Gracinha Leporace (born Maria da Graça Leporace; 20 January 1950) is a Brazilian singer who works extensively with her husband

Sérgio Mendes Sérgio Santos Mendes (; born February 11, 1941) is a Brazilian musician. His career took off with worldwide hits by his group Brasil '66. He has over 55 releases and plays bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. He was nominated for ...

and his band. Leporace was born in

Ipanema Ipanema () is a neighbourhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon and Arpoador. The beach at Ipanema became known internationally with the popularity of the bossa nova jazz song, "The Girl from Ipane ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. She has a sister, Marianna Leporace, who is a singer and actress in Brazil. Leporace has featured regularly in much of her husband's group's releases since the 1970s and can be heard as the Portuguese-singing female vocal in the hit " Mas que Nada" (featuring

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...

) from the 2006 album '' Timeless'' and in the

Baden Powell de Aquino Baden Powell de Aquino (; 6 August 1937 – 26 September 2000), known professionally as Baden Powell, was a Brazilian guitarist. He combined classical techniques with popular harmony and swing. He performed in many styles, including bossa nova, ...

composition "Berimbau/Consolação" from the same album, in which she provides the lead vocal. She has been featured on Sergio Mendes's album ''Magic'', released in 2014. She also appears frequently in concert with Mendes's band as a vocalist. Along with her work with Mendes, she was a member of the Bossa Nova group ''Bossa Rio'' in the early 1970s. Leporace has two sons with Mendes: Gustavo and Tiago. They currently reside in Los Angeles, California.

Discography

* 1968 ''Gracinha Leporace'', Philips

References

External links

Photo
of Gracinha from a 1967 magazine cover
Photo
of Gracinha from the 2008

Cape Town International Jazz Festival The Cape Town International Jazz Festival is an annual music festival held in Cape Town, South Africa. The first one was held in 2000 to 2005 and is recognized as the fourth largest jazz festival in the world and the largest jazz festival on the ...

Last.fm biography
of Gracinha Leporace Bossa nova singers 1949 births Living people 20th-century Brazilian women singers 20th-century Brazilian singers 21st-century Brazilian women singers 21st-century Brazilian singers Women in Latin music {{Brazil-singer-stub