BIOGRAPHY
Born in Ovar, he had his first contact with the drums at the age of 15. He started playing Rock in original projects (Muryan, Chão Nosso, GSMLab), and had the opportunity to travel around the north and center of the country performing concerts and participating in band competitions.
In 2007, he enrolled in the Jazz Drums degree program at ESMAE, where he studied with Michael Lauren (drums), Nuno Ferreira (combo and improvisation), Pedro Guedes and Carlos Azevedo (Big Band), among others. He participated twice in the S. Luís Jazz Festival in Lisbon with the ESMAE sextet and was part of the ESMAE Big Band, where he had the opportunity to perform in several concerts, including those at Casa da Música and Guimarães Jazz. He completed his degree in 2010.
In 2011 he enrolled in the Master's degree in Performance\Jazz\Drums at the University of Aveiro and studied with some of the most famous names in Jazz in Portugal, such as: Mário Laginha, Alexandre Frazão, Bruno Pedroso, Demian Cabaud, etc. He completed his Master's degree in 2013. He participated for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012) in the International Jazz Workshop in Siena, where he had the opportunity to take classes with: Stefano Battaglia, Ferenc Nemeth, Eric Harland, Roberto Gatto, Massimo Mazi, Ettore Fioravanti, Drew Gress, Omer Avital, Anders Jormin, Furio di Castri, Steve Cardenas, Avishai Cohen, among others. In 2014 he enrolled in the Master's degree in Music Teaching at ESMAE/ESE. He completed his master's degree in 2016. He studied and participated in workshops and combos led by: Marc Miralta, Jordi Rossi EJ Strickland, Akira Jimbo, Dom Famularo, Dan Weiss, Adam Cruz, Daniel Levin, Rob Brown, David Binney, Donny McCaslin, among others. In addition to teaching private lessons, he is currently the coordinator of the Wind, Drums and Percussion Department of the Gulpilhares Cultural Forum.
In 2019 (between May and September) he carried out an artistic residency at the Júlio Dinis Museum in Ovar with the name: “Influence of spaces in musical experiments – The drums as a solo instrument.” Despite being a versatile drummer, covering styles ranging from Rock to Celtic Music, Jazz and improvised music have become the main focus of his career. He expresses himself in projects such as: Souq, Phantom Trio, João Martins Quarteto, Troll's Toy, RB & Mr SC and Fadomorse.
It is supported by Yamaha, Paiste and Protection Racket.
DISCOGRAPHY
PRESS
(...) the authorship belongs to Martins, who on this album reveals a writing concept that is important to retain in the current context of Portuguese jazz (...)
(...) it is possible to guarantee that attentive and dedicated listening to this record will result in echoes that will last in our memory for a much longer period of time.
This “Hundred Milliseconds”, his last work until the end, contains themes from which the exploration of the unknown takes shape. The journey undertaken by the quartet is one of total freedom. Expression is liberated and order and harmony are left to one side.
In a way that is as unpretentious as it is brilliant, João Martins leads us in a vibrant exercise of deconstructing prejudices and the notion of musical foundations.
Blog - My mistakes,
bad fortune,
burning love...
João Martins presents himself to the world with a diverse album, which ranges from rock energy to a contemplative matrix, with the drums wisely punctuating each moment.
(...) it was certainly a night marked by an excellent performance by all those involved, setting the bar for jazz in a fresh sensory field, with a unique sound.
The performance of Hundred Milliseconds by the collective led by João Martins (drums, synthesizers) was perhaps one of the most “out-of-the-box” proposals of the entire festival and, certainly, one of the best.
(...) dared to bring us music that was “outside the box”. Not always “beautiful” - if we can even talk about “beauty standards” in these jazz things - but always bold, irreverent, skillful, resourceful, restless, alive.
AGENDA
