Paulo Parreira

Paulo Parreira was born in Lisbon, in 1970. Son of another famous Portuguese guitar player, António Parreira, he soon started listening to the timbres which fascinated him so much that he abandoned the piano – he has a piano Higher Degree from the National Conservatory – and his studies on Management and Computer Science, which he did not conclude.

Devoted admirer of his father, he was never taught by him, professionally speaking. He just watched and soaked in the know-how.

The solid musical preparation and the talent completed a pathway which visited fado vadio, performed at popular associations and tertúlias, where he debuted at 20 years old.

In 1991 we won the Portuguese Guitar Competition of Rádio Comercial, organized by José Lúcio.

Then came the invitations to accompany the best voices of Fado, with countless recordings and tours.He ended up permanently accompanying important names such as Argentina Santos, Beatriz da Conceição, Rodrigo, António Pinto Basto, Katia Guerreiro, Maria da Fé. This brought him to the best show rooms and stages all over the world.

In 1998, during Expo´98, he was the main Portuguese guitar player at the “Fado” stage.

In a journey to Macau he had the opportunity to play with the Chinese Symphonic Orchestra.

He recorded solo albums, and also with the Spanish guitar player João Mário Veiga and bass player Joel Pina for the collection "Lisboa, Cidade do Fado" (ed. Discoteca Amália).

In 2001 he joins an experimental group, integrating a string trio: Portuguese guitar (Paulo Parreira), fado guitar (João Mário Veiga), violin (Maria Balbi), called "Trinadus", releasing two records, one homonym and other called “Navegantes”.

Later he entered a new project, the “trio D'Corda”, with Luís Pontes (classical guitar) and Ricardo Cruz (double bass) and accompanied Mafalda Arnauth in her tours.

In 2007, he finally appears under his own name, after the invitation by the Portuguese Mission in the UN to perform at the United Nations Auditorium, in New York. He performed his own compositions, and some songs by Armandinho, Jaime Santos and Carlos Paredes.

Source:

Caldeira Cabral, Pedro (1999), “A Guitarra Portuguesa”, Col. “Um Século de Fado”, Lisboa, Ediclube;

http://sol.sapo.pt/PaginaInicial/Cultura/