We will be in Rio in January. My boyfriend is celebrating his birthday during our stay and is a jazz fan. I am looking for a nice and interesting place to have dinner with live Brazilian jazz. Thanks
Vinicius in Ipanema always good, though not what I would call a supper club...also Sunday nights at Usina Quarenta e Sete in Leblon...you are more likely to find samba or bossanova than true jazz--still good. (I miss Mistura Fina)...others will chime in with suggestions$.
TribOz in Lapa is dedicated to jazz and bossa nova. Brazilian and international musicians, singers, composers and artists meet at TribOz, the official location of the Brazilian-Australian Cultural Center (Centro Cultural Brasil-Austrália).
....how could I forget...though not Jazz, good live music spot (in addition to above and Lapa) is Trapiche Gamboa.
Check The Maze (look for The Maze Inn here on TA).
Esch is a personal favorite of mine (for the food and being a Cuban Cigar smoker)--however, they were no longer offering live music during my last visit this past spring, at least at the Leblon location....perhaps there is still live music at their other, Centro location???
Esch Café in Leblon usually has live jazz on a Friday night. Best to check before you go.
Look out for the excellent Baixada Jazz Big Band (plenty of stuff on you tube), containing some of Rio's best jazz musicians, which plays occasionally at the beautiful Casa Julieta e Serpa in Flamengo, also the Orquestra Atlântica, sometimes found at Triboz (run by Aussie trumpeter Mike Ryan). The British-owned Maze has sessions on first Friday of the month, often including British residents singer Rowena Jameson & brassman Tom Ashe. There's also Cais do Oriente:
http://www.documennta.com.br/jazz-as-sextas-feiras-no-cais-do-oriente/
Edited: 8 years agoRio’s Jazz in Candelária returns to Lapa on Saturday, March 5th:
Renowned Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos has died at age 71. He was a master of the single-string percussion instrument known in Portuguese as the berimbao.
The American jazz magazine DownBeat named Vasconcelos percussionist of the year every year from 1983 to 1991.