Led by Brazilian musician Moacyr “Momo” Marchini, Chicago Samba transports listeners to the tropics, playing the most authentic Brazilian dance music in the Midwest, flavored with the feel and spirit of carnaval. Together for almost 20 years, the seven-piece band (plus three dancers in elaborate carnaval costumes) specializes in such styles as samba, bossa nova, forró, chorinho, pagode, marcha, axé, frevo and the wild all-percussion jams from carnaval known as batucada. Playing such traditional Brazilian instruments as surdu, pandeiro, and berimbau, Chicago Samba regularly performs throughout the Chicago region at music festivals, nightclubs, private functions and schools; for the past 15 years, the band has also hosted an annual “Queen of Samba” contest to find the best samba dancers in Illinois. Chicago Samba performances never fail to get audience members out of their chairs and dancing, thanks in large part to the ensemble’s irrepressible choreographer and dance instructor, Edilson Lima. Chicago Samba has recorded one CD, Samba Bom, Samba Mundo.