"Mais Que Nada" was a 1966 smash hit from Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66

"E Menina" ("Hey Girl") is a 2005 track from Sergio Mendes' "Timeless"

Sergio Mendes was gracious enough to take time from preparations for his performance in the upcoming Hawaii Romance Festival to talk to us. Growing up with our parents' vinyl record collections familiarized us with his musical arrangements (and equally fantastic jacket art). His most recent release, "Timeless," was a successful collaboration with contemporary young R&B and hip-hop artists, so we figured he would be accessible and hip.

However, we were pleasantly surprised and gently educated by Mendes' aura of confidence and anticipation, which come from the fact that things have, as he put it, "come full circle."

Though the urban myth of the conception of "Timeless" tells of Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am showing up on Mendes' doorstep with a bunch of his records and a ton of admiration, Mendes was by no means waiting around for some kid with a sampler and a turntable to "rediscover him."

You can hear it in his voice, which sounds like someone whose ASCAP royalties are being delivered on time. It is resonant and smooth, with an appreciable Brazilian accent that still evokes American fantasies of exoticism and sophistication, as epitomized by the cover of "Brasil '66," his debut album. He and his band were photographed as a stylish-sexy-cool "jungle" wedding party, posed amid rain forest greenery — dressed in dark suits and florescent dresses.

Fortunately Mendes has long since transcended such representation and become a respected elder of the Global Village. He enjoys an appropriately diverse intercontinental audience eager to immerse itself in his sound no matter what the point of entry might be: a vintage vinyl recording, an MP3 remix, The Hype Machine (www.hypem.com), or the iTunes Store.

IMPORTANCE OF MELODY

Closing the circle that connects different generations was a recurrent theme in our discussion.

We asked Mendes where he thought the idea and expression of romance fit in popular music, now that so much of it has become explicit, if not outright vulgar. He casually ignored the second part of the question. In Mendes' world, the beauty of a sophisticated yet accessible composition effortlessly trumps any strip club anthem. Like many great musicians, Mendes believes that truly enduring music represents itself clearly and yields deep richness for those who would explore it.

"I think that romance is one of the words that describes Brazilian music. ..." he said. "You hear the classics of Brazilian music, the great songs. ... You have the beautiful melodies and the wonderful rhythms — romance is there."

At this point we realized that the idea of romance goes beyond a soundtrack for lovers, and therefore any crude comparison with rude radio tunes, into a deeper sense of time and space.

To create a romantic atmosphere is to create a different kind of timelessness, and it is clearly something Mendes looks forward to doing when he performs in Hawai'i, backed by the Matt Catingub Orchestra. He continued: "We'll be doing all our best romantic songs. ... We'll be doing 'The Look of Love,' 'The Fool on the Hill.' It's about melody, that's what we do."

What we do, indeed, making it sound so easy!

"Of course we have the rhythms, the percussion and all that stuff," he added quickly, but it was clear that he emphasized the importance of the melody over the beat.

When asked about why this works, Mendes replied, "A good example is (the song) 'Mas Que Nada,' which was a huge hit for me in 1966 and again a huge hit all over the world in 2006," when he revisited it with the Black Eyed Peas. "The melody's there, the same chant; it's the melody that it's all about."

COLLABORATIONS

For Mendes, the emphasis on melody does not imply superiority over rhythm, and this is probably the secret that allows him to put his unique stamp on any genre he chooses — his repertoire also includes jazz, funk, and disco.

Melodic emphasis also allows him to cover and re-arrange (dare we say remix?) other peoples' songs and make them uniquely his.

Those used to elevator-style renditions of "The Look of Love" or "Fool on the Hill" will find an unmistakable Brazilian pulse shuffling and gliding beneath remarkable orchestral arrangements that become increasingly layered as they progress.

But these tunes also begin and end with the kind of tight passages of rhythm, melody and lyric that are choice targets for remix engineers and DJs. These sample-worthy chunks are the bridges that many younger producers and songwriters crossed to get into his music.

Asked if over the years he was keeping tab on trends in popular music or blazing his own trail, Mendes said, "I never labeled what I do. I follow my intuition and my heart. I'm a song person. I need the song (to start with). The rest is arranging, which I do, and casting."

For Mendes, a great song attracts the right people to work with. He is among a very small group of recording artists (including Quincy Jones, Bill Laswell, Dr. Dre, Brian Eno and Carlos Santana) who gets other musicians to stop what they're doing when the phone rings with his invitation to get involved.

"Casting" is a perfect term for what Mendes does because it captures the philosophy behind the cinematic feel of his best-loved tunes, invokes the powers of drama and romance, and offers some insight into how he tries to create musical works with longevity.

Herb Alpert, India.Arie, Will.i.am, Natalie Cole, Q-Tip, Fergie, Lonnie Hall, John Legend. These are just a few of the generation and genre-spanning names that Sergio Mendes has worked with.

"On my new album 'Encanto,' I have guests from all over the world: from Italy, France, Brazil, Colombia," he said.

"To be able to work with different people is wonderful for the soul. It's exciting. Every guest will bring their own magic to the project."

This Sunday, you should consider yourself lucky if, in the form of an eager listener, you can become one of those people, ready to complete the circle he has drawn with his transcontinental sound.

David A.M. Goldberg is a cultural critic and lecturer in American Studies at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. Mano Lopez hosts "Fistfulofganas," an Afro-Cuban and Latin music show on KTUH, airing 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays.