When people think of Brazilian music , they inevitably think of the Carnaval —the annual pre-Lenten festival held in Rio de Janeiro, with its noisy, joyous street parade of colourful floats and flamboyant dancers moving to the irrepressible rhythm of the samba . But Brazil's contribution to the world's music has been far greater than this single image might imply. The country's enormous size, varied landscape, complex history, and extraordinary racial mixture have created...