Jorge Lee

Jorge Lee was born in 1960 in Portugal and soon became a versatile and highly expressive guitarist, moving fluidly between jazz, rock and music education. After his initial guitar studies, he attended the Academia de Amadores de Música in Lisbon. He later continued his training at the Hot Clube de Portugal under the guidance of jazz pedagogue Zé Eduardo. In parallel, he developed private studies with composer and musicologist Fernando Lopes Graça, deepening an aesthetic sense that ranged from the mainstream to the countercultural.

In his performing career, Jorge Lee worked with major names in Portuguese music, including the fado singer Carlos do Carmo, the experimental collective Banda do Casaco and the popular Trio Odemira, among many others. The intersection between fado, jazz and rock emerged naturally in his trajectory, revealing a rare versatility.

One of the defining milestones of his artistic path was the creation of the first Portuguese punk-rock band, Os Faíscas, formed in 1977 in Lisbon, where Jorge Lee was a founding guitarist. With this group, he helped introduce the punk energy and aesthetic to Portugal, in an attitude of rupture that perfectly complements his profile as both musician and educator.

In the pedagogical sphere, Jorge Lee founded the Interartes school (Cascais, 2005), a space dedicated to high-quality music education, with a multidimensional approach that combines instrumental training, improvisation, music technology and creative teaching. As director and teacher, he has inspired younger generations with the same spirit of discovery and artistic freedom that defined his own early career.

Within the mission of Interartes — to offer excellent music education aligned with contemporary realities and supported by strong technical and theoretical foundations — Jorge Lee serves as a bridge between tradition and modernity. His journey shows students that instrumental mastery can coexist with artistic attitude, innovation and openness to multiple genres. Having lived and created across jazz, classical, rock and punk, he offers a broad vision that inspires a diverse and ambitious learning experience.

Teaching style and contribution

• His diverse background — spanning jazz, classical composition and rock — shapes a broad and culturally rich teaching approach.

• At Interartes, he promotes a balance between technical rigour and exploratory creativity, encouraging students to develop instrumental skills, theoretical knowledge and artistic identity.

• His experience with experimental and alternative genres inspires curricular pathways that value improvisation, contemporary repertoire and the roots of Portuguese music.

• His long-standing presence in the Portuguese music scene, both as performer and educator, makes him a reference for Interartes students pursuing practical, creative or professional paths.