Pedro Abrunhosa

Since April 12, 2010, his album "Longe" (meaning "Far away") is available in the stores, time when it was also released its latest website – http://www.abrunhosa.com/. The appearance of the site is modified according to the time of the day when you visit it, accompanied by sound effects adapted to time and place that the background images evoke. It was a project developed by two companies of Oporto (Portugal): Basepoint (Development) – http://www.basepoint.pt – and Campo Visual (Design) – http://www.campovisual.com -.

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.

He was later invited to participate in the Manuel de Oliveira film, "La Lettre" ("The Letter"), together with Chiara Mastroianni and Françoise Fabian, where he undertook 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 Caetano Veloso's percussionists, Nina Miranda (of Smoke City) and the strings section usually used by Radiohead and dEUS.

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.

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.

In September 1996, he went to Memphis and Minneapolis where he finished the final phase of mixing and mastering of his second album. It 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 and chief engineer on Prince'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 Prince's keyboard player and bassist). He also collaborated with Ozzie Melendez (Tower of Power), Carlos do Carmo, Opus Ensemble, and Rui Veloso. "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.

In 1994, with his new band, Bandemónio, he recorded his first album, Viagens for PolyGram. There, he had the opportunity to collaborate with James Brown's sax player – Maceo Parker.

In December 1994, the American music magazine "Billboard" gave him front page billing, sparking the start of his international career.

In 1987, he worked with David Liebman, Billy Hart, Ron Mclure and Richard Beirach in Barcelona. For one year, he taught double-bass at the Jazz School of Hot-Club in Lisbon. 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.

In 1986, he returned to Spain to participate in the third International Jazz Seminar in Seville 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. 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 Motion, Bill Frisell, and Joe Lovano.

In 1985, returning to Spain, he took part in the International Jazz Seminar, and worked again with Todd Coolman, Billy Hart, Bill Dobbins, Dave Schnitter, Jack Walrath and Steve Brown. In that same year, together with Spanish guitar player Joaquin Iglesias, he founded the quartet "Banda de Bolso".

In 1984, he went to Madrid to study with double-bass player Todd Coolman and with musicians Joe Hunt, Wallace Rooney, Gerry Nyewood 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.

Once admitted into the "Conservatório de Música do Porto", he studied musical composition 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 from Belgian Professor Jos Wuytack.

Abrunhosa was born in Porto, Portugal. After studying at the Ruvina Music School, in 1972 he began his musical studies at the Music School of Porto, 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 to attend and participate in the Meetings of Contemporary Music in that same institution.)

Pedro Machado Abrunhosa (born December 20, 1960) is a Portuguese singer, musician and songwriter. Aside from his music, he is known for always wearing sunglasses in public. Abrunhosa also played himself in the 1999 film La Lettre. He is an active spokesman for the Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa regarding Copyright infringement on the Internet.