Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Companhia Estadual de Jazz (CEJ) was formed in the late 1990s. The samba-jazz quintet consists of pianist Sergio Fayne, guitarist Fernando Clark, tenor saxophonist and flutist Guilherme Vianna, percussionist Chico Pessanha and bassist Reinaldo. Spicing up Brazilian standards with improvisation, the instrumental group builds its sound around hard-bop and samba-jazz. Its second album, Via Bahia (2007), is an ode to the Brazilian state of Bahia, home to some of the country's great composers such as Dorival Caymmi, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.