Rent a bike from downtown Rio and cycle 13km south to Ipanema, an upscale beachfront neighbourhood that helped birth bossa nova music in the 1960s.

BBC: Easy breaks from Rio de Janeiro

The most complex schanaen(ph) highlife or virtuosic Romanian gypsy music, and of course, the coolest, most sophisticated Bossa nova from Brazil.

NPR: In Brazil, Even Bad Music Is Good

When she was still in her teens, the bossa nova composer Antonio Carlos Jobim recognized her talent, and she in turn became one of the best performers of his music.

NPR: Kenny Barron And Eliane Elias In Concert