JOVINO DOS SANTOS

Singer performer, songwriter, composer, arranger from the Cape Verde Islands JOVINO is one of the most attractive artists of his generation.

Jovino was born in Boa Vista (Cape Verde). He grew up in Sâo Vincente in his aunt’s house who is the owner of the famous “ Café Cantante ”.

In this café, every Sunday the greatest Cape Verde’s artists like B. LEZA, TCHUFF, Ti GOY meet. Those precisely whom the whole Mindelo population listen to, no matter what their social background is. The notorious café that once was a family business, has first become a place for artists to learn & be in touch with their audience. This fertile & creative ambiance certainly influenced Jovino’s compositions, inspired by the Island’s traditions & folklore. As you listen to him, you get a sharp feeling of this rooting.

Most surprising is the half-caste culture that he brings to us. Identifiable with his great cry from the heart & his personal look on every day’s life, Jovino never gets tired of playing with words, lyrics & melodies. His creative dimension makes him unique. His saudade songs are swinging between joy & melancholy. He offers to us songs that are deeply infused with love, sweetness & joy.

After a stay in Portugal, he moves on to France in the beginning of the 70’s.

He describes as in a tale the CapeVerdians’s lifestyle, people deeply affected by colonization, loneliness & the absence of an emigrated parent.

Jovino remains a poet either evoking his homeland & its women or revealing in a sincere way the magic of the Cape Verde.

His collaboration with another poet Luis SILVA for his lyrics and the music by « JOVINO § the GREAT VOICES » brought a remarkable note in the Islands’ 1990’s recent musical history.