Born in Lisbon and currently based in New York, André Carvalho is a double bassist and composer with a distinguished trajectory in the international jazz scene and a body of work that transcends the boundaries of the genre. A relatively late bloomer in music, Carvalho was a computer science student when he decided to pursue music studies at the Hot Clube de Portugal and the Academia de Amadores de Música. This period was followed by advanced academic training at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
Though his CV includes notable collaborations as an instrumentalist with artists such as Gilberto Gil, Carlos do Carmo, and Cristina Branco, and conductors like Gustavo Dudamel and Heinrich Schiff, Carvalho's focus has primarily been on authorship. His debut album, Hajime, was released in 2011, followed by four more records, including The Garden of Secret Delights—an 11-movement suite inspired by the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch—and two volumes of Lost In Translation, a cycle centered on the concept of untranslatability. In addition to his solo projects, Carvalho has also composed soundtracks for films by directors Gonçalo Almeida and Guilherme Daniel.
José Soares is a saxophonist and composer born in Luxembourg and currently based in Porto. He holds advanced jazz degrees from ESMAE and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. As a guest soloist with large ensembles such as the Orquestra de Jazz de Matosinhos and the Banda Sinfónica Portuguesa, Soares frequently collaborates with key figures in Portuguese jazz, including Eduardo Cardinho, Pedro Melo Alves, and João Grilo, as well as with international musicians like Jeffery Davis, Guy Salamon, and Giuseppe Campisi. He also leads his own groups and is a member of a trio with Mexican vocalist Fuensanta Méndez and Scottish trumpeter Alistair Payne.
João Hasselberg, also from Lisbon, has a broad musical education that includes guitar, piano, double bass, and performance studies at the conservatories of Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Since launching his professional career in 2004, Hasselberg has worked across musical genres with artists such as Benjamin Clementine and Luísa Sobral, and with major figures in jazz like João Lencastre, Mário Laginha, João Paulo Esteves da Silva, Peter Bernstein, and Tony Malaby. Alongside his musical work, he also maintains an active career as a photographer.
Raquel Reis, a cellist from Coimbra, studied at the National Superior Orchestra Academy in Lisbon and the Northwestern University School of Music in Chicago. A permanent member of the Gulbenkian Orchestra since 2007, she also performs regularly with other orchestras and in solo and chamber music contexts. Reis has been active beyond classical music, engaging in jazz (most recently with the trio Herse, alongside Sofia Sá and pianist Clara Lacerda, who also features in this edition of the festival), free improvisation, film scoring, dance pieces, and artistic performances. Her collaborators include Mário Laginha, Peter Evans, Uri Caine, and Waldemar Bastos.
Samuel Gapp, originally from Germany and now based in Portugal, is a prolific musician and composer working across contemporary music in its broadest sense—including improvisation, composition, and interdisciplinary projects. He has collaborated with prominent figures in contemporary jazz such as Peter Evans, John O’Gallagher, Michael Schiefel, Rodrigo Amado, and Nicholas McNair. In addition to his musical work, Gapp is co-founder of the digital label and platform Habitable Records.