May 26, 2021 • 24 mins
Coming off two critically acclaimed documentaries "The U.S. Vs. John Lennon" and "Herb Alpert Is…", producer and director John Scheinfeld l’s newest project features another legend in the music scene.
Sergio Mendes is known for bringing Bossa Nova from his native Brazil to the U.S. and then the world. His music has influenced musicians for over five decades including John Legend and Will.I.Am.
"Sergio Mendes and Friends: A Celebration" will be available on PBS starting June 1, with a more extended cut being made available soon.
We talked to Scheinfeld about producing the documentary, working with Mendes, and his passion for documentary filmmaking.
Sergio Mendes is known for bringing Bossa Nova from his native Brazil to the U.S. and then the world. His music has influenced musicians for over five decades including John Legend and Will.I.Am.
"Sergio Mendes and Friends: A Celebration" will be available on PBS starting June 1, with a more extended cut being made available soon.
We talked to Scheinfeld about producing the documentary, working with Mendes, and his passion for documentary filmmaking.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey, what's up? This isSeth Green and you are listening to Somewhere
in Vegas with Mark and I amso hot. I would desperately like a
glass of water. Please please giveme some water. This is Cindy Preston
and I'm with Mark. I'm somewherein Vegas. Hi. This is Melissa
Peterman from CMPs to Singing d andthe television show Freeba and I have to
(00:23):
tell you, I just have toget it off my chest. I love
Somewhere in Vegas with Mark. Hi. Yah. This is Sath Laska and
Jim Wahaspita. You're listening to Mark. I'm samar in Vegas and you better
watch out. You know how tofund you. You're not listening. Hi.
This is Sandon Egan from whipp Itand I love Somewhere in Vegas.
It's Mark. Hey. This isLeellen Vega which Somewhere in Vegas Talton was
(00:46):
Mark with a queue. This isCourtney Cronin. You're listening to Somewhere in
Vegas with your host Mark, andI would make sure to listen every week
because he's a shart bet. Thisis the money Man, Any money about
two tickets of Paradise and this,you know what somewhere in Vegas. What
happens in Vegas Space Vegas. Hi, this is Crystal Kale and I love
Somewhere in Vegas with Mark. Hi. This is Cherry Nunn from Berlin and
(01:08):
you're listening to Mark somewhere in Vegas. Hi. This is Mirka Laurie from
Josh Veden Stallhouse. There are threeflowers in a vase and I'm listening to
Somewhere in Vegas with Mark. Hi. This is Aaron Hill and you are
listening to Mark on blog talk radioand somewhere in Vegas. Mark is a
great guy. Hi, this isPulaski. I'm still trying to figure out
(01:30):
Mark Pico's sexuality, but I knowyou're listening to Somewhere Live in Vegas.
Did you go, Mark? I'msorry, I thought you were I'm sorry.
Yeah, I'll attend to get outof you. Hey. This is
Lance and Anna from Free Radio andAnna, and you're listening to Somewhere in
(01:51):
Vegas. Yeah, my Fay,you know, that's that's usually what happens
with me. I go to Vegasand I get lost, and so I
end up somewhere in Vegas. Somewherein Vegas. But I just don't know
where it is not quite sure.Yeah, we get ready, it's gonna
be hot. It's in Vegas.Check out. Mark be there or be
square. My guest this time isa very talented filmmaker and documentarian. He
(02:20):
has had several really great reach stuff, including the US versus John Lemon and
Herb albert Is, which is currentlyon Amazon right now. His news project
is really great. It's called aSergio Mendez Surgio Medrians. It's in Friends
a Celebration, and it talks alot about some of the great music Sergio
Mendez ass and I'm pretty sure everybody'sheard of him, or at least his
(02:44):
music. And it's great to beable to be able to talk to John
Scheinfeld right now about the documentary.How you doing, John? Doing great?
Mark? Thanks for having me.Yeah. Well, first of all,
what was it like working with youknow, working on this project?
I mean, how did first ofall, and also how did it come
about? Well? I had donea project with Concord Records a couple of
(03:07):
years ago. I did a featuredocumentary about John Coltrane called the Legendary John
Coltrane called Chasing Train, and itwas such a great experience that. We
started to talk about what else wemight do together, and one day I
got a call from the head ofConcord, who said, how would you
feel about doing a documentary about SergioMendez? And I hesitated about five seconds
(03:36):
and said, yes, I'll dothat. I had remembered Sergio's music from
when I was growing up. Mymom used to play his records around the
house all the time and would singand dance because the music was so joyous.
So I always had a very positivefeeling about Sergio and his music.
But I didn't really know much abouthis story. So I did a little
(03:58):
bit of research, and the moreI read, the more I thought,
this is a very interesting story ofa of a musician who is not only
immensely talented, but has other qualitiessuch as persistence and the ability to reinvent
himself, which not every musician has. And the result is a career that
(04:21):
has gone on for sixty plus years. And I thought that that's really worthy
of of of a strong documentary,so you know, go ahead. So
Sergio was looking at several different filmmakersand I went out to the house and
(04:44):
we met and we had a threeand a half hour LoveFest, and he
really liked my vision for the film, and we really liked each other and
and then we spent about two yearsmaking the film. Really it seems to
be the story of sergio life becausehe always finds these people that come in
and they have is very you know, very long conversation and then they end
(05:06):
up doing projects together that well.I am a portion of the documentary kind
of kind of almost you know,pretty much it emphasizes that it's been it's
been an interesting it was interesting watchingwatching all the stories about him. You
know, I would almost say,I wouldn't say luck as much as is
being at the right place the righttime for Sergio. I think there's an
(05:27):
element of that mark. He refersthe very first line of the film,
he talks about how this word heloves called serendipity, and serendipity is the
story of his life, which isreally a series of magical encounters with people
that really advanced his career. AndI think you could very much say that
(05:50):
he and I had a magical encounterand that's what resulted in the film.
We spent about two years shooting itto hear and we also spent two weeks
down in Brazil. Sergio lives herein Los Angeles has for many years.
We went down and took him backto the neighborhood in which he grew up,
(06:11):
in a number of other locations inRio de Janeiro, and we finished
a film that runs about ninety eightminutes, and we were we had a
fantastic premiere at the Santa Barbara InternationalFilm Festival. The film is called Sergio
Mendez in the Key of Joy andwe were going to be in theaters late
(06:33):
spring early summer of twenty twenty,and of course, like so many movies,
COVID put an end to that,and instead we have regrouped and PBS
created a special version of derived fromour film that runs about sixty minutes,
(06:57):
and that's what we'll be airing onp b S stations across the country starting
June one, and then the fullfilm, UH, Sergio Mendes and the
Key of Joy will be available umsometimes starting in October. Do we know?
Do we know? What? Doplatforms? Uh? The the that
(07:17):
one's going to be on? Notyet. We are in discussions with a
number of them. Well you know, just but but Mark, I think
for your listeners, I will saythat they can get an advance a preview
of the full film by watching thethe PBS Show and contributing to their local
(07:41):
PBS stations because if they contribute acertain amount, they will get a DVD
of the full length feature documentary.Well, I mean, that's great,
that's great to hear. I mean, I just just see watching the first
sixty minutes. I mean, Igot I'm intrigued about some of the other
you know, some of the stuffthat you did did cut out because there's
so many great stories in terms of, um, some of the things that
(08:03):
he's done, and you know,in terms of you know, kind of
stretching out the music and music throughoutthe decades. I mean, he brought
Boston Nova here to the United Statesand he ended up, you know,
he ended up doing some really greatwork in the eighties, which you know,
it's a little bit of a differentstretch and you know, stretch from
(08:24):
what he usually does. One ofthe nine and when the nineties and the
two thousands with with with doing thesound check to Rio, which is really
really great. So he's really kindof transcending the generations as well. I
mean, what's it like for himto kind of see that his music has
has transient sended to generations, fromthose that were in the fifties that grew
up with his music in the fiftiesand the sixties, to all the the
(08:46):
young kids that may have watched Rio. I think that's what makes him unique
as a musician, is that hehas been able to span the generations in
that way and really has had umsignificant musical achievements in every decade. I
think it's a great source of pridefor Sergio. But you know, the
(09:07):
interesting thing mark about Sergio is herarely looks back. He's always looking forward
to what the next project is,what the next concert is, what the
next tour is. And I thinkthat's what made it interesting for me that
he was finally ready to have hisstory told. I think there were there's
(09:31):
been a number of discussions in previousyears about doing a documentary, and I
don't think he was ready. Butnow I think, with great pride,
he was looking back at an extraordinaryjourney that took him from this tiny town
outside of Rio de Janeiro in Braziland to today where he is known around
(09:54):
the world and has fan bases innumerous countries around the world. The US
of course, Japan, Australia,he plays everywhere, and I think it's
it's it's been really fascinating to dothat, and we chronicle that in the
film, and we do it withthe help of a number of people that
(10:16):
he's worked with along the way.We talked about Herbalbert will i Am Common,
who figures in the film. Wewere there to shoot a work session,
musical session in the studio between thetwo of them, which was absolutely
amazing. Sergio had done a trackto which Common was going to freestyle rap
(10:43):
and he was making it up ashe went along. We shot four different
takes. Each one was different lyricswere different, thoughts were different, and
they finally on the fourth take hiton something they both loved and we show
that in the film, and that'swhat was on Sergio's album that came out
last year. We also talked toQuincy Jones, We talked to John Legend,
(11:07):
with whom Sergio has written and recordedseveral times. We even have Um,
although you'll have to contribute to ppsand see the full film, but
we have Harrison Ford and and thesoccer legend Pele. We got Pele to
sing and that's in the full lengthfeature but it was just a wonderful experience
(11:33):
to be able to look at suchan amazing career that has lasted so long.
Yeah, I was gonna say that, you know, just thinking about
about you know, some of theguys that he worked with, like like,
well, I am in common.I mean, you know, back
in the day when when when electrickeyboards started coming out, they would always
(11:54):
have the beats sessions and uh,you know, little things that you can
you can play music too, andone of them obviously the Bostonova, you
know, so you kind of thinkthat, you know, back the day,
you know, it was the firstkind of almost um, you know,
first beat that a lot of peopleprobably started tearing and starting to you
know, rap two or whatever.So it's kind of interesting. It's it's
(12:16):
an interesting rhythm to say the least. And like I said, I don't
think anybody has done so much toto make pop, you know, Bossonova
kind of beat popular than than Sergio. So it's it's kind of interesting.
And even in that case, you'reabsolutely right. I think the key was
that Sergio created in the sixties avery unique sound. It wasn't one hundred
(12:39):
percent boston Nova, although had alarge element of it, but he blended
Bossonova with jazz, a little bitof jazz and U more than a bit
of pop music. And that's Ithink why Sergiman does in Brazil. Sixty
six caught on as as as stronglyas they did in the nineteen sixties,
(13:03):
and he evolved his sound in waysin which people like Will I Am were
very much influenced. And so that'swhat you see, for example, in
his nineteen sorry, his two thousandand six album Time is that Will produced
um that really is a reflection ofhow so many young hip hop and rap
(13:24):
artists were very much influenced by Sergioand those rhythms, and they created a
very two thousand and six take onit all in that brilliant album. Yeah,
And the thing with Sergio's music toois just, you know, if
you have a you know, Idon't I don't want I don't want this
to sound insulting. It's it's not. It's the fact that you can put
(13:48):
in the background of a of acocktail party and you know, people can
can you know, really kind ofrelax and kind of be comfortable. You
know, It's just it's nothing.It's nothing fast or raging, but yet
it's something it's not slow either.It's a really kind of a medium kind
of mood that you know that getspeople kind of you know, in a
happy place as it were. Soyou know, if you you imagine cocktail
(14:11):
parties back in the sixties, youknow, you can imagine Brazil sixty six
playing in the background. So youknow, I think it's it's just kind
of cool. His music is definitelysomething that, um is different than you
know, any either extreme that wecould we could think of in terms of
party music. So it's great tobe able to you know, kind of
hear Brazil sixty six and all thatas well. I'm looking forward to to
(14:33):
watching the rest of the documentary tokind of get into more of the history
about what's been going on and someof the more people that that you talk
about. Let me ask you aquestion, UM, you know, you've
done so many You've done so manygreat documentaries, the US Versus John Lennon,
the Herbalbert Is documentaries currently on Amazonas well. What kind of drew
(14:54):
you to doing music documentaries? Uh, it's an interesting question question because I
am not a musician myself. Itook six years of piano lessons when I
was a kid, but I rememberabout four notes. But music has always
figured very prominently in my life.I remember my folks gave me a radio
(15:16):
when I was a kid, andit would be on in my room all
the time. When I was incollege, I had a radio show in
the morning from six to nine AM, and I was exposed to a lot
of great music and a lot ofgreat artists. And I find music inspires
me. It inspires me to becreative, It inspires me to keep a
(15:39):
smile on my face, and itjust inspires me to have a very sort
of uplifting and upbeat perspective on life. And so I have found myself drawn
to telling stories of great musicians whohave a found success on their own terms
(16:03):
and b have found ways to keeptheir music vital and fresh over the decades.
You know, there are a lotof musicians, many of whom have
played somewhere in Vegas, you'll pardonthe expression, over the years another one
hit Wonders or maybe one album.But I'm much more interested in looking at
(16:26):
careers of people who have been ableto surpass that and exceed that in a
way that makes them unique. Andso you look at people like Paul McCartney
or you know, Sergio and alot of other people who have careers that
have spanned over six decades and noteverybody can do that. And I'm fascinated
(16:47):
about what is it about those musiciansthat enables them to accomplish that as well
as to create music that really speaksto people of different generations. I mean,
there are a few people that,especially nowadays, that could kind of
transcend that. I mean, youknow, um tent Wrestler is probably the
only one I can take off offthe top of my head that has really
(17:10):
kind of you know, kind oftranscend it. You know, where he's
working with a lot of different artists, he's working with a lot of different
people as well. I mean,you know, nowadays, it seems like
it's just you know, um theypeople work with with with people then or
you know they kind of you know, get their fifteen minutes and kind of
go out and kind of you know, don't do anything as well. But
(17:33):
you know, yeah, I meanit's kind of tough, tougher and tougher
nowadays to kind of to kind ofsee some of those people that do have
kind of a legacy that's going on, and um, it'll be interesting to
see who kind of your past thedeck gades as it work, um in
terms of music, um, evenas a producer or somebody that works with
other with other artists like Sergio has. So I'm interested to see who kind
(17:55):
of the next person is that kindof kind of steps up and really kind
of starts working with other with otherartists and really, you know, starts
to uh, you know, startsto affect the music industry, which really
needs a kind of an uplifting alittle bit, I think. So it'll
be interesting to see what was onin the next couple of years. Maybe
Sergio well work with another artist andthings will change in another direction. So
(18:17):
fakers crossed on that. Um.You know. One last question, I
mean, you know, I knowyet project's kind of been you know,
going on right now and behind thescenes or whatever, But is there any
certain stories that you would love tolove to tell? Yeah, I can
tell you about one of them.Mark. We announced this one last November
and we're we're about halfway through productionat the moment. It's a story that
(18:45):
blends music and politics and social commentaryand something of a mystery, and it
all involves a jazz rock band calledBlood Sweat and Tears, and they were
huge in nineteen sixty nine, innineteen seventy, and then something happened and
(19:11):
it affected their career trajectory, andit's why we don't remember them as as
well as we may remember a fewother groups from that era. But it's
a very compelling story, and actuallyone element of it involves Las Vegas.
(19:32):
They were the first rock band toplay a primary showroom at a hotel in
Las Vegas. They played Caesar's Palace. A lot of the rock bands had
played lounges and then you know Elvis, but he wasn't really a rock band.
He was a star. But theywere the first rock band they played
(19:56):
Caesar's Palace and it was a veryyou know, today, so many rock
bands play Vegas and do quite well, but Blood Swin Tears was the first,
and it was not as as wellaccepted then as it is now.
And we talked a little bit aboutthat, but it's a it's a fascinating
(20:17):
story about a terrifically talented group ofmusicians. I'll bet a lot of your
listeners know their music. They hadfour big hits in nineteen sixty nine,
Spinning Wheel, what goes up,you know, must come down. You
made me so very happy and whenI die and more and more, and
(20:37):
we still hear them on the radiotoday. So again, as you and
I were talking earlier, it's aband whose music lasts, although it's music
from a very specific time. Sowe're going to tell the story of what
happened in nineteen seventy And I thinkpeople be really fascinated by Yeah, you
know, you know, times havebeen weirdly changing pretty much from the past
(20:59):
couple of decades. You know,things, things happen, So I'm interested
to see what goes on with thatas well. And UM, you know,
Sergio Mendez, UM and friends acelebration that's on PBS coming up starting
on June first. To check yourlocal listings on PBS to find out when
it's airing. And UM, youknow, hopefully we'll get the get the
(21:21):
full documentary, UM, you know, streaming somewhere. And UM, you
know, if you're browing into PBS, maybe you'll be able to get a
DVD as well. You know,look out for their look out for their
UM you know, when they startfundraising, make sure you guys check that
out as well, and UM andI also want to mention her balbert Is
(21:41):
is currently String on Amazon. Youguys can check out that documentary as well
anything anything else that you can thinkof, anything you else want to add
that. At the moment, markI think we covered it, I will
say, um, I've done documentariesand a lot of artists who are no
longer with us. Herb and Sergioare two exceptions to that, and I've
(22:04):
got to say in both cases,but here we are talking about Sergio.
It's been such a pleasure to getto know them as people and to now
call them as friends of mine,and that's just an extra bonus. In
addition to making films of which Iam very proud, it was just great
to meet and get to know thesetwo artists who are just real gentlemen and
(22:29):
lovely, warm, sensitive artists.And the fact that we are now friends
is that little extra bonus. Well, if you guys, if you're ever
out here in Vegas, le letme know. You know, there's so
many great artists that are actually outhere doing residencies and all that. So
it's crazy to be able to thinkthat Buzz and Tears kind of almost started.
That started that idea of having rockbandons out here too, so it'll
(22:53):
be great to see once that comesout as well. Where can people find
you on social media? I amat on Instagram and I am They can
go to Krewneck Productions dot com andthey can also find me on Facebook under
Krewneck Productions, also under John Scheinfeld. Well, John, thanks a lot
(23:14):
for joining us. Best of luckto you this year. I look forward
to your upcoming projects and keep thingsrolling. We'll do Mark. Thanks for
having me. All the best toyou and your listeners. Make sure you
guys subscribe to us on iTunes orwherever you get your podcast. We are
based out of spreeker dot com rightnow, but we also are on a
(23:36):
bunch of different other platforms and acuting iHeartRadio, and you guys can even
ask Alexa to play Somewhere in Vegaslatest episode as well, so make sure
you guys check that out as well. And you guys can said checkouts out
at spreeker dot com and look upfor Somewhere in Vegas and you'll be able
to find a lot of our oldepisodes as well. We're going to try
to press on a little bit,maybe doing maybe one episode a week for
(23:59):
the for the summer, as thingskind of start rolling and everything like that.
Everything is kind of rolling out herein Vegas. We're going to be
opening up soon, so we'll behaving a lot more guests coming in that
have are actually going to be outhere performing, so it's great to be
able to do as well. Somake sure you guys definitely check out our
Instagram and are at at SWIV podcastat SWIV podcast, also on Twitter at
(24:25):
swiv at swiv and Somewhere in Vegason Facebook as well. With that in
mind, we'll see you guys nextweek here on Somewhere in Vegas
Hey, what's up? This isSeth Green and you are listening to Somewhere
in Vegas with Mark and I amso hot. I would desperately like a
glass of water. Please please giveme some water. This is Cindy Preston
and I'm with Mark. I'm somewherein Vegas. Hi. This is Melissa
Peterman from CMPs to Singing d andthe television show Freeba and I have to
(00:23):
tell you, I just have toget it off my chest. I love
Somewhere in Vegas with Mark. Hi. Yah. This is Sath Laska and
Jim Wahaspita. You're listening to Mark. I'm samar in Vegas and you better
watch out. You know how tofund you. You're not listening. Hi.
This is Sandon Egan from whipp Itand I love Somewhere in Vegas.
It's Mark. Hey. This isLeellen Vega which Somewhere in Vegas Talton was
(00:46):
Mark with a queue. This isCourtney Cronin. You're listening to Somewhere in
Vegas with your host Mark, andI would make sure to listen every week
because he's a shart bet. Thisis the money Man, Any money about
two tickets of Paradise and this,you know what somewhere in Vegas. What
happens in Vegas Space Vegas. Hi, this is Crystal Kale and I love
Somewhere in Vegas with Mark. Hi. This is Cherry Nunn from Berlin and
(01:08):
you're listening to Mark somewhere in Vegas. Hi. This is Mirka Laurie from
Josh Veden Stallhouse. There are threeflowers in a vase and I'm listening to
Somewhere in Vegas with Mark. Hi. This is Aaron Hill and you are
listening to Mark on blog talk radioand somewhere in Vegas. Mark is a
great guy. Hi, this isPulaski. I'm still trying to figure out
(01:30):
Mark Pico's sexuality, but I knowyou're listening to Somewhere Live in Vegas.
Did you go, Mark? I'msorry, I thought you were I'm sorry.
Yeah, I'll attend to get outof you. Hey. This is
Lance and Anna from Free Radio andAnna, and you're listening to Somewhere in
(01:51):
Vegas. Yeah, my Fay,you know, that's that's usually what happens
with me. I go to Vegasand I get lost, and so I
end up somewhere in Vegas. Somewherein Vegas. But I just don't know
where it is not quite sure.Yeah, we get ready, it's gonna
be hot. It's in Vegas.Check out. Mark be there or be
square. My guest this time isa very talented filmmaker and documentarian. He
(02:20):
has had several really great reach stuff, including the US versus John Lemon and
Herb albert Is, which is currentlyon Amazon right now. His news project
is really great. It's called aSergio Mendez Surgio Medrians. It's in Friends
a Celebration, and it talks alot about some of the great music Sergio
Mendez ass and I'm pretty sure everybody'sheard of him, or at least his
(02:44):
music. And it's great to beable to be able to talk to John
Scheinfeld right now about the documentary.How you doing, John? Doing great?
Mark? Thanks for having me.Yeah. Well, first of all,
what was it like working with youknow, working on this project?
I mean, how did first ofall, and also how did it come
about? Well? I had donea project with Concord Records a couple of
(03:07):
years ago. I did a featuredocumentary about John Coltrane called the Legendary John
Coltrane called Chasing Train, and itwas such a great experience that. We
started to talk about what else wemight do together, and one day I
got a call from the head ofConcord, who said, how would you
feel about doing a documentary about SergioMendez? And I hesitated about five seconds
(03:36):
and said, yes, I'll dothat. I had remembered Sergio's music from
when I was growing up. Mymom used to play his records around the
house all the time and would singand dance because the music was so joyous.
So I always had a very positivefeeling about Sergio and his music.
But I didn't really know much abouthis story. So I did a little
(03:58):
bit of research, and the moreI read, the more I thought,
this is a very interesting story ofa of a musician who is not only
immensely talented, but has other qualitiessuch as persistence and the ability to reinvent
himself, which not every musician has. And the result is a career that
(04:21):
has gone on for sixty plus years. And I thought that that's really worthy
of of of a strong documentary,so you know, go ahead. So
Sergio was looking at several different filmmakersand I went out to the house and
(04:44):
we met and we had a threeand a half hour LoveFest, and he
really liked my vision for the film, and we really liked each other and
and then we spent about two yearsmaking the film. Really it seems to
be the story of sergio life becausehe always finds these people that come in
and they have is very you know, very long conversation and then they end
(05:06):
up doing projects together that well.I am a portion of the documentary kind
of kind of almost you know,pretty much it emphasizes that it's been it's
been an interesting it was interesting watchingwatching all the stories about him. You
know, I would almost say,I wouldn't say luck as much as is
being at the right place the righttime for Sergio. I think there's an
(05:27):
element of that mark. He refersthe very first line of the film,
he talks about how this word heloves called serendipity, and serendipity is the
story of his life, which isreally a series of magical encounters with people
that really advanced his career. AndI think you could very much say that
(05:50):
he and I had a magical encounterand that's what resulted in the film.
We spent about two years shooting itto hear and we also spent two weeks
down in Brazil. Sergio lives herein Los Angeles has for many years.
We went down and took him backto the neighborhood in which he grew up,
(06:11):
in a number of other locations inRio de Janeiro, and we finished
a film that runs about ninety eightminutes, and we were we had a
fantastic premiere at the Santa Barbara InternationalFilm Festival. The film is called Sergio
Mendez in the Key of Joy andwe were going to be in theaters late
(06:33):
spring early summer of twenty twenty,and of course, like so many movies,
COVID put an end to that,and instead we have regrouped and PBS
created a special version of derived fromour film that runs about sixty minutes,
(06:57):
and that's what we'll be airing onp b S stations across the country starting
June one, and then the fullfilm, UH, Sergio Mendes and the
Key of Joy will be available umsometimes starting in October. Do we know?
Do we know? What? Doplatforms? Uh? The the that
(07:17):
one's going to be on? Notyet. We are in discussions with a
number of them. Well you know, just but but Mark, I think
for your listeners, I will saythat they can get an advance a preview
of the full film by watching thethe PBS Show and contributing to their local
(07:41):
PBS stations because if they contribute acertain amount, they will get a DVD
of the full length feature documentary.Well, I mean, that's great,
that's great to hear. I mean, I just just see watching the first
sixty minutes. I mean, Igot I'm intrigued about some of the other
you know, some of the stuffthat you did did cut out because there's
so many great stories in terms of, um, some of the things that
(08:03):
he's done, and you know,in terms of you know, kind of
stretching out the music and music throughoutthe decades. I mean, he brought
Boston Nova here to the United Statesand he ended up, you know,
he ended up doing some really greatwork in the eighties, which you know,
it's a little bit of a differentstretch and you know, stretch from
(08:24):
what he usually does. One ofthe nine and when the nineties and the
two thousands with with with doing thesound check to Rio, which is really
really great. So he's really kindof transcending the generations as well. I
mean, what's it like for himto kind of see that his music has
has transient sended to generations, fromthose that were in the fifties that grew
up with his music in the fiftiesand the sixties, to all the the
(08:46):
young kids that may have watched Rio. I think that's what makes him unique
as a musician, is that hehas been able to span the generations in
that way and really has had umsignificant musical achievements in every decade. I
think it's a great source of pridefor Sergio. But you know, the
(09:07):
interesting thing mark about Sergio is herarely looks back. He's always looking forward
to what the next project is,what the next concert is, what the
next tour is. And I thinkthat's what made it interesting for me that
he was finally ready to have hisstory told. I think there were there's
(09:31):
been a number of discussions in previousyears about doing a documentary, and I
don't think he was ready. Butnow I think, with great pride,
he was looking back at an extraordinaryjourney that took him from this tiny town
outside of Rio de Janeiro in Braziland to today where he is known around
(09:54):
the world and has fan bases innumerous countries around the world. The US
of course, Japan, Australia,he plays everywhere, and I think it's
it's it's been really fascinating to dothat, and we chronicle that in the
film, and we do it withthe help of a number of people that
(10:16):
he's worked with along the way.We talked about Herbalbert will i Am Common,
who figures in the film. Wewere there to shoot a work session,
musical session in the studio between thetwo of them, which was absolutely
amazing. Sergio had done a trackto which Common was going to freestyle rap
(10:43):
and he was making it up ashe went along. We shot four different
takes. Each one was different lyricswere different, thoughts were different, and
they finally on the fourth take hiton something they both loved and we show
that in the film, and that'swhat was on Sergio's album that came out
last year. We also talked toQuincy Jones, We talked to John Legend,
(11:07):
with whom Sergio has written and recordedseveral times. We even have Um,
although you'll have to contribute to ppsand see the full film, but
we have Harrison Ford and and thesoccer legend Pele. We got Pele to
sing and that's in the full lengthfeature but it was just a wonderful experience
(11:33):
to be able to look at suchan amazing career that has lasted so long.
Yeah, I was gonna say that, you know, just thinking about
about you know, some of theguys that he worked with, like like,
well, I am in common.I mean, you know, back
in the day when when when electrickeyboards started coming out, they would always
(11:54):
have the beats sessions and uh,you know, little things that you can
you can play music too, andone of them obviously the Bostonova, you
know, so you kind of thinkthat, you know, back the day,
you know, it was the firstkind of almost um, you know,
first beat that a lot of peopleprobably started tearing and starting to you
know, rap two or whatever.So it's kind of interesting. It's it's
(12:16):
an interesting rhythm to say the least. And like I said, I don't
think anybody has done so much toto make pop, you know, Bossonova
kind of beat popular than than Sergio. So it's it's kind of interesting.
And even in that case, you'reabsolutely right. I think the key was
that Sergio created in the sixties avery unique sound. It wasn't one hundred
(12:39):
percent boston Nova, although had alarge element of it, but he blended
Bossonova with jazz, a little bitof jazz and U more than a bit
of pop music. And that's Ithink why Sergiman does in Brazil. Sixty
six caught on as as as stronglyas they did in the nineteen sixties,
(13:03):
and he evolved his sound in waysin which people like Will I Am were
very much influenced. And so that'swhat you see, for example, in
his nineteen sorry, his two thousandand six album Time is that Will produced
um that really is a reflection ofhow so many young hip hop and rap
(13:24):
artists were very much influenced by Sergioand those rhythms, and they created a
very two thousand and six take onit all in that brilliant album. Yeah,
And the thing with Sergio's music toois just, you know, if
you have a you know, Idon't I don't want I don't want this
to sound insulting. It's it's not. It's the fact that you can put
(13:48):
in the background of a of acocktail party and you know, people can
can you know, really kind ofrelax and kind of be comfortable. You
know, It's just it's nothing.It's nothing fast or raging, but yet
it's something it's not slow either.It's a really kind of a medium kind
of mood that you know that getspeople kind of you know, in a
happy place as it were. Soyou know, if you you imagine cocktail
(14:11):
parties back in the sixties, youknow, you can imagine Brazil sixty six
playing in the background. So youknow, I think it's it's just kind
of cool. His music is definitelysomething that, um is different than you
know, any either extreme that wecould we could think of in terms of
party music. So it's great tobe able to you know, kind of
hear Brazil sixty six and all thatas well. I'm looking forward to to
(14:33):
watching the rest of the documentary tokind of get into more of the history
about what's been going on and someof the more people that that you talk
about. Let me ask you aquestion, UM, you know, you've
done so many You've done so manygreat documentaries, the US Versus John Lennon,
the Herbalbert Is documentaries currently on Amazonas well. What kind of drew
(14:54):
you to doing music documentaries? Uh, it's an interesting question question because I
am not a musician myself. Itook six years of piano lessons when I
was a kid, but I rememberabout four notes. But music has always
figured very prominently in my life.I remember my folks gave me a radio
(15:16):
when I was a kid, andit would be on in my room all
the time. When I was incollege, I had a radio show in
the morning from six to nine AM, and I was exposed to a lot
of great music and a lot ofgreat artists. And I find music inspires
me. It inspires me to becreative, It inspires me to keep a
(15:39):
smile on my face, and itjust inspires me to have a very sort
of uplifting and upbeat perspective on life. And so I have found myself drawn
to telling stories of great musicians whohave a found success on their own terms
(16:03):
and b have found ways to keeptheir music vital and fresh over the decades.
You know, there are a lotof musicians, many of whom have
played somewhere in Vegas, you'll pardonthe expression, over the years another one
hit Wonders or maybe one album.But I'm much more interested in looking at
(16:26):
careers of people who have been ableto surpass that and exceed that in a
way that makes them unique. Andso you look at people like Paul McCartney
or you know, Sergio and alot of other people who have careers that
have spanned over six decades and noteverybody can do that. And I'm fascinated
(16:47):
about what is it about those musiciansthat enables them to accomplish that as well
as to create music that really speaksto people of different generations. I mean,
there are a few people that,especially nowadays, that could kind of
transcend that. I mean, youknow, um tent Wrestler is probably the
only one I can take off offthe top of my head that has really
(17:10):
kind of you know, kind oftranscend it. You know, where he's
working with a lot of different artists, he's working with a lot of different
people as well. I mean,you know, nowadays, it seems like
it's just you know, um theypeople work with with with people then or
you know they kind of you know, get their fifteen minutes and kind of
go out and kind of you know, don't do anything as well. But
(17:33):
you know, yeah, I meanit's kind of tough, tougher and tougher
nowadays to kind of to kind ofsee some of those people that do have
kind of a legacy that's going on, and um, it'll be interesting to
see who kind of your past thedeck gades as it work, um in
terms of music, um, evenas a producer or somebody that works with
other with other artists like Sergio has. So I'm interested to see who kind
(17:55):
of the next person is that kindof kind of steps up and really kind
of starts working with other with otherartists and really, you know, starts
to uh, you know, startsto affect the music industry, which really
needs a kind of an uplifting alittle bit, I think. So it'll
be interesting to see what was onin the next couple of years. Maybe
Sergio well work with another artist andthings will change in another direction. So
(18:17):
fakers crossed on that. Um.You know. One last question, I
mean, you know, I knowyet project's kind of been you know,
going on right now and behind thescenes or whatever, But is there any
certain stories that you would love tolove to tell? Yeah, I can
tell you about one of them.Mark. We announced this one last November
and we're we're about halfway through productionat the moment. It's a story that
(18:45):
blends music and politics and social commentaryand something of a mystery, and it
all involves a jazz rock band calledBlood Sweat and Tears, and they were
huge in nineteen sixty nine, innineteen seventy, and then something happened and
(19:11):
it affected their career trajectory, andit's why we don't remember them as as
well as we may remember a fewother groups from that era. But it's
a very compelling story, and actuallyone element of it involves Las Vegas.
(19:32):
They were the first rock band toplay a primary showroom at a hotel in
Las Vegas. They played Caesar's Palace. A lot of the rock bands had
played lounges and then you know Elvis, but he wasn't really a rock band.
He was a star. But theywere the first rock band they played
(19:56):
Caesar's Palace and it was a veryyou know, today, so many rock
bands play Vegas and do quite well, but Blood Swin Tears was the first,
and it was not as as wellaccepted then as it is now.
And we talked a little bit aboutthat, but it's a it's a fascinating
(20:17):
story about a terrifically talented group ofmusicians. I'll bet a lot of your
listeners know their music. They hadfour big hits in nineteen sixty nine,
Spinning Wheel, what goes up,you know, must come down. You
made me so very happy and whenI die and more and more, and
(20:37):
we still hear them on the radiotoday. So again, as you and
I were talking earlier, it's aband whose music lasts, although it's music
from a very specific time. Sowe're going to tell the story of what
happened in nineteen seventy And I thinkpeople be really fascinated by Yeah, you
know, you know, times havebeen weirdly changing pretty much from the past
(20:59):
couple of decades. You know,things, things happen, So I'm interested
to see what goes on with thatas well. And UM, you know,
Sergio Mendez, UM and friends acelebration that's on PBS coming up starting
on June first. To check yourlocal listings on PBS to find out when
it's airing. And UM, youknow, hopefully we'll get the get the
(21:21):
full documentary, UM, you know, streaming somewhere. And UM, you
know, if you're browing into PBS, maybe you'll be able to get a
DVD as well. You know,look out for their look out for their
UM you know, when they startfundraising, make sure you guys check that
out as well, and UM andI also want to mention her balbert Is
(21:41):
is currently String on Amazon. Youguys can check out that documentary as well
anything anything else that you can thinkof, anything you else want to add
that. At the moment, markI think we covered it, I will
say, um, I've done documentariesand a lot of artists who are no
longer with us. Herb and Sergioare two exceptions to that, and I've
(22:04):
got to say in both cases,but here we are talking about Sergio.
It's been such a pleasure to getto know them as people and to now
call them as friends of mine,and that's just an extra bonus. In
addition to making films of which Iam very proud, it was just great
to meet and get to know thesetwo artists who are just real gentlemen and
(22:29):
lovely, warm, sensitive artists.And the fact that we are now friends
is that little extra bonus. Well, if you guys, if you're ever
out here in Vegas, le letme know. You know, there's so
many great artists that are actually outhere doing residencies and all that. So
it's crazy to be able to thinkthat Buzz and Tears kind of almost started.
That started that idea of having rockbandons out here too, so it'll
(22:53):
be great to see once that comesout as well. Where can people find
you on social media? I amat on Instagram and I am They can
go to Krewneck Productions dot com andthey can also find me on Facebook under
Krewneck Productions, also under John Scheinfeld. Well, John, thanks a lot
(23:14):
for joining us. Best of luckto you this year. I look forward
to your upcoming projects and keep thingsrolling. We'll do Mark. Thanks for
having me. All the best toyou and your listeners. Make sure you
guys subscribe to us on iTunes orwherever you get your podcast. We are
based out of spreeker dot com rightnow, but we also are on a
(23:36):
bunch of different other platforms and acuting iHeartRadio, and you guys can even
ask Alexa to play Somewhere in Vegaslatest episode as well, so make sure
you guys check that out as well. And you guys can said checkouts out
at spreeker dot com and look upfor Somewhere in Vegas and you'll be able
to find a lot of our oldepisodes as well. We're going to try
to press on a little bit,maybe doing maybe one episode a week for
(23:59):
the for the summer, as thingskind of start rolling and everything like that.
Everything is kind of rolling out herein Vegas. We're going to be
opening up soon, so we'll behaving a lot more guests coming in that
have are actually going to be outhere performing, so it's great to be
able to do as well. Somake sure you guys definitely check out our
Instagram and are at at SWIV podcastat SWIV podcast, also on Twitter at
(24:25):
swiv at swiv and Somewhere in Vegason Facebook as well. With that in
mind, we'll see you guys nextweek here on Somewhere in Vegas
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