Pedro Velasco is a London-based guitarist who specialises in improvised music. Born in Lisbon, Portugal, he began playing piano at age nine and, inspired by the Brazilian music he was surrounded by at home, picked up a guitar at age 12. Under the tutelage of renowned Portuguese guitarist Mario Delgado, he began turning to the sounds of jazz and improvised music. He moved to London in 2003 to study at Middlesex University with Nikki Iles, Chris Batchelor and Stuart Hall and in 2007 he graduated with a first-class honours degree in Music (Jazz Performance). 

He performs prolifically across the UK, and Europe with several projects including Harry Christelis and Pedro Velasco duo who recently released their debut album Scribbling to critical acclaim. He composes original material for his own ensembles Pedro Velasco Trio, Akimbo and Machimbombo and continues to explore other styles of music that champion interaction and personal expression.

“Straddles the fence between jazz and electronica in a way that is truly ground-breaking.” – FATEA

“The fingerwork is highly skilled and the accompanying sound explorations truly ethereal.” – Jazz Journal

“The guitar of our fellow countryman, Pedro Velasco, fills every corner of the album with a filigree ambience that superficially appears understated, but is truly assertive.” - Paulo Chagas - Jazz.pt

“The guitar sounds ever more distant, captured within some far-off memory where music that might once have been is the music of the future.” Luca Pagani - allaboutjazz