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The Kriol Jazz Festival celebrates the musical heritage of Cape Verde “Cuban sauce” with Kriolatino

In the capital of Cape Verde, Praia, the renowned Kriol Jazz Festival created by José Da Silva, the producer of Cesaria Evora, concluded in apotheosis on the night of Saturday April 6 to Sunday April 7. For this 13th edition and like every year a creation was proposed to the public: the ephemeral group Kriolatino is a mix of musicians from Cape Verde and Cuba, with an explosive formation which made the audience of Praia dance.

Listen - 01:21

Hernani Almeida, guitar, Jorge Reyes, double bass. A Cape Verdean, a Cuban, two maestros at the head of the superb Kriolatino group for a unique concert in Praia during Kriol jazz. © Guillaume Thibault / RFI

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With our special correspondent in Praia,

Guillaume Thibault

Jorge Reyes, legendary bassist from Cuba, and Hernani Almeida, gem guitarist from Cape Verde, imagined this project together. This with the ambition of discovering the immense

musical heritage of the Cape Verde archipelago

, but with a “ 

Cuba sauce

 ”: “ 

It’s like my cousins ​​were. Cuban music is happier, our music is more melancholic. It's an incredible connection.

 »

The Kriolatino group is therefore a desire to play different styles, notably morna. With, in this exceptional group, Totinho, guitarist of Cesária Évora, and

Khaly Angel, last pianist of the diva

, for a moment of absolute grace.

After the “ 

saudade

 ” (nostalgia), it’s time to party with a popular style that directly takes up the Mandinka rhythms of Guinea-Bissau. This unique Kriolatino concert was also an opportunity to discover the last great voices of Cape Verde: Zubikilla Spencer and Fabio Ramos, who set the mood for this magical evening.

Also read: Atlantic Music Expo: Jocelyn Balu, prince of Congolese rumba

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