César Cardoso

Born in 1982 in Leiria, he dedicated himself to music from an early age, at just 7 years old. He attended the Orfeão de Leiria Music School where he completed the 8th grade with Professor Alberto Roque, the Luiz Villas-Boas Jazz School – Hot Clube de Portugal, and the Lisbon Higher School of Music where he worked with Professors Jorge Reis and Pedro Moreira. In 2023, he completed his PhD in Music and Musicology at the University of Évora.

In 2010 he recorded his first album of original songs, “Half Step”, in 2015 he released his second album “Bottom Shelf”, in 2018 he released his third album “Interchange” and in 2020 he released his fourth album, “Dice of Tenors” with an expanded ensemble that brings together musicians – Jason Palmer, Miguel Zenón, Massimo Morganti, Jeffery Davis, Óscar Graça, Demian Cabaud and Marcos Cavaleiro.

In 2011 he created the Leiria Jazz Orchestra, of which he remains the artistic director to this day.

He has also published 3 books on the theoretical basis of Jazz (the first and only ones in Portuguese) – “Teoria do Jazz” in 2016, “Teoria do Jazz – Exercícios” in 2018 and “Teoria do Jazz – volume II” in 2024. He also has 2 books that resulted from the translation into English and Spanish of the first volume – “Theory of Jazz” and “Teoría del Jazz” both in 2023.

In July 2023 he completed his PhD in Music and Musicology, specializing in Performance, at the University of Évora, obtaining the doctoral degree with distinction.

Currently, he is also a professor of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the University of Évora and pedagogical director and creator of the Leiria Jazz School.