Jazz at Lincoln Center plans to celebrate the music and spirit of Brazil May 23rd and 24th with the country’s music icon, songwriter and pianist Ivan Lins and bossa nova singer, songwriter and guitarist Rosa Passos. The Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of jazz at Lincoln Center, will host the Brazilian talents in consecutive performances. Tickets are on sale now and are available at the box office on Broadway and 60th Street or can be purchased by phone at 212.721.6500, or online at www.jalc.org.

Early arrivals waiting to see Rosa Passos at her first showing at 7:30 can kick of the Brazilian festival a half-hour earlier as Gringa will provide a live performance of samba and bossa nova standards from the Brazilian songbook and authentic tastes of Havana Central will be offered.

Passos is known in her native Brazil as the “feminine João Gilberto” and began playing guitar and writing her own bossa nova music as a teenager. She is credited with keeping Brazilian jazz alive while still maintaining its mystery, rhythm and romance. She performs in The Allen Room for the first time as she celebrates the 50th anniversary of bossa nova with bassist Paulo Paulelli and percussionist Celso de Almeida.

Ivan Lins will perform the first half of his 8:00 set with Trio da Paz, the Brazilian Jazz group featuring Duduka da Fonseca on drums, Nilson Matta on bass and Romero Lubambo on guitar. New York Voices, the vocal jazz quartet, will join him onstage for the second half of his performance. Lins’ successful 35-year career has seen his songs recorded by such artists as Quincy Jones, George Benson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Barbara Streisand. His compositions and talents have also earned him a 2000 Latin Grammy nominee and a 2001 Grammy award for Latin Pop Vocal.