Jazz in Rio

I was feeling a little grumpy last night. The weather had been uncooperative for a good number of days at this point, rainy, chilly, overcast. I am getting tired of being underdressed (I forgot to bring even one pair of long pants) and everything I had to wear that is the least bit appropriate for a night out has no sleeves. I buck up, because it's at least not POURING as it was all last night, and it's our last saturday night in Brazil.

Justin dresses me up in his jeans and we run off to Leblon.

We discovered Leblon just the night before. Rio's zona sul is comprised of three connected beach areas: Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon. Copacabana is where our apartment is, and is the most lowbrow. At night, the street we're on and Avenida Atlantica (the beach road) is full of beggars and prostitutes. Ipanema is a little more luxurious, and Leblon even more so.

We walked around Leblon and quickly found a street that was the site of a jazz festival earlier in the day. I told Justin that it would have been disappointing. He was unconvinced, and probably a bit perturbed. He's wanted to hear good jazz for a bit now, and we've found samba, bossa nova, salsa, rock, axe, but not jazz.

A couple of more steps and I see a beautiful bar with a bassist beginning to unzip his bag.

Esch cafe is a beautiful, classy, cigar bar. The place was packed, tables of wealthy-looking older people smoking away, drinking champagne and whisky. Justin walks into the humidor at the front of the cafe and selects a cuban cigar.

They're terrific, but Justin is disappointed that he can't speak enough portuguese to talk to the singer, Pery Ribeiro about how great he was. Only briefly though, as he passes by and speakks to a couple of women in perfect English.

As Justin's talking to Pery, a handsome older gentleman named Mario starts chatting with me, also in perfect English. This was the first time anyone had spoken to any of us in more than a couple of words in English. He's funny, warm, opinionated. "I hate New York," he says, "New York is broken. The United States is broken. The states voted for George Bush." We toast to Obama, and continue taking through the next couple of sets.