Formed in 2019, the quartet unites the musical talents of the youngest generation from Lisbon, who, according to critics, herald a new resurgence in Portuguese jazz. In 2021, at the Portuguese jazz festival Festa do Jazz, the quartet earned the title of “Revelation Group of the Year” for their debut album Garfo. It was also nominated in the Best Jazz Album of the Year category at Portugal’s most prestigious music awards, the Play Awards (2022). The group’s second studio album, Órdia, was released in 2024.

Garfo is led by saxophonist Bernardo Tinoco, however all of its members compose its repertoire. The quartet’s innovative music, brimming with spontaneous improvisations, astonishes with its maturity obliging the older musicians to keep the pace.

The group has not only conquered local stages but has also successfully performed in Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Garfo’s leader Bernardo Tinoco is one of the most talented and promising saxophonists of the younger generation in Portuguese jazz and free improvisation. A graduate of the Lisbon Higher School of Music (Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa), he is currently continuing his studies at the Copenhagen Conservatory of Rhythmic Music.

It was his studies in Denmark that provided the impetus for the saxophonist’s international career. In Copenhagen, he formed his first quartet, Creature Close-up, with which he has been performing regularly in Denmark and Portugal.

Tinoco is a member of Robalo Music, a Portuguese association that brings together enthusiasts of jazz and improvisational music. He collaborates with the most prominent figures in the Portuguese jazz scene such as André Carvalho, André Fernandes, Carlos Barreto, Diogo Alexandre, Filipe Melo, Gonçalo Marques, João Hasselberg and many others. He has released an album with the multi-instrumentalist Tom Maciel.

The musician also plays in the Orquestra de Jazz do Hot Club de Portugal and the Orquestra Jazz de Setúbal. He has performed as a soloist with the Orquestra de Jazz de Matosinhos as part of the “New Talents” program, collaborated with renowned Portuguese singers and African music groups.

In addition to Garfo, João Almeida, a trumpeter, composer and sound engineer, plays in the bands Peachfuzz, Chão Maior, Lucifécit, Gonzo and the trio Pocus. With various formations, he has made his mark on the Portuguese jazz scene and toured extensively across many European countries and Japan.

In concerts and recordings, the trumpeter sided a whole host of musical greats, including Nate Wooley, Peter Evans, Michael Formanek, Tomas Fujiwara, Mary Halvorson, Alexander Hawkins, John O’Gallagher and Akira Sakata. As a sound engineer, he has worked with John Edwards, Audrey Chen, Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø, Phil Minton, Norberto Lobo and João Lobo.

Since 2022, Almeida has been developing his solo project Hocus, in which he plays an electronically modified trumpet. Several digital albums and one physical album from this project have already been released.

The trumpeter is a member of the Robalo Music association, is involved in the work of experimental music labels, is a founder of one of the newest labels, Coração De Boi, and also organises concerts, festivals and other events.

João Fragoso studied jazz double bass at the Lisbon Higher School of Music, but he also plays the guitar, electric bass and other instruments.

Besides Garfo, he is a member of the jazz and improvisational music groups Mova Dreva, Godu, Orquestra Jazz de Estarreja, leads his own quintet, with which he has released an album, and also plays in the alternative rock band Duques do Precariado. He takes part in songwriting and educational programs, and is involved in theatre projects as a composer and performer.

Fragoso is the executive producer of the Porta-Jazz association and a member of Robalo Music association.

Drummer João Sousa studied jazz and contemporary music at Universidade Lusíada in Lisbon and jazz percussion at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. During his studies, he has recorded two albums as a guest musician and garnered second prize in the prestigious Leiden Jazz Award, a competition for young jazz talent in the Netherlands.

Together with guitarist Pedro Branco, he leads the Old Mountain project, which has brought together many creative Portuguese artists. The project has gained a reputation as a dynamic creative experiment, documented on three albums.

In addition to Old Mountain and Garfo, the drummer plays in the projects Branco toca Marco Paulo and Habitat, collaborates with double bassist Pietro Paris, saxophonist Desidério Lázaro and other artists, and is involved in teaching.