Mário Franco


Mário Franco is a Portuguese dancer, double bass player and a composer.

Studies

Mário Franco started music lessons at the age of 4 in Centro de Estudos Gregorianos and continued his studies in Academia de Amadores de Música, and where he started double bass lessons with Fernando Flores, and composition with Pedro Rocha as well as studying chamber music.
He studied bass guitar with António Ferro, Double Bass with David Gausden in Escola de Jazz do Hot Clube de Portugal; and took part in workshops with Rufus Reid, Niels Henning Orsted Pederson, and Eberhard Weber.
In 1986-87, he attended double-bass courses given by Ludwig Streicher in Estoril and in 1988 won 1st prize in the Prémio Jovens Musicos ; later, he became a member of Orquestra Sinfonica Juvenil where he worked on classical repertory with conductor Christopher Bochmann.

Performing

Since 1984, he has played jazz and improvised music in Portugal and abroad with musicians such as António Pinho Vargas, Mário Laginha, João Paulo Esteves de Silva, Bernardo Sassetti, Carlos Martins, Tomás Pimentel, José Peixoto, Jarmo Savolainen, , Ralph Peterson Jr., Paolo Fresu, Andy Sheppard, Peter Epstein and Ralph Towner.
In 1990, he presented his based on original compositions and was awarded 1st prize for his group and 2nd prize for composition in the competition “A Juventude e a Musica”.
He has performed outside Portugal: in Macau, Japan, Spain, France, Belgium and Norway and has participated in some of Portugal's music festivals such as:
  • Festival de Música dos Capuchos 1985; Jazz na Cidade 88, 90; Lisboa em Jazz 90;
  • 5 ª Jornadas Internacionais da Oficina Musical 90; Encontros de Jazz do Algarve 91;
  • 16º Encounters Gulbenkian of Contemporary Music 92 ;
  • Jazz no Parque, 3ª edition 95; Festas de Lisboa 95, 96;
  • Festa do Avante 90, 94, 96; Seixal Jazz Festival 98, 05;
  • Festival Internacional de Jazz de Faro in 99 “Jazz no Inverno”; Musicalidades 01;
  • Jazz em Agosto 87, 88, 90, 95 and 05;
  • Maio Jazz Almodôvar 05, 07; 4ª Festa do Jazz 06; Festival de Jazz de Estremoz 06, 08; International Film Festival IndieLisboa 07; 10º Festival de Valado de Frades 07;
  • 11º Matosinhos em Jazz 07; 1º Festival de Jazz de Sines 07; Festival Y#5, 07;
  • 1º Ciclo de concertos “ O Som das Musas” Vila Flôr 07; 2º Festival Internacional de Palmela 07; Mudas Jazz Sessions 08; 1ª Feira de Artes Performativas de Tavira’08; *Portugal Jazz 07, 09; Festival Internacional de Música dos Açores 09;

    Composing and dancing

Also composes for and .
is also a dancer from the since 1986.

Recordings

As a Side Musician:
:
António Pinho Vargas Quintet and Carlos Martins Quartet: ;
João Paulo Esteves da Silva Quartet: ;
Tomás Pimentel Septet: ;
;
José Peixoto: ;José Peixoto: A Tempo ;
José Peixoto: , featuring Ralph Towner.
As a Leader:
Mario Franco Quintet with David Binney
Category:Portuguese double-bassists
Category:Male double-bassists
Category:Portuguese male ballet dancers
Category:1965 births
Category:Living people
Category:Musicians from Lisbon
Category:21st-century double-bassists
Category:21st-century Portuguese male musicians