Frevo is a wide range of musical styles originating from Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, all of which are traditionally associated with Brazilian Carnival. The word frevo is said to come from frever, a misspeaking of the Portuguese word ferver (to boil). It is said that the sound of the frevo will make listeners and dancers to feel as they are boiling on the ground. The word frevo is normally used interchangeably either to mean the frevo music or the frevo dance.

The frevo music came first. By the end of century XIX, bands from the Brazilian Army regiments based in the city of Recife started a tradition of parading during the Carnival. Since the Carnival is originally linked to religion, they played religious procession marches and martial music, as well. A couple of regiments had famous bands which attracted lots of followers and it was just a matter of time to people start to compare one to another and cheer for their favorite bands. The two most famous bands were the Espanha (meaning Spain), whose conductor was of Spanish origin, and the 14, from the 14th regiment. The bands started to compete with each other and also started playing faster and faster, louder and louder.

Egberto Amin Gismonti (born December 5, 1947 in Carmo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Brazilian composer, guitarist and pianist.

Gismonti began his formal music studies at the age of six on piano. After studying classical music for 15 years, he went to Paris to study orchestration and analysis with Nadia Boulanger and the composer Jean Barraqué, a disciple of Schoenberg and Webern. After his return to Brazil, Gismonti began to explore other musical genres. He was attracted by Ravel's approach to orchestration and chord voicings, as well as by "choro", a Brazilian instrumental popular music featuring various types of guitars. In order to play this music he learned to play guitar, beginning on the 6-string classical instrument and switching to a ten-stringed guitar in 1973. He spent two years experimenting with different tunings and searching for new sounds. This exploration of timbre is further reflected in his use of kalimbas, Shō, voice, bells, etc. By the early '70s, he had laid the groundwork for his current style which incorporated elements drawn from musicians as wide-ranging as Django Reinhardt and Jimi Hendrix. In the 1970s and 1980s he collaborated several times with Nana Vasconcelos recording for ECM. Some best-selling albums such as the Brazilian released eponymous Egberto Gismonti were never officially released in the US.

Pato Fu is a Brazilian rock band from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The band was formed by lead singer Fernanda Takai, guitarist John Ulhoa and bassist Ricardo Koctus, in 1992. Their drummer, Xande Tamietti, joined the band in 1996, as did keyboardist Lulu Camargo in 2005. The band is also famous for their 2010 album Música de Brinquedo, which was written using only toy instruments.

Their first album, Rotomusic de Liquidificapum, was released in 1993, followed, since then, by other eight releases: Gol de Quem? (1995), Tem Mas Acabou (1996), Televisão de Cachorro (1998), Isopor (1999), Ruído Rosa (2000), MTV ao Vivo: No Museu de Arte da Pampulha (2002), Toda Cura para Todo Mal (2005), and Daqui Pro Futuro (2007), and with launch scheduled for 2010, Música de Brinquedo. The band's popularity began to increase simultaneously with two other groups from Belo Horizonte, Jota Quest and Skank. The band plays in alternative rock style, but resorting frequently to experimental music elements. Pato Fu is frequently said as being influenced by Os Mutantes, a famous Brazilian tropicalist group from the 1960s, probably because of the experimentalism found in both bands' songs. Their music is influenced by Devo, The Cure, Radiohead, Pizzicato Five, Super Furry Animals and also Brazilian Popular Music, among various others. Takai once said her singing is influenced by Suzanne Vega, of whom she is a fan.

Ulf Karl Erik Wakenius (born 16 April 1958 in Halmstad, Sweden) is a Swedish jazz guitarist. Wakenius was a member of the Oscar Peterson quartet from 1997. He was also a member of the Ray Brown trio. Wakenius also plays with his own band, and has recorded many albums.

In the 80s he played with Peter Almqvist in Guitars Unlimited playing, among other things, during the intermission for 600 million viewers of the Swedish International Finale of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986. A stop in Rio de Janeiro resulted in three records with Sivuca Let's Vamos, Aquarela Do Brazil and Rendez-Vous in Rio (Sonet 1987). The cooperation with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen also started this decade, and they also recorded This Is All I Ask (Verve, 1998) and Those Who Were (Verve, 1996).

His own U.W. Group released Venture (1991) with Jack DeJohnette on drums, Bill Evans and Bob Berg on saxes, Randy Brecker on trumpet, Niels Lan Doky on piano, Chris Minh Doky and Lars Danielsson on bass. The work with American musicians continued in New York Meeting with Niels Lan Doky piano, Ira Coleman bass, and Billy Hart drums.