Artists

João Nuno [Blues Duo]

João Nuno Teixeira is a guitarist and performer who has been passionate about the blues since a young age, when he began learning guitar and exploring the essence of this musical style. On Tuesdays, he performs at L’Epicure alongside his colleague Kevin, delivering versions full of personality and authenticity that celebrate the roots of the blues.

Playing at L’Epicure is always special: a welcoming bar with excellent facilities and a unique atmosphere that values musicians and fosters a genuine connection with the audience. For João Nuno, every night at L’Epicure is an opportunity to share great music, grow as an artist, and truly feel at home.

Kevin Leo [Blues Duo]

Kevin Leo is a singer, guitarist, producer, and sound engineer, born in Italy in 1996. He discovered the magic of music at age 11 and later studied at the prestigious Saint Louis College of Music in Rome. Over the years, he has shared stages and opened concerts for renowned musicians such as Eric Sardinas, Shawn Pittman, Watermelon Slim (John Lee Hooker, Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray), Leon Hendrix (Jimi Hendrix’s brother), Maurizio Pugno, Alex Ricci, and many others.

Driven by a desire to compose and record his own music, he began studying audio production in 2010. Since 2017, he has worked as an artistic director, session musician, and producer for artists worldwide, covering genres from hip hop and pop to rock-blues.

His passion for travel has taken him to live in Portugal, London in 2018, and San Francisco in 2020, experiences that allowed him to find mentors and develop many of the musical skills he applies today. In recent years, he has performed multiple sold-out shows, including a major performance in front of 50,000 people at the White Ocean Festival.

Currently, Kevin is refining his original songs and continuing his artistic journey, with new music and international performances on the horizon.

Luís Barbosa [Blues Duo]

Luís Barbosa is a musician and composer who occasionally joins the Blues Duo at L’Epicure Azores. He began this artistic project in 2010, exploring diverse sounds and developing a musical identity strongly influenced by blues, rock, and funk.

For Luís Barbosa, “playing at L’Epicure Azores feels like playing at home, a venue with a wonderful stage and incredibly warm and friendly staff.”

Manuel Moniz

Born in Ponta Delgada in March 1962, Manuel Moniz is the son of a Portuguese mother and an American father. He first enrolled at the Ponta Delgada Conservatory at the age of 5, while also beginning English lessons. He studied piano and solfège at the Conservatory until he was 11.

At 12, he began playing guitar and was strongly influenced by the Rock ’n’ Roll, Blues, and Psychedelic sounds that dominated international music at the time. He embraced these styles and developed his vocal technique, which he applied alongside piano or guitar for countless private events. At 18, he embarked on a period of travel, spending the next ten years living in Portugal, the United States, Spain, France, and the Netherlands, often supporting himself entirely through music, performing in streets and bars.

Manuel is the founder of Os Rebeldes, a band of original “Azorean” music that defined the 1990s in the Azores. Following that, he pursued a piano-bar career, performing and singing rock/pop classics. At L’Epicure Azores, he found the best of both worlds: a grand piano, top-tier acoustics, and an audience that appreciates quality both to the ear and the palate. He takes over Wednesdays with a mix of power and sensitivity that often surprises.

Renato de Medeiros [Latin Duo]

Renato de Medeiros began his musical career at age 15 in 1995, embarking on a continuous and diverse journey. Over the years, he has been part of several projects, always with a strong focus on original creation and live performance. Between 1996 and 2000, he was a member of Black Fears, a band of original compositions, followed by a solo project from 1999 to 2003 dedicated to instrumental works.

From 2001 to 2010, he performed with Hiffen, also with original repertoire, a period that culminated in a performance at the Festa do Avante and the release of an album. In parallel, he participated in several cover projects, Illegal (2008–2010), Banda Royal (2010–2012), and B@nda.com (2012–2020), the latter also including original material. Since 2020, he has been performing under his own name and with the project Acoustics. In 2025, he joined the Latin Duo, a group focused on cover performances.

Along the way, Renato has contributed to studio recordings with well-known artists, an experience that enriched his artistic maturity.

In early 2025, through Alfredo Molina, his partner in the Latin Duo, he began performing at L’Epicure Azores. The venue has become a stage for artistic freedom and creative encouragement, providing all the conditions necessary for resident and guest artists to make music with authenticity.

Alfredo Molina [Latin Duo]

Alfredo Enrique Orbera Molina was born in April 1966 in Havana, Cuba. A percussionist with over 30 years of experience, he trained at the Ignacio Cervantes National Conservatory of Music and began his professional career in world-renowned venues such as Tropicana and Cabaret Parisiense, performing across multiple musical genres, from Cuban popular music and classical to jazz.

He has participated in numerous international jazz festivals in Havana and international bolero festivals, accompanying celebrated national and international artists on percussion, including Isolina Carrillo, Fernando Alvarez, Moncho (Gypsy of Bolero), Paco de Lucía, Michel Camilo, and others.

Alfredo was invited to perform in bands at Expo 98 in Portugal, which led to his permanent stay in the country. Initially, he worked in the Algarve as part of a predominantly Cuban group, performing at venues such as Casino de Vilamoura, Palácio da Salsa in Albufeira, Clube de Jazz de Vilamoura, and Tclub.

In 2001, he was invited to the Azores to form a band for the opening of a pioneering Latin bar in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel. Since then, he has participated in numerous projects spanning different genres and musical formats. Notably, he co-created “La Mescla” with saxophonist Michael Smith, a project that helped promote Latin jazz. More recently, he performs in the Latin Duo with Renato de Medeiros at L’Epicure Azores.

Luís Senra [Guest]

He is a musician and artist from Rabo de Peixe, in the Azores, who develops a body of work that seeks to explore the places we travel and occupy as an element of self-reference, expansion of consciousness, personal transformation, and sense of belonging, through site-specific experiences and performances that invite and value observation, exploration, recognition, reflection, and meaning. He has developed performances, workshops, experiences, and artistic residencies in art festival programs and cultural spaces on different islands in the Azores, mainland Portugal, and Spain. In 2020, he won Jovens Criadores Walk&Talk, a program that rewards Azorean authors.

Although his professional focus in the artistic field is mainly on performance and the creation of artistic experiences, being a resident musician at L’Epicure Azores represents a valuable opportunity for Luís Senra to play more regularly (helping him grow as a musician), work on his repertoire (due to the need to renew it as a resident musician), and develop his ability to adapt and be flexible (due to the presence of audiences of different ages and geographies). It also contributes to confidence, rapid adaptation of the repertoire to the audience, and the creation of a close relationship.