Pedro Machado Abrunhosa (born 20 December 1960) is a Portuguese singer, songwriter, musician and composer. Trained in jazz music, Abrunhosa started his career in the 1980s playing in jazz bands and teaching in music and art schools in Porto. He is a co-founder of the Jazz School of Porto. In 1994 Abrunhosa launched a solo career in pop music with his debut album ''Viagens''. This album made Abrunhosa the fastest-selling artist in Portuguese record-industry history at the time, reached number-one in the Portuguese album charts and sold over 140,000 copies. His second album ''Tempo'' (1996) continued the success and confirmed Abrunhosa's status as a major artist in the Portuguese music industry. Six of his eight studio albums have reached number-one in the Portuguese album charts. Aside from his music, he is known for always wearing

sunglasses Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names Sunglasses#Other names, below) are a form of Eye protection, protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damagin ...

in public. Abrunhosa also played himself in the 1999

Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about ...

film '' The Letter''. He is a board member of the Portuguese Authors Society.

Early life

Abrunhosa was born in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

, Portugal. After studying at the Ruvina Music School, in 1972 he began his musical studies at the Music School of

, under the guidance of Professors Álvaro Salazar and Jorge Peixinho, in the subjects of Analysis, Composition, and History of Music, having already initiated his studies in the double bass. (He has often been approached by the

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ( pt, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One ...

to attend and participate in the Meetings of Contemporary Music in that same institution.) Once admitted into the "Conservatório de Música do Porto", he studied

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

under the direction of Professor Cândido Lima. At that time, he was invited to take part in the Madrid Contemporary Music Group, under the direction of Spanish composer Enrique X. Macias. This afforded him the opportunity to take part in a series of shows performed in Portugal and Spain. In 1981, he received a diploma for the Courses of Musical

Pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

from Belgian Professor Jos Wuytack.

Career

1984–1994: Early career

In 1984, he went to Madrid to study with double-bass player

Todd Coolman Todd Coolman (born July 14, 1954) is a jazz bassist and a retired tenured Professor of Music at the Jazz Studies Program in the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College in Westchester County, New York. He is also the former Artistic Director of t ...

and with musicians Joe Hunt, Wallace Rooney,

Gerry Niewood Gerry Niewood (April 6, 1943 – February 12, 2009), born Gerard Joseph Nevidosky, was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist who worked often with Chuck Mangione. Like Mangione, Niewood was born in Rochester, New York, and graduated from the ...

and Steve Brown. In that same year, he finished the General Course of Composition in the "Conservatório de Música do Porto" and started studying double-bass with Alejandro Erlich Oliva. In 1985, returning to Spain, he took part in the International Jazz Seminar, and worked again with Todd Coolman,

Billy Hart Billy Hart (born November 29, 1940) is an American jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest, among others. Bio ...

, Bill Dobbins,

David Schnitter David Schnitter (born March 19, 1948, in Newark, New Jersey) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Allmusic/ref> Schnitter played clarinet as a youth and switched to tenor sax at age 15. After moving to New York City he played with Ted Dunbar ...

, Jack Walrath and Steve Brown. In that same year, together with Spanish guitar player Joaquin Iglesias, he founded the

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

"Banda de Bolso". In 1986, he returned to Spain to participate in the third International Jazz Seminar in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

where he played with Bob Moses, Chip Jackson, Brad Hartfield, Hoku Kim and Stan Strickland. In Portugal, later that year, he participated in the Seminars of Direction and Interpretation of the

Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

. He was chosen as the double-bass player of the newly formed orchestra. He also participated in two other Jazz Seminars with Danish saxophonist John Tchicai and bassist Peter Danstrup and the American musicians Paul Motian,

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

, and Joe Lovano. In 1987, he worked with David Liebman,

, Ron McClure and Richard Beirach in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. For one year, he taught double-bass at the Jazz School of Hot-Club in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

. He also directed and produced the program "Até Jazz" in the "Rádio Clube do Porto". Later on, he joined Boulou Ferré, Ramon Cardo, Frankie Rose, Vicent Penasse and Tommy Halferty and extensively toured Portugal and throughout Europe. Additionally, he joined the Teacher's Quartet of Hot-Club of Portugal and Carlos Martin's Quartet. He composed and recorded the music for the films "Amour en Latin", directed by Serge Abramovic, "Adão e Eva" directed by

Joaquim Leitão Joaquim Leitão, ComIH, OM (born 1956) is a Portuguese film director. He won two Golden Globe Awards, in 1996 for '' Adão e Eva'' and in 1998 for ''Tentação''.

, and "Novo Mundo". He was awarded Best Soundtrack at the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Film Festival for the latter. He also composed the music for the theatrical pieces "Possessos de Amor", "A Teia", and "O Aniversário da Infanta" (

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

). He composed the soundtrack to the video "150 Anos do Bonfim". He co-founded the Jazz School of Porto, where he taught Harmony, Auditive Training and Group Music, during three years. He assembled and has conducted the orchestra of the Jazz School of Porto, concomitantly, composing most of its arrangements. He was a teacher at the Higher Arts School of Porto (Cine-Video area), where lectured on the Formation and Analysis of the Soundtrack and at the Caius Music School on Group Music and Musical Production. He formed and directed the Cool Jazz Orchestra, a musical group essentially devoted to

Rhythm & Blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

. After three years of intense work it became "Pedro Abrunhosa e a Máquina do Som", performing original pieces, all of which were composed by Pedro Abrunhosa.

1994–1995: ''Viagens'' and mainstream success

In 1994, Abrunhosa recorded his debut studio album ''Viagens'' with his new band Bandemónio, that included several of his former students. Released by

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

, ''Viagens'' had the participation of

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many o ...

- the sax player that usually accompanied

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

. The album was a success, achieving triple platinum with the sale of 140,000 copies in Portugal. With ''Viagens'', Abrunhosa became "the fastest-selling artist in Portuguese record-industry history"; between October 1994 and January 1995, he performed in over 120 concerts across Portugal, with the estimated total audience surpassing 200,000. The tracks "Não Posso Mais" and "Socorro" were hits at dance clubs in the country, and ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' considered Abrunhosa's sudden popularity a "music revolution" in a country where "music with jazzy foundations" was met with some reluctance. He was named best act in 1994 by major publications such as '' Blitz'', '' Público'' and ''

Diário de Notícias ''Diário de Notícias'' () is a Portuguese daily newspaper published in Lisbon, Portugal. Established since 1864, the paper is considered a newspaper of record for Portugal. History and profile ''Diário de Notícias'' was first published in ...

'' and in 2009 ''Viagens'' was considered by ''Blitz'' as the best Portuguese album of the 90s. Under the band name "Pedro Abrunhosa e os Bandemónio", the album ''F'' was released. A book illustrating the adventures and trips of the group was also released. The book enjoyed the collaboration of two prestigious individuals in the literary and photographic worlds, respectively: Nuno Galopim and Kenton Thatcher. In 1995, Abrunhosa was heavily involved in the protests against the sale of one of the most emblematic concert venues in Portugal, Coliseu do Porto, to the

Universal Church of the Kingdom of God The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG; pt, Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, IURD) is an evangelical charismatic Christian denomination with its headquarters at the Temple of Solomon in São Paulo, Brazil. The church was founded in ...

. The musician chained himself to the building, using his significant popularity to bring public awareness to the eminent sale, that would not be completed.

1996–1998: ''Tempo''

In September 1996, Abrunhosa went to Memphis and

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

where he finished the final phase of mixing and mastering of his second album ''Tempo''. The album was recorded in Porto, Lisbon, Memphis, and Minneapolis. The final mixing process, as well as a substantial portion of the rhythm and voice recording were supervised by Tom Tucker, technical director of

Paisley Park Paisley Park Records was an American record label founded by musician Prince in 1985, which was distributed by and funded in part by Warner Bros. Records. It was started in 1985, following the success of the film and album '' Purple Rain''. ...

and chief engineer on

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

's latest albums. Supported by his label – PolyGram – he invited The New Power Generation Horns to collaborate on this album, formed by Kathy Jensen, Kenni Holmen, Michael Nelson, David Jensen, Steve Strand, Ricky Peterson and Paul Peterson (these last two being

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mu ...

player and bassist). He also collaborated with

Ozzie Melendez Osvaldo Melendez Jr, known professionally as Ozzie Melendez, has been a highly regarded studio musician and touring artist in various genres of the music industry since the mid- 1980’s. He has performed with some of the biggest names in the ind ...

(

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted th ...

Carlos do Carmo Carlos Manuel de Ascenção do Carmo de Almeida ComIH (21 December 1939 – 1 January 2021), better known as Carlos do Carmo, was a Portuguese fado singer. The son of Lucília do Carmo, a well-known ''fadista'', do Carmo began his career in fad ...

, Opus Ensemble, and

Rui Veloso Rui Manuel Gaudêncio Veloso ComIH (born 30 July 1957) is a Portuguese singer-songwriter and musician. Commonly called "The father of Portuguese rock" (Portuguese: ''O pai do rock português''), Veloso was a major figure in the boom of Portugues ...

. ''Tempo'' (''Time''), was launched at midnight on November 11, 1996. After its first week on the shelves, the album went double platinum with more than 200,000 copies sold in Portugal. He started his new tour "Tempo Tour 97/98", with concerts across Portugal, as well as in France, Canada,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and the United States. In order to further the internationalization of his work, he went to

, Paris, and London to record some of ''Tempo'' tracks in Spanish, French, and English. In May of that same year, he returned to London, to film the video "No Way", with the collaboration of Tony Vanden Ende. He composed the music and authored the script for the musical "O Rapaz de Papel" ("The Paper Boy"), presented to the public in March 1998, integrated into "O Festival dos Cem Dias" (The Hundred Day Festival") and preceding the opening of Expo 98. He produced the solo debut album by vocalist Diana Basto, ''Amanhecer'' (''Dawn''), released by

. He was responsible for the lyrics and music. It was recorded together with Tom Tucker, and was mixed and mastered in

and Los Angeles. He was invited by

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

to integrate his show in Expo 98 that has, so far, broken all the booking-office records. Invited by Expo 98, he performed his show at the

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

Plaza in September. It was the only performance from Portugal's Expo 98 which was broadcast all over the world. He was later invited to participate in the Manuel de Oliveira film, ''La Lettre'' ('' The Letter''), together with

Chiara Mastroianni Chiara Charlotte Mastroianni (born 28 May 1972) is a French actress and singer. She is the daughter of Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve. Early life Mastroianni was born to French actress Catherine Deneuve and Italian actor Marcello Ma ...

and Françoise Fabian, where he played the leading role. The film was awarded the Prix du Jury in the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. He produced his third album of originals ''Silence'', finished in November 1999, which includes the presence of

's percussionists, Nina Miranda (of Smoke City) and the strings section usually used by

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass ...

and

dEUS ''Deus'' (, ) is the Latin word for " god" or " deity". Latin ''deus'' and ''dīvus'' ("divine") are in turn descended from Proto-Indo-European *'' deiwos'', "celestial" or "shining", from the same root as '' *Dyēus'', the reconstructed chief ...

. He won four Blitz Awards: Record of the Year, Artist of the Year, Best Song, and Best Group. A Bordalo, an award given by the press; a Globo de Ouro ("Golden Globe") awarded for the song “Se Eu Fosse Um Dia O Teu Olhar”; and five Nova Era Radio awards, given by radio stations and institutions.

1999–present

In 1999, he gave a number of lectures throughout Portugal, mostly in libraries, schools, and universities, on topics related to artistic production and creation, literature, music and cinema. Some of lectures were published. In 2002, he performed two shows at the Cultural Center of Belém, after a one-year hiatus. “Intimidade” was received favorably by the critics and public alike. The show, backed by IPAE, toured Portugal and proved to be an artistic and box-office success. His album ''Momento'' (2002) was written and composed solely by him. It has the participation of the Helicon String Quartet. Manoel de Oliveira, the famous Portuguese director, directed the short film "Momento", as a video for the first single and title track off the album. In Portugal, ''Momento'' reached double platinum, and was the most played album on radio. Pedro Abrunhosa released the album in Brazil through

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

, with the participation of local artists such as Zélia Duncan, Lenine, Sandra de Sá, and Adriana Calcanhoto. (His songs are performed in Brazil by a number of artists such as Elba Ramalho,

Zeca Baleiro José Ribamar Coelho Santos (born 11 April 1966), better known by his stage name Zeca Baleiro (), is a Brazilian MPB artist. ALlmusic biography/ref> One of his most famous songs is "Salão de Beleza", which was featured on Putumayo World Music's ...

, Sandra Sá, and Rio Soul or Syang, among others.) His first DVD, ''Intimidade'' went double platinum in just 2 weeks. He is a standing board member of the Portuguese Authors Society.

Artistry

Public persona

Abrunhosa is known for always wearing sunglasses in public. He was an influent personality in Portugal during the 90s, with a "strong image" and a "coherent and articulate speech".

Discography

* ''Viagens'' (1994) * ''Tempo'' (1996) * ''Silêncio'' (1999) * ''Momento'' (2002) * ''Luz'' (2007) * ''Longe'' (2010) * ''Contramão'' (2013) * ''Espiritual'' (2018)

References

External links

Pedro Abrunhosa
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Abrunhosa, Pedro 1960 births Living people 20th-century Portuguese male singers 21st-century Portuguese male singers Golden Globes (Portugal) winners Musicians from Porto