s and, through a friendship with trumpeter and record label boss Herb Alpert, that he hit big.

And he hit bigger than most: his '66 single Mas Que Nada was huge and is identifiable internationally even today. The album it came from went platinum in the States.

Mendes took to covering the hits of the day in a cool Latin style (the Beatles' Fool on the Hill, Burt Bacharach's Look of Love which he performed on the Academy Awards telecast in '68) and he became a much loved middle-of-the-road entertainer.

Latin was cool, and Sergio was the coolest. But by the mid-70s Mendes' time had passed and his was a name relegated to the history books.

Then enter will.i.am from Black Eyed Peas, an unashamed Mendes fan, who invited his hero to play on the song Sexy on the BEP's Elephunk album two years ago.

And now here comes Mendes' own Timeless album which will.i.am produced and hauled in a who's who of hip-hop and soul. They are all there to honour the smooth sound of Mendes who, on the phone from his home, sounds thrilled, honoured, and ready to get out there and do it all over again.

He's just as surprised as anyone that will.i.am should be a fan. "When I first met will he came to my house and was carrying a bunch of old vinyl of mine. He told me that when he was 16 in LA he went to a record store and discovered my albums and that they changed his life.

"I was really amazed, here was a kid half of my age from a totally different background and he's fallen in love with my music. A great surprise - and then he invited me on to his album.

"It went great so I said we should do an album that would bring back the Brazilian bossa nova classics from me and he could bring the hip-hop world and we could do something different. And he told me that was the dream of his life. The whole thing was very spontaneous and natural."

Given Mendes' slippery rhythms and memorable melodies it is easy to hear the appeal for the artists who have queued up for the guest spots, but what does Mendes get from guys like will.i.am?

"I liked very much the way he approached the Brazilian song I played on his record. Behind the melody there were these nice beats and a very different rhythm. But it was such a nice song that it was a love of melody that brought us together, and his knowledge of beats and textures and arrangements. I learned a lot from him."

Mendes says while Timeless has brought renewed attention to his long career, he has always been making a good living - he has a back-catalogue of almost 40 albums, although he recorded only one in the 90s - and he sees healthy royalty cheques regularly.

He still tours with his young band - Japan every year, regular concerts in Europe and across the United States from Las Vegas lounges to clubs in New York - and this week he celebrated 40 years of Brasil 66 with a show at the Hollywood Bowl.

He can't help being delighted, though, at finding a new audience - he notes the album is No 5 in Italy, No 9 in Brazil and has been released in Thailand - and is especially pleased that the kick-off track is a hip-hop reworking of his old standard, Mas Que Nada.

"That song is so important to me, it was my first hit and kids in clubs are dancing to that the same way kids did 40 years ago. It's bigger than The Girl from Ipanema - which I love - but it had no lyrics, only sounds that you can chant in any country anywhere in the world."

LOWDOWN

WHO: Sergio Mendes
WHAT: New album Timeless featuring the Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Q Tip, India.arie, Justin Timberlake, and Jill Scott is out now.