Kalu Monteiro
Carlos Alberto Monteiro
Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, 1964
Instrumentalist (drums), songwriter, arranger, music producer
A highly sought-after composer from the late 1990s onwards, Kalú Monteiro appears on albums of various artists, some of them with several compositions .
He wrote “El é Sebim”, a great success in the voice of Grace Évora, recorded on the album Aventura from 2003, a composition that according to Kalú revealed to Cabo Verde e a Música – Museu Virtual, had been composed to be recorded by Bana, which ended up not happening. Hits in this singer’s voice were “Fitche Fatche” and “No Marimba”, a partnership between Kalú and Djim Job, recorded on the album Girassol, from 1997, in which the two musicians also played and participated in the choirs. Kalú Monteiro plays the drums on albums like Intelectual by Ildo Lobo, Café Antlântico and São Vicente di Longe, by Cesária Évora; in Bandera by Mendes Brothers, he appears as a drummer and percussionist. In Maria de Barros’ three albums, Dança ma Mi, Nha Mundo and Morabeza, in addition to playing, he appears in musical productions, arrangements and choirs. He also participated in the recording of the album Kompass, formed by the musicians that accompanied Cesária at the time that Kalú participated in the band (2000 to 2002).
In Paranoia, album of Mirri Lobo from the early 1990s, he provides drum programming. In the 1st edition of the Cape Verdean Music Society Awards in 2022, Kalú Monteiro was awarded in the “best arranger” and “traditional and classical music” categories for his work with Diva Barros in the coladeira “Amdjer Coque e Bafa”, recorded by her on the album Um Bem dum Cavaquim.
Before, in the USA, where he has lived since 1975, he had participated in the Jamm Band, a group created in Taunton in 1983, which included Biús e Maria de Barros, among others. Previously, from the age of 11, he played for AGT (short for “Aguardente”), Independentes and also Contratempo (phase 1 and 2), when he accompanied Djosinha. In 1979, Bana, Luís Morais e Paulino Vieira arrived in the USA to perform and, in search of a drummer, was Kalú, at that time at 15 years old, who took that place alongside the famous musicians.
Kalú reports that his passion for percussion started in his childhood, and to this day the group Os Alegres trip to Porto Novo, when he tried to see the show but was denied because children were not allowed. He was only able to catch a glimpse of Cabanga, the drummer, performing, which remained in his memory forever. Later, when the group Kings went to Santo Antão, he was at the sound check observing attentively the gestures of the drummer, Figura.
Years later, in the USA, when he played drums for the first time (from his cousins, who had formed the group AGT), what he reproduced was exactly what he had seen Figura doing during the performance, and he had kept in his mind. From then on, he became part of the group.
Kalú Monteiro is one of the partners of Ten Rocks Restaurant in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, one of the main spaces with live music in the context of the Cape Verdean community in the region, where he plays and hosts other artists.
Compositions
Bem fetu (partnership with Dina Medina); Bo Ke Nha Boy (partnership with Djim Djob); Cabo Verde; Coraçon Torturôde; E k´txuss; El Também J´Dame; Fidjon rafogado (partnership with Djim Djob); Ia Ile (partnership with Djim Djob); Intentação fatal; Jura; Libertam (partnership with Dina Medina); Mei tston ka tem troke (partnership with Djim Djob); Nhâ Chica; Nha Cizila; No Continua (partnership with Joe Andrade); Oh Menel (partnership with Djim Djob); Realidade (partnership with Djim Djob, João Rodrigues); Sacrifice; Segred (partnership with Djim Djob); Sono Divino; Ula; Zinga zanga (partnership with Djim Djob).