God

bless doctors, for their sons and daughters often become some of the world's

most creative geniuses.

One

such artist is Sergio Mendes, who will play at the Frederick Brown Jr.

Amphitheater this Friday and Saturday.

Mendes

was born in Rio de Janeiro. He showed a great talent for music at an early

age but soon switched his attentions from classical piano to bossa nova.

In 1964, mendes left Brazil for New York City and began to experiment

with the bossa nova sound. He soon formed Brasil 66, a five-member band

that featured two women who could sing in both English and Portuegeuse.

The

band was quickly signed to A&M Records, the same label that Herb Alpert

and the Tijuana Brass were signed to, and scored a hit with the song,

"Mais Que Nada." The song became an international hit. In 1968,

the band had three Top 20 hits, including two in the Top 10; "The

Look of Love," which hit number four, ""The Fool On The

Hill," which hit number six and "Scarborough Fair," which

made hit 16.

It

was in 1968 that Mendes and his crew truly brought Brazilian music to

the forefront as both albums released that year, "Look Around"

and "Fool On The Hill," cracked the top five of the U.S. pop

charts.

Though

it has been over 30 years since he hit the charts, Mendes and his mates

still thrill audiences with jazz and samba and even some Bahian hip hop.

Polygram has released a six-CD set of his career, "Serie Grande Nomes,"

documenting the many musical temperaments of Mendes' illustrious career.

"I

love Brazil and its music," explained Mendes, "so no matter

what type of sound I would come up with, there would always be a Brazilian

undercurrent in the music."

Sergio

Mendes and Brasil 2000 will perform Friday and Saturday, May 4 and 5 at

the Peachtree City Amphitheater at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased

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