José Mário Branco (25 May 1942 – 19 November 2019) was a Portuguese singer-songwriter, actor, and record producer.
Biography
José Mário Branco was born in
Porto, the son of primary school teachers, and became politically involved in the early 1960s. This political activity during the
dictatorship in Portugal and his opposition to the
colonial war led him to seek exile in France in 1963.[1] There he would eventually meet and collaborate with musicians such as
Sérgio Godinho and
Zeca Afonso, whose records he produced and recorded at the
Château d'Hérouville studios.
After the
1974 revolution Branco returned to Portugal and was the founder of the music ensemble GAC – Grupo de Acção Cultural. He composed a number of music scores for theatre plays.
Branco died of a stroke on 19 November 2019 at the age of 77.[2]
Vários Artistas – Bom dia, Benjamim (1995) CD, Movieplay (José Mário Branco foi responsável pela orquestração, sonoplastia e direcção musical do álbum, sendo que também foi o autor da introdução. "Emprestou" também a sua voz à personagem do avô de Benjamim. Foi também responsável pela orquestração e direcção musical do espectáculo apresentado no CCB, em 1998.)[3]