Carlos Bica - Biography

Carlos Bica came to Würzburg in 1982 on a DAAD scholarship, where he graduated with a music diploma as an orchestral musician from the University of Music in 1985. Bica then began his professional career and became a member of various chamber orchestras and jazz formations. Carlos Bica became internationally known through his long-standing collaboration with the singer Maria João, with whom he played in various formations and undertook numerous tours in Germany and abroad. In 1994, he moved to Berlin to work on his own projects.

As a double bass player and composer, Bica is one of Portugal's most productive and innovative sound artists. Known for his lyrical tone on the double bass, he has the rare ability to write melodies that are essentially songs without words, haunting and unforgettable. "He is both a remarkable composer and a musician who knows how to mix his folkloric, lyrical roots with every modern style he encounters" (Double Bassist).

Among the numerous musical projects he leads alongside various dance, theatre and film projects, his trio AZUL with Frank Möbus and Jim Black has become his showcase as a bassist and composer. His debut album "Azul", recorded for Polygram (Universal), features guitarist Frank Möbus and drummer Jim Black, as well as special guests singer Maria João and trombonist Ray Anderson. It was voted "Best Jazz Record of the Year" in Portugal in 1996 and is widely regarded as the best Portuguese jazz album of all time. Azul's next albums, "Twist" (1999), "Look What They've Done To My Song" (2003), "Believer" (2006), "Things About" (2011), "More Than This" (2017), "Azul in Ljubljana" (2018) were highly praised by international critics.

In 2019, Carlos Bica recorded "I Am The Escaped One" (Clean Feed Records) with Daniel Erdmann on tenor saxophone and DJ Illvibe on turntables, two important voices on the European jazz scene. "I Am The Escaped One" was nominated for the “German Record Critics” Award".

"Playing with Beethoven", one of Bica's current projects, consists of Daniel Erdmann (tenor and soprano saxophone), João Barradas (accordion), DJ Illvibe (turntables) and Carlos Bica (double bass, composition). This is the unusual line-up that sets out to rediscover Beethoven's legacy. "Playing with Beethoven" was released in June 2023 on Clean Feed Records and was nominated for the German Record Critics" Award.

In June 2024, Bica released a new album entitled "11:11" (Clean Feed Records). For this project, Carlos Bica invited saxophonist José Soares, vibraphonist Eduardo Cardinho and guitarist Gonçalo Neto. The generational difference is an enrichment for this project, which features some of the most talented and creative musicians of a new generation of Portuguese musicians.

Bica has played at the most important festivals in Europe, Canada and Asia and collaborated with musicians such as Ray Anderson, Kenny Wheeler, Aki Takase, Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Zorn, Lee Konitz, Maria João, Mário Laginha, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Matthias Schubert, Gebhard Ullmann, David Friedman, Axel Dörner, Claudio Puntin, João Paulo Esteves da Silva, John Ruocco and many others.

He has performed in the traditional music of his native Portugal - fado - and recorded several albums with the singer Carlos do Carmo, the best-known musician of this popular genre. Other important and inspiring figures of the Portuguese musical tradition with whom Carlos Bica has performed and recorded include José Mário Branco, Camané, Cristina Branco, Pedro Caldeira Cabral and Janita Salomé.