Júlio Resende, pianist and composer from the Algarve, is the Personality of the Year chosen by the members of the blog «Lugar ao Sul».
Resende is, for the blog's chroniclers, a «unique personality who, in 2018, cemented his position as one of the great musicians of the new generation of the national cultural scene».
This is the second consecutive time that the blog has awarded this Personality of the Year distinction. In 2018, the distinguished personality was João Guerreiro, former rector of the University of Algarve and chairman of the Independent Technical Committee responsible for investigating the causes of the fire tragedies of 2017.
«He participated in the Festival da Canção as composer of the song that Emmy Curl interpreted and had the opportunity to act, with Salvador Sobral, for an audience of millions of people around the world, alongside one of his idols, Caetano Veloso, in the final of Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon», writes place to the south.
The stage has been insistently calling for Júlio Resende, continues the opinion site. «Whether solo, or in a duet with Salvador Sobra, or through their joint project, the band Alexander Search, there were many concerts that definitively introduced him to the country in 2018».
Still in 2018, Júlio Resende edits a new album, “Cinderella Cyborg”. Jornal Público writes that this “is a name in which the pianist intends to reflect not a shock, but an encounter between what is most innocent and poetic – in life and in music – and the most mechanical and cold side associated with technology ”.
This new album was named best Portuguese album of 2018 by the Altamont platform and was also considered among the best albums by the Observador team.
The last few years have been intense for Júlio Resende. In 2007, he recorded his first album – “Da Alma” – through the prestigious Jazz label Clean Feed, becoming the youngest Portuguese musician to edit an album for this label, as leader. Then, in 2009, “Assim Falava Jazzatustra”, an album that would come to be considered one of the best albums of the year by the specialized critics. In 2011 comes “You Taste Like a Song”, an album in trio, with the participation of great musicians having been classified with 5 Stars by TimeOut magazine.
In October 2013, he released “Amália por Júlio Resende”, his first solo album, where he revisited some songs from Amália Rodrigues' repertoire, illuminated by the memory and voice of the Diva, in a (im)possible duet on the theme “Fear” .
«This work deserved the best attention from national and international critics. From the prestigious French Classic, where it received Choc Disc 5 stars, to the famous Monocle, the consensus was clear: this is a record that marks and “is at the level of what is best done in the vast world”», adds Lugar ao Sul.
This is followed by “Fado & Further” and “Amália by Júlio Resende”. Along the way, he also creates “Poesia Homónima” with the psychiatrist Júlio Machado Vaz, where they present poems by Eugénio de Andrade and Gonçalo M. Tavares.
Also important is the care taken in choosing the voices to accompany on the piano, which stand out, as an example, in addition to Salvador Sobral, Elisa Rodrigues and Sílvia Perez Cruz, with whom he has also recorded.
But Júlio Resende is not limited to music. Signs an opinion column in Visão magazine, where he discusses different topics. «Those who are also graduated in Philosophy are, therefore, someone who regularly reflects on themselves and on others. When asked recently by Blitz magazine about the way Philosophy accompanies him, he stated that “it forces him to think of interesting concepts. And working them well. And I try to bring these reflections to the musical world, even if music is something else, which comes after reflection. Reflection is made backwards, life is made forwards, as they say in Philosophy. And music too”».
Júlio Resende is an «inspiring professional» and that is why the authors of the website “Lugar ao Sul” decided to distinguish him.
«In 2018, Júlio Resende managed to impose his brand in a country that still lives deeply centralized. Furthermore, we understand that your way of looking at the world is in line with what we have been defending in Lugar ao Sul: we need more and better opinion», the blog authors add.
About this idea, Júlio Resende has a lapidary phrase: “People who say things! But try to think about them before saying, it wouldn't be bad anymore”.
The date and place of the public ceremony to award this distinction to Júlio Resende will be announced shortly.
O place to the south is a website/blog that was launched in October 2016 by a group of six people from different professional areas, with different academic backgrounds and with different political and partisan positions.
The idea was to create a space for reflection on issues that concern “the south”, seeking to promote debate on current issues in a logic of pluralism of opinion.
Additionally, within this creation there is a great desire to contribute to the affirmation of the Algarve and the “south” in all its aspects.
The group, however, has grown and is currently made up of twenty people. Namely: Pedro Pimpão, Luís Serra Coelho, Bruno Inácio, Dália Paulo, Gonçalo Duarte Gomes, Filomena Sintra, João Fernandes, Sara Luz, André Botelheiro, Cristiano Cabrita, Joana Cabrita, Hugo Barros, Ana Gonçalves, Anabela Afonso, Luísa Salazar, Patrícia Palma, Paulo Reis, Sara Fernandes, Vanessa Nascimento and Dinis Faísca.
This “Place” has also visited several guests such as writer Lídia Jorge, Fernando Santos Pessoa, António Branco, among others.
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