Creole Sextet

Group (1960s) – [?]  Joli Gonsalves (voice), Al Lopes (guitar), J. Lombardi (violin), Young Boboi (saxophone), Chico Tass (?) and F. Ponte (maracas) were the members of this group formed in the USA and that appears in the collective album So Sabi: Cape Verdean Music from New England. In the Read more…

Phill Barboza

Félix Edmund Barboza  USA, 1914 – USA, 1993  Instrumentalist (trumpet)   Phill Barboza is one of the North American musicians of Cape Verdean origin whose artistic career falls within the world of jazz, but who still maintains a connection with the music of the land of the ascendants – his father Read more…

Orchestra de Notias

Group (1920s – 1930s)  Orchestra de Notias was one of several Cape Verdean groups that existed in the United States in the 1920s/1930s. Its leader was the violinist Cândido Almeida, “Notias”.   Between 1929 and 1935, three groups formed by Cape Verdeans made a set of forty recordings at the Columbia Read more…

Al Lopes 

Albert Oliveira Lopes  New Bedford, USA, 1917 – New Bedford, EUA, 1988  Instrumentalist (strings), music publisher  Enterprising musician that founded his own orchestra and label.  Al Lopes is appointed by Joli Gonsalves in his text included in the book A Salute to the Cape Verdean Musicians and Their Music (Ron Read more…

Paul Pena

Paul Pena Hyannis, Massachusetts, USA, 1950 – San Francisco, California, USA, 2005  Instrumentalist (guitar), composer, singer “From all the sons of the Cape Verdean community in America that had some success in music, Paul Pena (originally Pina) is without a doubt the most intriguing and curious case”. Writes the journalist Read more…

Joli Gonsalves

John Pires Gonsalves  New Bedford, USA, 1925 – New Bedford, USA, 1998  Singer, multi-instrumentalist, editor   Joli Gonsalves is a son of parents from Brava, he was a prominent figure in the Cape Verdean community in the Massachusetts region. He developed activities as a musician, cultural animator, educator, broadcaster and founder Read more…

Vickie Vierra

Victoria Tavares Vierra  Providence, U.S.A, 1925 – Providence, U.S.A, 2013  Singer  Vickie Vierra grew up in Fox Point in Providence, in a family with several brothers – Flash Tavares being one of them, father of the members of the Tavares Brothers. Vickie started singing at an early age, animating parties Read more…

Flash Tavares

Feliciano Vierra Tavares  Providence, Rhode Island, USA, 1920 – Hyannis, Massachusetts, USA, 2008  Instrumentalist (guitar), singer  Flash Tavares, descendent of father from Santiago and mother from São Nicolau, had a long musical career among the Cape Verdean community in New England, several times accompanied his sister, Vickie Vierra. He is Read more…

Tavares Brothers

Music Band, 1950  The Tavares Brothers, formed by Cape Verdean descendants was a big success in the USA during the 70’s and 80’s in the context of soul music, R&B, and funk, but it was in the beginning of the disco era that their biggest hit was released: they recorded Read more…

Jackie Santos

Joaquim Santos  New Bedford, U.S.A [50’s]  Instrumentalist (drums, percussion), teacher. Percussionist Jackie Santos performed several years as a studio and stage musician, accompanied many musicians and bands, including the legend Chuck Berry, pioneer of rock, and the Tavares Brothers, the Cape Verdean descent group in the U.S. that had its Read more…