Carlos Bica, born in Portugal and currently living in Germany, is a double bass

Double bass

The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...

 player.

Bica studied at the Academia dos Amadores de Musica in Estoril

Estoril

Estoril is a seaside resort and civil parish of the Portuguese municipality of Cascais, Lisboa District. The Estoril coast is close to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. It starts in Carcavelos, 15 kilometres from Lisbon, and stretches as far as Guincho, often known as Costa de Estoril-Sintra or...

 and the Hochschule für Musik in Würzburg

Würzburg

Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....

. He was "Musician of the Year" in Portugal in 1998. He has played at important jazz festivals across Europe and Asia.

He has also composed for several theatres as well as dance and film productions. He worked for many years with Portuguese vocalist Maria João

Maria João

Maria João is a Portuguese jazz singer.She is known for her vocal flexibility and improvisational skills. While normally considered a jazz singer, her music incorporates a mix of folk/ethnic music, modern jazz, and the avant-garde...

 - a cooperation that established him on the international scene. He has also worked with the likes of Portuguese Fado

Fado

Fado is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar, Rui Vieira Nery, states that "the only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best...

 singers Carlos do Carmo

Carlos do Carmo

Carlos do Carmo, ComIH is a Portuguese fado singer, one of the finest in the "Lisbon Song"...

, Camané

Camané

Camané is a male vocalist, and a forerunner of the new generation of fado male singers. "The greatest fadista since Amalia Rodrigues and Maria da Fe," is how British biographer David Bret, describes him....

, José Mário Branco, and jazz musicians Ray Anderson

Ray Anderson (musician)

Ray Anderson is an independent jazz trombone and trumpet player. Anderson is a boisterous trombonist who is masterful at multiphonics. Trained by the Chicago Symphony trombonists, he is regarded as pushing the limits of the instrument. He is a contemporary and colleague of trombonist/composer...

, Kenny Wheeler

Kenny Wheeler

Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC is a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. since the 1950s....

, Aki Takase

Aki Takase

is a critically acclaimed, award-winning Japanese jazz pianist and composer.-Biography:Raised in Tokyo, she studied music at Tohogakuen Music University. Starting in 1978, she performed and recorded in the USA with Lester Bowie, David Liebman, John Zorn and others...

, Paolo Fresu

Paolo Fresu

Paolo Fresu is a trumpet and flugelhorn jazz player, as well as an arranger of music, and music composer.-Career:Fresu was born in Berchidda, Sardinia. He picked up the trumpet at the age of 11, and played in the band Bernardo de Muro in his home town Berchidda...

, Julian Argüelles

Julian Argüelles

Julian Argüelles is a saxophonist. He is currently a member of the HR Big Band in Frankfurt am Main, Germany....

, Steve Argüelles

Steve Argüelles

Steve Argüelles is an English jazz drummer, producer and is the boss of the record label . He has also worked in film and theatre. He is the elder brother of saxophonist Julian Argüelles...

, Lee Konitz

Lee Konitz

Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...

, Mário Laginha

Mário Laginha

Mário João Laginha dos Santos, OIH , piano player and composer, is one of the most creative contemporary Portuguese jazz musicians. He is mostly recognized for his recurrent collaborations with fellow Portuguese jazz singer Maria João, with whom he recorded over a dozen discs and toured Portugal...

, Matthias Schubert, João Paulo Esteves, Markus Stockhausen

Markus Stockhausen

Markus Pirol Stockhausen is a German trumpeter and composer.-Biography:Born in Cologne, he is the son of composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. At age four he appeared as "child at play" in his father's theatre piece Originals. He received his first piano lessons at age six, and at age twelve he began to...

, Antonio Pinho Vargas

António Pinho Vargas

António Pinho Vargas is a Portuguese composer and pianist specialized in the performance and writing of Jazz and as well as Contemporary Music....

, Alexander von Schlippenbach

Alexander von Schlippenbach

Alexander von Schlippenbach is a German jazz pianist and composer.-Biography:...

among others.

Discography

• Cal Viva - "Cal Viva" (1991)
• Maria João & Cal Viva - "Sol" (1991)
• Carlos Bica & AZUL - "AZUL" feat. Ray Anderson and Maria João (1996)
• João Paulo/Carlos Bica/Peter Epstein - "O exílio" (1998)
• Carlos Bica & AZUL - "Twist" (1999)
• João Paulo/Carlos Bica/Peter Epstein - "Almas" (2000)
• Paul Brody's Tango Toy - "Klezmer Stories" (2000)
• Carlos Bica & Ana Brandão - "DIZ" (2001)
• Gebhard Ullman/Jens Thomas feat. Carlos Bica - "Essencia" (2001)
• Paul Brody's Tango Toy - "The South Klezmer Suite" (2003)
• Carlos Bica & AZUL - "Look What They've Done To My Song" (2003)
• Tuomi - "Tightrope Walker" (2005)
• Sven Klammer - "Nevs" (2005)
• Carlos Bica - "Single" (solo album) (2005)
• Carlos Bica & AZUL - "Believer" (2006)
• Carlos Bica + Matéria-Prima - "Carlos Bica + Matéria-Prima" (2010)

External links

• Official website