Júlio Resende Fado Jazz – From the Portuguese piano to the Portuguese guitar

Júlio Resende (piano), Bruno Chaveiro (Portuguese guitar)

Júlio Resende, an expressive and technically impeccable pianist, creative composer and brilliant improvisor, is one of today’s most highly acclaimed Portuguese musicians, both at home and abroad.

He started playing the guitar at the age of four and has considered it to be “his favourite toy” ever since. His music knows no borders, from Jazz to Fado, passing through classical, pop-rock and electronic music.

At barely 40 years of age, Resende has already released 10 albums demonstrating the proficiency and quality of this extraordinary musician and reflecting his evolution, his creativity, his endless curiosity and his fearless approach to innovation.

His first three works were Jazz classics in trio and quartet formats: Da Alma (2007), Assim Falava Jazzatrusta (2009) and You Taste Like a Song (2011).

He then decided to take fado to the piano, combining tradition and modernity, seeking to express the full essence of the genre via this unique instrument. Thus, the publication of his applauded Amália por Júlio Resende (2013) turned him into the pioneer of the Fado Jazz genre.

In the same vein, with the participation of Sílvia Pérez Cruz, he released his fifth album, Fado & Further (2015).

His sixth, Poesia Homónima (2016), gives the floor to words and poetry, where the voice of Júlio Machado Vaz plays to the accompaniment of Resende’s piano improvisation.

In 2017 Resende released the album that may just be his most off-the-wall and groundbreaking, combining the poetry of Fernando Pessoa with pop-rock and electronic sounds: Alexander Search (2017).

In 2020 he released two works: Cinderella Cyborg, and Fado Jazz Ensemble. In the former he reflects on the love affair between human beings and machines with electronic sounds joined by the piano, drums and the double bass. In the latter, Resende once again approaches the fusion of Jazz and Fado.

His latest album, Júlio Resende Fado Jazz -Sons of Revolution (2023), is a celebration of freedom, of the 50th anniversary of 25 April and of Portugal’s relationship with Africa.

Resende, who has worked with big name artists such as Salvador Sobral, Lina Rodrigues, Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Maria João Pires, is a unique musician who has skilfully honed a new approach to Portuguese song, a tireless creator who will continue to delight us with his future creations, no doubt about it.