José ALMEIDA

José started his musical studies in 2007 in the “Sintra Conservatory”, studying Classical Guitar; in 2012 started to play electric bass, studying with Nuno Allan, very important bass player in Portugal.
At 17, he got into “Hot Club”, the most important jazz school in Lisbon, where he studied with the likes of Luis Cunha, Nuno Costa, Francisco Brito, André Rosinha. A year after, in 2017, he got into ESML (Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa), the biggest music University in Portugal, where he is finishing a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance, studying with André Fernandes, Bernardo Moreira, Nelson Cascais, Óscar Graça, Pedro Moreira, Afonso Pais, Ricardo Pinheiro, among others.
He has participated in workshops with world-class musicians, like Ohad Talmor, Shane Endsley, Gilad Hekselman, Perico Sambeat, Jesus Santandréu, Dan Weiss, Joe Lovano, Romain Pilon, David Binney and Mike Del Ferro. He has toured extensively in Portugal and other countries: having played with André Fernandes, Ohad Talmor, Shane Endsley, Óscar Graça, João Paulo Esteves da Silva, André Silva, Javier Subatin and many others, including a performance as guest double-bass player with the “ESML Wind Ensemble” and Jesus Santandréu.
José has done quite the number of shows with theatre companies and also plays with the band “Kumpania Algazarra”. He has played in Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy, China and
Switzerland.

Photo credit: Mario Vitória