Duke Oliver’s Creole Vagabonds

Orchestra, circa 1930s

The Duke Oliver’s Creole Vagabonds – name it had initially, changing it later to Duke Oliver’s Orchestra – it’s one of the big bands formed by Cape Verdeans in the golden period of dance music with big orchestras, the swing era.  

According to Ron Barboza in A Salute to the Cape Verdean Musicians and their Music (1989), the Duke Oliver’s Orchestra, such as The Don Verdi Orchestra, the Jimmy Lomba’s group and the Skyliners were formed by young musicians that grew up in the U.S.A and knew little about Cape Verde. They appreciated north American music in vogue at the time – Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, among others – and played like the popular big bands that livened up dance spaces. 

However, according to the text by Joli Gonsalves included in the same work, the group – that was initially called Duke Oliver’s Creole Vagabonds, and later changed to Duke Oliver’s Orchestra – included Cape Verdean themes with innovative interpretations in its repertoire, based on arrangements by musicians such as Raymond “Ray” Lomba, Álvaro Duarte among others. From this period onwards, according to Gonsalves, other groups began to include Cape Verdean themes in their repertoire. 

Thanks to Isabel Livramento for his collaboration identifying the musicians in the photo at the top of the page