music
After celebrating a decade of existence, in which it also occupied the Theatro Circo, Julho é de Jazz will once again present a program that will cover the city’s two venues over the course of two weeks. The eleventh edition once again brings together a luxury cast, bringing some of the best names in modern jazz to Braga.
fourward
Promising the new generation of national jazz, Fourward is the quartet of José João Viana, Gonçalo Cravinho Lopes, Simão Duque and Tomás Alvarenga. The four, with roots in Braga, came together in this formation to take part in improvisation sessions in the city’s bars and clubs.
Long-time friends, Tomás and Gonçalo have been playing together since they were 13. They are two of the founders of the band OCENPSIEA, with which they toured venues and festivals across the country, and have since collaborated on various projects. They met Simão Duque at the Calouste Gulbenkian Braga Conservatory of Music and later separated to study music and composition at different universities in Portugal and abroad. Simão entered the Lisbon School of Music, where he met José João, thus completing the Fourward elements. In 2023, they won the CoolJazz by SmoothFM Talent Contest, an action aimed at promoting national jazz, and performed at the CoolJazz festival in Cascais.
Now, the quartet is preparing their debut album, recorded with the support of gnration, and will share those compositions at this presentation. Influenced by musical universes beyond jazz, such as electronic and experimental music, folk, R&B and soul, the four are building a work that reflects their identity as composers and their eclecticism as musicians. According to the quartet, this album “will center around the idea of freedom, reflecting not only the detachment from jazz currents, but also the importance of this value for democracy in our country and in the world”.
josé joão viana electric guitar
gonçalo cravinho lopes electric and double bass
simão duque trumpet
tomás alvarenga synthesizers and drums
support portuguese republic – culture / general direction of the arts. rtcp – network of portuguese theaters and cinemas
