João Paulo Esteves da Silva
was born in Lisbon in 1961, the year of the creation of Amnesty International ! At four, he took his first piano lessons and then studied piano and composition at the National Superior Conservatory of Lisbon where he obtained his higher piano diploma. In 1984, he obtained a scholarship from the ministry and moved to France where he studied at the National Conservatory of Rueil Malmaison. From 1987 to 1989, he gave numerous classical recitals (notably at Carnegie Hall and Cami Hall in New York).
Since the late seventies, when he became more and more involved in classical studies, he played in rock bands and was deeply interested in jazz and traditional folk music.
In 1995, he founded the group Almas e Danças and published the first album of his quartet "Serra sem Fim". He recorded numerous CDs with the American saxophonist Peter Epstein ("O Exilio" 1998, "Almas" 1999, "Esquina" 2000, "Nascer" 2001). In parallel to these projects, he undertook research on popular Portuguese music and was asked as an arranger and composer by many Portuguese-speaking artists. João Paulo patiently builds a work off the beaten track ...
In 2001, he released his first solo piano disc, "Roda, the Portuguese suites". That same year, he began a long collaboration with Jean-Luc Fillon with whom he recorded five records.
He performs regularly in different countries, mainly in France and Germany. He has worked with Peter Epstein, Carlos Bica, Ricardo Dias, Mário Franco, Jean-Luc Fillon, Carlo Rizzo, Cláudio Puntin, Samuel Rohrer, Michel Godard, Jarrod Cagwin, Dennis Gonzalez, David Binney and many more.
In recent years, he has devoted himself mainly to solo piano recitals. Currently, his other group projects are Nascer (improvisations on Portuguese music and Sephardic melodies), As Sete ilhas de Lisboa (improvised music) and Happening (with Carlos Bica, Júlio Resende and João Lobo).
He inscribes his music in the history of Portuguese culture. It can be alternately classical - influenced in this by romantic music, traditional - because its lyricism takes Portuguese and Sephardic accents - and jazz by an improvisation which is anchored by masters like Bud Powel, Bill Evans or Keith Jarrett.
Divided between classical and jazz, Frédéric Eymard completed his viola studies with a prize from the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris. He then specialized in jazz and left for the United States, where he performed under various formations, notably during radio concerts in Seattle. Having joined Pierre Blanchard's string quintet, he was invited to the Banlieues Bleues festival, where he appeared alongside Ornette Coleman. Recorded with Laurent Cugny, Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Roy Hardgrove, Lucky Peterson, and Christian McBride, in the Abbey Lincoln CD "A turtle's dream.
