Andre Carvalho | Bass
Born in Lisbon, André Carvalho is a Portuguese jazz bassist/composer, based in New York, whose music is described by AllAboutJazz.com as of “gentle beauty that brings you back to repeat listens” and by Jazz.pt as “so diverse as consistent, that confirms the predicates of a musician with much to enrich jazz”.
With two albums released under his own name, Hajime andMemória de Amiba, Carvalho represents his unique global perspec ve with a blend of contemporary jazz, Portuguese music as well as rock and classical. He has been awarded several prizes, including the Bucharest Interna onal Jazz Compe on (Best Group award) and the Carlos Paredes 2012 Prize (which recognizes a contribu on to maintaining a dis nct Portuguese cultural iden ty in music). Carvalho is currently working on his third album as a leader, featuring interna onal well-known New York jazz musicians.
Carvalho has toured intensively in Europe, the United States and Egypt, both as leader and sideman, playing at interna onal fes vals such as Cairo Jazz Fes val, Fes val de Jazz de Viseu, 50th Jazz Fes val Ljubliana, Serralves em Festa, Bundes Jazz Fes val, Festa do Jazz or in venues like Barbican Center, Finlandia Talo, Basel Messe, Aula Magna, CCB, Casa da Música, Porgy & Bess, Konzerthaus Berlin, Na onal Auditorium of Music - Madrid, Lisinki Concert Hall, Cornelia Street Café, Palais des Beaux-arts - Brussels, among many others. Carvalho has performed with jazz musicians like Chris Cheek, Will Vinson, Ian Froman, Colin Stranahan, André Matos, Tommy Crane, Vinnie Sperrazza, Mário Laginha, Billy Mintz, Maria João, European Movement Jazz Orchestra, among many others.
He has also achieved outstanding results after being awarded several grants such as GDA Founda on for recording Memória de Amiba, GDA Founda on for a Summer 2016 tour with his group all around Portugal, Ins tuto Camões grant to present his music in Egypt, Cultural Ministry and the Portuguese Embassy in Bucharest grants, which brought his group to Romania, among others.
André’s accomplishments extend beyond the jazz world. Carvalho has performed with classical orchestras including the Ibero-American Orchestra (under Gustavo Dudamel), Anton Webern Orchestra (under Franz Welser- Most and Heinrich Schiff), Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra (under Michael Zilm), among others, as well as contemporary ensembles such as Octothorpe. His interest in Fado, Portugal’s tradi onal music, led him to perform with important names of this genre, such as Carlos do Carmo and Cris na Branco.
Carvalho has also played with the legendary Brazilian singer Gilberto Gil on a European tour which passed by England (Barbican Center, London), Finland (Finlandia-talo, Helsinki), Italy (Teatro Francesco Cilea, Reggio Calabria) and Switzerland (Messe Basel, Basel).
As a Fulbright grantee, Carvalho relocated to the United States in 2014 where he finished his Master of Music (MM) in jazz performance at theManha an School of Music. André started his music studies in Lisbon at the Academia de Amadores de Música (with Fernando Flores) and the Hot Clube de Portugal, while finishing his first Bachelor (in Computer Engineering). Carvalho also has a Bachelor in classical double bass (in the class of Josef Niederhammer) from the University of Music Vienna, Austria.
André studies privately with Sam Yahel and has studied with interna onal musicians such as Ari Hoenig, Ben Street, Orlando Le Fleming and Ma Brewer.
Currently, he leads his own group, which features interna onally acclaimed musicians.
PRESS RELEASES
Carvalho may well have taken his inspiration from a tiny, shapeless, creature, but “Memória De Amiba” is impressively well-structured. The septet plays with finesse. Carvalho’s writing offers scope for different textures and layers of sound that often give the sensation of a much larger ensemble, but he’s not afraid to give space to just one or two players at a time, creating some memorable performances as a result. — All About Jazz
[...] ultimately all that matters is that this is a collection of high quality, subtly melodic, atmospheric compositions that usher you into their own discrete world. — All About Jazz
Released right near the end of 2013, it was too late to consider this album for my Best of 2013 list, as my cutoff (and that of many other reviewers) typically runs from November to November. However, this album will get some attention when the Best of 2014 lists start getting compiled. — Bird is the Worm
Today we have further proof - if proof were needed - that jazz music of the highest order can spring up at any time, from anywhere on the planet. — Next Jazz
«Memória de Amiba» é um tratado de sensibilidade que sucede ao bem visto «Hajime» editado pela Tone of a Pitch (tal como este) em 2011. — Disco Digital
El concepto musical que engloba la obra, abre un gran protagonismo a los demás instrumentos que participan en cada tema, desvelando exquisitos momentos musicales en las improvisaciones y arreglos de los mismos. El líder contrabajista, como tal, es parte fundamental de sus creaciones, pero deja expresar a sus compañeros con total libertad. — TomaJazz
