Young Boboi

Avelino Soares 

Lakeville, USA, 1926 – Fairhaven, USA, 2018 

Instrumentalist (wind instruments), teacher 

Son of Cape Verdeans, born in the USA, Young Boboi had a long career as a musician and teacher. As an instrumentalist, he performed in the jazz world and, also in the Cape Verdean musical context. He was a member of Verdatones for almost 20 years, of the Cape Verdean Ultramarina Band Club also for close to 20 years and the Skuliner Big Band for over 40 years. He performed with Flash Tavares, Boboi de Tai, Al Lopes, Toi Grace, among others. 

A photo (see below) dated 1967 shows him with his instrument in a group that includes Al Lopes (12-string guitar), Joe Rogers (electric guitar), John Grace (bass), Joe Andrade (electric guitar) and the violinist Johnny Lomba. 

In his youth, Young Bobby served as a U.S. Amry radio operator in World War II. He carried out missions in Italy, North Africa and the Philippines. He received several decorations as a soldier(military?) according to his obituary.  

According to the same source, in 1949, Young Boboi enrolled at the Arlington Academy of Music in Boston, an important music school at the time. He completed the course in 1952. While he improved his music studies, he worked in highway construction for 15 years.  

From 1958 to 1965, he was the saxophonist for the Wally Durant Jazz Quintet, that performed five nights a week at the West End Social Club. In this group, which performed Horace Silver’s repertoire, Young Boboi was recognized as one of the region’s leading jazz musicians. In 1966 he was invited to teach at the Berklee College of Music but chose to stay in New Bedford and became the saxophonist for the famous Gene Oliver Quartet.  

Between 1969 and 1971 at the Hyannis International Music Festival (precursor of the currently called Melody Tent, in the city of Hyannis, on Cape Cod), he played tenor sax, alto sax, clarinet and flute in the festival’s support orchestra, formed by 40 members, accompanying big names in international music, such as Peggy Lee, Jose Feliciano, Tony Bennett and Johnny Mathis and also vocal groups like the Temptations, Platters, etc.  

However, his biggest legacy, as stated in his obituary was his role as a teacher, having trained many musicians who developed successful careers, including one of his sons, who played with the Tavares Brothers. The guitarist Tazinho mentions Boboi in several interviews as it was with him that he studied music after settling in the USA in the mid 1970s. Young Boboi also appears to write the arrangements on Tazinho album titled Pleno, released in 1986.  

Young Boboi was often cited for his excellence in the musical field. In 2000, he received official recognition from the City of New Bedford twice for his contribution to Cape Verdean music over his 50-tear career. In 2001, the New Bedford’s Cape Verdean Recognition Committee declared that his achievements served as a “source of inspiration and enrichment for the Cape Verdean-American community”.  

Ron Barboza collaborated in the research