Júlio Gomes

Júlio Gomes started out as an instrument player at six years old, by influence of his father who played Portuguese guitar. At 10 years old, he chose the Spanish guitar and dedicated himself to it, learning how to play by ear.

He started working as a clerk at CP in 1927, and stayed there for 32 years; he also performed as a Spanish guitar player in the semi-professional regimen.

In 1938 José Nunes invites him to join a guitar band with the amateurs Egipton de Sousa Amaral Lopes (Portuguese guitar) and João Bastos (Spanish guitar).

On the 25 June 1949 we married the singer Natalina Bizarro.

Along with the invitation by José Nunes, Júlio Gomes also began performing at his show at Emissora Nacional and in 1956 he entered the first experimental broadcast of RTP at Feira Popular de Palhavã. In 1957 he accompanied the Portuguese guitar player at shows in Germany.

Júlio Gomes also was part of the Raul Nery Guitar Ensemble and accompanied the fado singer Amália Rodrigues during the first years of her career, along with Joel Pina and Carlos Gonçalves; he also returned to the shows at Emissora Nacional.

He accompanied other Portuguese guitar players, such as Casimiro Ramos, Jaime Santos, Domingos Camarinha e Carlos Gonçalves and performed in shows with Raul Nery and Amália Rodrigues in Roméaia, Russia, U.S.A., Canada, France, Italy, among other countries.

There are countless records featuring Júlio Gomes accompanying great fado singers, revealing his excellent versatility and dedication to the gender.

Source:

Sucena, Eduardo (1992) “Lisboa, O Fado e os Fadistas”, Lisboa, Vega;

Guinot,M.; Carvalho, R.;Osório, J.M.; “Histórias do Fado”, Col. “Um Século de Fado”, Lisboa, Ediclube.