Óscar M. Graça

Óscar Marcelino da Graça, born in Aveiro in 1980, began studying music at the age of six under the influence of his maternal grandfather. He holds a degree in Composition from the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa (2002), is a certified specialist in jazz piano (2018) by the same institution, and completed the piano course at the Conservatório de Música Calouste Gulbenkian de Aveiro (1998).
He attended jazz classes at the Porto Jazz School, Hot Clube de Portugal, and Berklee College of Music (where he was a scholarship recipient). Among his many instructors are Paulo Gomes, Bernardo Moreira, Rodrigo Gonçalves, António Pinho Vargas, Luís Tinoco, Frank Carlberg, Tony Germain, Neil Olmstead, JoAnne Brackeen, Bruno Raberg, Dave Samuels, Ken Pullig, and Ed Tomassi.
Engaged in educational activities since 2000, he has taught in various institutions, offering both regular classes and masterclasses. Currently, he is a professor at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, the University of Évora, and the Luiz Villas-Boas Hot Clube de Portugal Jazz School (Lisbon).
He is part of various musical groups such as Nuno Costa Septeto, Jeffery Davis Quinteto, Saga Cega, Hot Clube de Portugal Jazz Orchestra, ThE SPiLL, Ricardo Pinto Quinteto, César Cardoso Ensemble, Mad Nomad, and Joana Machado. He mentors groups like liftoff, NoA, The John Eltons, erro de sintaxe, and a film-concert project, in addition to his own trio.
As a sideman, he plays and/or has played with André Fernandes, Nelson Cascais, João Firmino, Afonso Pais, Paula Oliveira, Marta Hugon, Mariana Norton, Sara Serpa, Sofia Ribeiro, David Binney, José Pedro Coelho, João Guimarães, Ohad Talmor, Gonçalo Prazeres, Paulo Gaspar, Bernardo Moreira, Miguel Amado, Dan Weiss, João Lencastre, The Last Minute Experience, Lithium, Reunion Big Band, Coro Gulbenkian, and QuadQuartet, among many others.
He has participated in nearly forty recordings.