São Paulo has quite an imaginative jazz tradition. The Bourbon Street Music Club, Rua dos Chanés 127, Moema, has a consistently good, though very expensive (entrance is $17), programme including visiting international artists and frequent festivals. In newly fashionable Vila Madalena, there are several jazz venues, probably the best being Blen Blen Brasil, Rua Inácio Pereira da Rocha 520. In Bixiga, the Café Piu-Piu (closed Mon), at Rua 13 de Maio 134, is a lively venue for some very good jazz and choro, as well as the most appalling rock and country-and-western music.

If it's more obviously Brazilian music that you're seeking, check the newspaper entertainment listings for touring artists or, if feeling slightly adventurous, you could go to a gafieira , a dance hall that's the meeting place of working-class and Bohemian chic. A gafieira that's always packed to the rafters with migrants from the Northeast dancing to forró is Pedro Sertanejo, Rua Catumbi 183, Brás (Sat 9pm-4am, Sun 8pm-midnight). Be warned that gafieiras tend to be out of the centre and can seem rather alien and disconcerting places if you've only just arrived in Brazil. The Avenida Club, Av. Pedroso de Morães, Pinheiros, is the best-known place in São Paulo for formal dancing - everything from ballroom to samba, forró and merenque. To discover how the lambada should really be danced, try the Som de Cristal at Rua Rego Freitas 470, Centro. Regular performances of Brazilian folk, popular and New Wave music are given at the Centro Cultural de São Paulo, at Rua Vergueiro 1000 (by the Vergueiro metrô station), and are either free or charge only a modest admission fee. If you're around, one of the most enjoyable outings is to the Clube do Choro, held on Saturday and Sunday nights in Jardim América (at Rua João Moura, between Rua Artur Azevedo and Rua Teodoro Sampaio); the street is closed off, a stage erected and tables and chairs put out so that you can sit and listen to some excellent music. There's a small cover charge and food and drink are available, too.