I know exactly where I was the first time I heard Brasil 66, and I I will never forget. I'm 74 now and I am still loving every note they played. Lani Hall just keeps getting more beautiful . What a musical Goddess!
Actually, it was Janis Hansen on The Look of Love, not Lani, and I seem to recall it only took minutes to record and she got it on the first recording. Sergio fired Janis soon after. Actually, he fired everyone in the band, but Herb Alpert told him to keep Lani Hall and he did. What a dumb move that was by Sergio. 🤨 Then they had Lani and Karen Philipp as the girl singers, but when Lani quit, that special “sound” went with it.
Just watched Herb and Lani in Bethesda Maryland a month ago and they absolutely killed it. Thank you for coming back to us Herb (and Lani). The venue was perfect. They were perfect. Was such a magical night.
I have always been enthralled by Sergio's voicings and vision. As I get older, I continue to be drawn into the extraordinary harmonies, rhythms and dimensions of his music. Lani of course kills it.
Seeing Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66 perform “Mais Que Nada” on television changed my life. According to my aunt, I was showing signs of leaning towards music at 18 months old. According to her, I was singing along with the commercials on tv, but had yet to speak. Christmas ‘74 I got a kid sized drum set. I drew a heart in the middle of the bass drum and wrote “Brasil ‘66” on it. I’m 61 now and am a drummer. In addition I play bass guitar, keyboard and sing 2nd soprano, alto, tenor and bass. I love most all music, but Bossa Nova is in my soul. Thank you Sergio and Lani for the influence you’ve had in my life!❤
Young lady...beyond a doubt, I know you Inspired many young people, so this music remains in our minds, forever. Thanks for your contribution to the World of music. I've always remember, and stll play the music of Sergio Mendes and (the) Brasil series of all his music. I'm 78, and still Love ❤️ this very Iconic sound. Love and Greetings from N.Kentucky USA Y'All 🇺🇸 ⚘️
Quincy Jones sounds a little salty to me talking about how a great song can save a bad singer, and then about how they couldn’t be stopped, as if he wished they could be😂 his demeanor when discussing them seemed sullen and bitter.
Mas Que Nada is one of the first songs that captivated me in my childhood. It is a treat to be able to go and relive those moments using modern technology.
I feel in love with the group and Lani Hall's voice when I was a mere 5 years old! I'm 63 now and still love all of this music. Brasil 66 is awesome 🥰🥰🥰
Lani, I fell in love with you on the first Brazil 66 album (I still have it) but I didn’t know yet that it was you. A few years later, when I heard ‘Sun Down Lady” I was over the top and found out you came from Albany Park, just a few miles away from me in Chicago. You have always been my favorite female singer. Thanks for the memories!
Her voice was like soft glass. It’s funny in the early 60s when I was a little girl and I was saying my parents would kind of tempt me into singing that same way where I would use a different part of my throat and I could really roll the hours or just get that sound not like her exactly but I’m just saying it was kind of cool looking back, and they loved all that kind of music all kinds of music. I feel so happy to be born in 61.
Wow… so glad I found this video because it has so many great videos and pictures of them that I had never seen before. Most of the older things you see of them aren’t in HD, but this one is and it’s so nice to see. Artists and listeners sense when there’s a special sound, and they definitely had it. It was very apparent to everyone and that’s why they were so successful. It was unfortunate that Lani had to quit, because when she did, that kind of music pretty much went with her. Lani, Janis Hansen and Karen Philipp were primarily responsible for that sound the whole world loved. They were all so beautiful and SUCH great singers. And those dresses and that dancing when they sang…sooo sexy! 😄 Credit Sergio for finding them.
wow. I have a deep appreciation for Lani after watching this. Sergio still plays too. I wonder if she'll ever have a small reunion just for the fun of it.
I was a tween back when Sergio Mendez and Brasill '66 came on the music scene. They really broke through and the music was not like anything before or since. I still admire what they produced. "Fool On The Hill" is one of the greatest covers of all time.
When I first heard the fool on the hill in the 60s, I fell in love with the group. When I went off to the Navy in 1968 for Viet Nam, the ship made a stop in Hong Kong for some R and R (rest and relaxation). Hong Kong back in those days was the stereo capitol of the world, the word was that you could get really nice musical equipment there cheap lol, so I bought a battery powered turntable and the Sergio Mendez and Brazill 66 vinyl album all written in Chinese, but the art was the same. I played So Many Stars on the fantail that ship straight through Viet Nam. It sounded so beautiful out in the ocean with some sailors sitting around writing letters home. I'm 73 now and I still play this album from Honk Kong on my much better turn table now, and it sounds as good today as it ever did.
Wonderful story, I was imagining the ocean, sound of the waves, and Lani Hall's beautiful voice.." So many stars 🌟 which one is mine." I know that song by heart ❤️
Sergio Mendes, de lo mejor de Brasil. En la decada de fines de los 60 y comienzo de lo 70 genio!! Mis respetos como argentino a la hermosa música del Brasil!!
In 1967 I was a freshman in college. And my favorite group was Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66. And I went to see them play at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. A memorable evening. They were great. You can do the math as far as how old I am, and how old they are too. :) Always loved them. Bought all their albums along the way. Lani Hall here, who's always had an unbelievably great voice, became Herb Alpert's wife in 1974.
Incredible Story that NEEDS to be screened to our Youth, who could envision better How They Can Help Transform "Modern Music and Performance"... Thank You for sharing this Documentary... It's PRICELESS!
I was 13 when I first heard these life changing and inspiring sounds. Thanks to a Brazilian boarder in our house in Glen head Long Island Long Island NY. I fell in love with music, and made it my profession for life. There has never been anything like it since. Pure magic-
I listened to their music growing. up and now it is my go to music to Relax & Appreciate. Also to see Lani Hall & Herb Albert together all these years its like the Icing on The Cake. I Love and Respect Them All. Cheers to you Guys---- : )
Love this grew up to this in Tacoma WA and Los Angeles. Great memories. Our fam was fairly musical. Love that Sound. It’s like a heavenly sound and a great Childhood❤️🤸🏽
I have always loved Brasil 66 and especially Lani's voice. She really shines on songs like "So Many Stars" and "Like a Lover". But I think this brief video should have at least given some mention and credit to Janis Hansen who was the second singer. After all, the group's great vocal sound was achieved by the girls singing the same lines together and with Lani taking much of the solo work. Ironically though, it was Janis, not Lani, who was the featured solo singer on "The Look of Love", which was one of their biggest selling records. Talk about a sultry vocal" Wow! Janis nailed it and it took her only 10 minutes to get it perfect. Other than neglecting to mention Janis and Karen Phillip, I think this is a great little video.
I left a reply to the comments by the sailor. I too was in the Nav. SM&B”66 was on top of my list. I was fortunate to have a small stereo on board our ship and along with a couple of other guys got into music like Miles Davis and Sergio. It has stood the test of time and I still play their LP’s today. Thanks Lani for an amazing voice that never has a “sell by” date disclaimer. Also kudos to Sergio - I’ll have to research what music you are creating today. Steve S. Troy, Pennsylvania
I was 18 when I heard this awesome amazing music. Loni what words can express her voice was perfect. I knew every song, played them over and over on my drive to move to California. I loved this band. I still have every song on my play list. Truthfully some of your songs can bring me to tears. For me, was one of them. I never got tired of this sound. Pretty world you made for me. Loved you all so much
Este é um dos melhores lados do Brasil. Herança rebuscada, sofisticada, uma alegria leve , culta e inteligente!!! O oposto do lixo de algumas tendencias musicais que pairam pelo nosso país, e causa vergonha aos que tem bom gosto!!! Parabéns pela iniciativa brilhante! Eu muito necessária !!!
Grandiosa la agrupación del Maestro Mendes, su sonido, sus voces, su instrumentación, sus coros. Simplemente Único!!! Belleza, sublime. Yo crecí con estos hermosos sonidos.
Lani Hall did a duo with another Brazilian, the wonderful Roberto Carlos. The song is De Repente el Amor- from the 80’s , I think. They sing in Spanish and it is gorgeous. She sings with no accent in Spanish as well. She is amazing. ❤️
Lani Hall so sultry sensuous and gorgeous. Not just her voice. Her phrasing is incredible. Nobody can interpret a song like Lani Hall. I was born in 1963 so I came to the party a bit later than most of their fans. But my ogre of a stepfather had a great taste in music Nancy Wilson and Brazil 66. Herb Alpert and many others. Dinah Washington but I always liked or loved Lani Hall much more than any other singers from that era Sorry Barbra Streisand Dusty Springfield petula Clark andCilla Black all incredible singers but for me it’s always Lani who is my favorite !!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes! 63 baby, here! My dad was a musician (jazz drummer 🥁) and had wide musical tastes. He had all of the Brazil 66 albums, and other bosso nova recordings from the era. He remained a huge fan of Brazilian music and used to travel to nyc and to Toronto in the 1970s and 1980s to buy albums (unheard, until he got them home) from stores that carried imported albums! He loves Brazilian music! He just turned 86 this past March. My sisters an I like it (music) now, bec it is timeless and very excellent, but lots of childhood nostalgia as well, when our father played it when he was younger in and still married to our mother.
What Sergio did in the 60s, 70s and 80s will be listen to through out the Solar System a 100 yrs from now. This sound like the Beatles will be placed in the category of Clasicals by the Master like Bach, Debussy, Copeland and many others who's music live 100s of yrs after their deaths.
All the group was incredibly competent, original and succesfull. They showed the brazilian music to the world. I imagine what Sergio felt when Lani Hall leaved the group and started her new career. For me, the two parts lost very much. One needed the other to be hundred per cent. She was the voice of the group and what a beautiful and carismatic girl!
Funny how Janis is simply described as “another singer”. Sergio fired everyone from Version One, but only bought back Lan creating Version Two; then she left and there was Version Three who faded quickly. Versions 77 and 88 later appeared.
Whoa, grew up in NZ listening to my father's eclectic selection of music from opera, jazz to ABBA that also included Brasil '66. Dad would play the songs on: piano, saxophone or guitar then teach his students! After all these years, hearing Mas Que Nada, still makes me want to dance...
It is so pitty that even his own people didn't understand his music in a way of acceptance I guess he was way ahead of his time musically...I hear his music today with passion as if I wished I was born in his era but feel fortunate enough to have known his work andlegacy despite of me being born in 1972.
Fabulous music. 🎶🎵 It totally embraces the feels of the 1960’s. I listen to them and I’m transported back in time to an easier less complicated way of life. B E A U T I F U L ! 💐❤
Sou um americano nascido em Memphis. Sempre amei a música brasileira. Tão sofisticado e elegante, o Brasil 66 tinha energia como Elvis ou qualquer um dos verdadeiros grandes nomes.
It is so pitty that even his own people didn't understand his music in a way of acceptance I guess he was way ahead of his time musically...I hear his music today with passion as if I wished I was born in his era but feel fortunate enough to have known his work andlegacy despite of me being born in 1972.
'The Frog' was the first Sergio Mendez/Lani Hall recording I heard, on the radio, in a program by Willem O' Duys who had a keen ear for new pop movements. (he also introduced to The Netherlands the fantastic Swingle Singers, and Frida Boccara. No, I never became a fan of Nana Mouskouri, Willem) 'The Frog', it was fresh and charming and modern Brazilian, so different from the Merseybeat and surf music in those days. And suddenly the Mendez ensemble had a string of Top Ten hits in America with Beatles and Bacharach renditions. I bought every album! I knew that 'Stillness' was the last one with Lani Hall when Herb Alpert abducted her, but he never gave her a great solo career. I lost interest in Sergio's bossa nova around the Brasil 77 era....not his fault, there were simply too much other new genres and artists tsunami'ng into the 1970s. But I never forgot the unique Sergio Mendez & Brasil 66 formation. And through him I discovered Astor PIazzolla!
What's all the booming and clanging going on throughout this video (5:55, 6:36, 10:49, etc.)? Was the audio engineer remodeling his house during the mixing sessions? ffs
