All the excitement of Brazilian music will be heard this week in a concert by the trio Choro Chic China who will display their musical skills with Portuguese melodies set to a throbbing African heartbeat.

Shanghai is a blend of different ethnic groups and cultures. And one great thing about this open and curious city is that it keeps absorbing new elements and welcoming new people from all over the world to breathe fresh air into the cultural scene.

This Friday, three musicians from Brazil will grace the stage in the Shanghai Time Square with their unique "Choro" music-also known as "Brazil Jazz" and the progenitor of the Bossa Nova.

Choro Chic China established itself as a band in Shanghai last year and is the only Choro band in China. It consists of three young Brazilian musicians-multi-instrumentalist Raquele Magalhaes on flute and piccolo, passionate drummer Leonardo Susi and Juba Ferreiro on guitar and Cavaquinho.

The three accomplished and dynamic young musician have played in a lot of jazz venues throughout the city over the past few months.

The Choro music style first appeared during the 1870s in Rio de Janeiro and featured large leaps of melodies at dizzying speeds with surprising changes of harmony and improvised sounds. The musical style of Choro is similar to the samba or Bossa Nova rhythms and played on a guitar or other fretted stringed instrument, plus flute or clarinet and percussion.

In Brazil, Choro was a combination of African tradition mixed with the Portuguese; the beautiful singing lines of the melody combined with the life-giving heartbeat of Africa.

"It is so exciting that we were able to meet and establish the only Choro group in China," said Magalhaes, the flute player, who is the leader of the band. "After our band members met in the city, we became very close through having the same passion for music."

Before they came to play in Shanghai, very few people knew about Choro and there was no venue where people could hear an authentic Choro performance. "There were no bands playing Brazilian jazz music in the city and people in China knew nothing about Choro,' said Cedric Thiollett, the producer of the band's first CD.

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