PBS To Air Sergio Mendes Documentary Featuring John Legend, Quincy Jones, will.i.am, More

EXCLUSIVE: PBS is to air documentary Sergio Mendes & Friends: A Celebration, about the acclaimed Brazilian musician.

The film will premiere as part of special programming on PBS stations in June 2021 and is derived from the feature documentary Sergio Mendes: In The Key Of Joy by filmmaker John Scheinfeld (The U.S. vs John Lennon).

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The deal was negotiated by WNED PBS and the film’s distributor Brainstorm Media.

Mendes, who exploded onto the scene in the 1960s with his group, Brasil ’66, played a big role in popularizing Brazilian music around the world, and at the same time created his own genre by fusing Brazilian music with American pop. The three-time Grammy winner has made 35 albums, including Timeless, produced by will.i.am. Hit singles include “Mas Que Nada”, “The Look of Love”, “Scarborough Fair”, “Night and Day”, “Never Gonna Let You Go” and his famous rendition of “Fool on the Hill”. In 2012, his “Real in Rio” from the animated film Rio was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Original Song.

In Sergio Mendes & Friends: A Celebration, the Brazilian is joined onscreen by friends and collaborators including Herb Alpert, Common, Lani Hall (lead singer of Brasil ’66), Quincy Jones, John Legend, Gracinha Mendes (Sergio’s lead singer since 1971 and his wife of 46 years), Jerry Moss, Carlos Saldhana and will.i.am.

“I am really looking forward to sharing my life and musical journey through the decades from Brasil ’66 through present day with PBS viewers across the nation,” said Mendes. “I hope viewers will have a joyful and uplifting experience.”

“Sergio’s warmth, humor and appreciation of life through all the senses made me feel a strong connection with him and I want others to feel the same way,” added director Scheinfeld. “His life is an exceptional blend of encounters, spontaneity and serendipity and makes him an irresistible subject for a film.”

We previously debuted footage for Sergio Mendes: In The Key Of Joy, which launched at the Santa Barbara Film Festival last year. You can also see a trailer here.

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