The Kriol Jazz Festival in Praia ended last night (Saturday, April 12) and I wasn’t there. Last night we were on Volendam heading from Mindelo on Sao Vincente Island in Cabo Verde to Praia, the capital. Missed it by a day. I tried to get air tickets from Mindelo to Praia for yesterday but except for a morning flight that we could not make the seats were all sold.

This is the second time we missed the festival by a day. In 2018 Amsterdam called at Praia the day the festival started. The ship left before the first concert but, at least then, we were able to sit in the Café Sofia and watch the sound checks, which included a song by each group performing that night and watch dances blocked on stage. After the rehearsal musicians jammed over at the next table. We also got to some of the booths at the Atlantic Music Conference and Expo which runs alongside the festival, where we picked up some CDs and talked with folks about the music African music industry.

Cabo Verde is a musical crossroads. It has influences from both Angola in southern Africa and Guinea Bizeau in West Africa. Enslaved people from both regions were transshipped to Brazil via Cabo Verde. Music from Brazil, with its spicing of Indigenous musical motifs made it back to Cabo Verde. There was always a Portuguese influence. Yankee whalers called at Cabo Verde frequently and many Cape Veridians immigrated to America. Several became noted American Jazz artists like Horace Silver and Paul Gonsalves, Ellington’s sax man. American Jazz has added to the mid-Atlantic music spice.

Our stop on Saturday was Mindelo, home of Cesária Évora, the “Barefoot Diva,” who was the queen of Cape Veridian Morna music, sometimes described as African Fado or African Blues. She won a World Music Grammy 2003 and worked on the soundtrack of Emir Kusturica’s film “Underground.”

In Mindelo I went searching for music. We went to two ethnographic museums, and I picked up 5 CDs, some from Évora, some other field recordings and a CD of Cape Veridian Carnival music. There were displays of musical instruments and I got some information on local music traditions.

But to hear music I had to sit outside a church. It was Saturday and the Seventh Day Adventists were worshiping. The singing had some typical African Harmonies. We sat on a park bench across the street listening. When church broke a congregation emerged that would make any American pastor, except the pastor of a mega church, guilty of the sin of envy. Many socialized in the Church Courtyard until the man I took the be the pastor, dressed in a purple shirt that would do the Archbishop of Canterbury proud, emerged with his bible and greeted all the waiting congregation.

The next day in Praia we also went to church to hear music. It was Palm Sunday and the pro cathedral’s congregation spilled out into the town square that had been set up for the Atlantic Music Conference and Expo. We arrived in time for the passing of the peace. Vendors set up on the square in the middle of the crowd selling handicrafts and popcorn to congregants holding palms.

After the service we moved further back into the square to where they were dismantling the booths set up for the music exhibition, booths from record companies, copyright agencies, social media apps and instrument makers. The goods were gone but the signs announcing the topics of the seminars remained. Among them.

“’Likes’ don’t pay the bills. Get paid for your music, everything you need to know about your creative rights.”

“Touring the USA.”

“Mental Health in the Music Industry.” and

“’Africa Cloud’ Achieve Digital Entertainment Sovereignty.”

We walked down July 5th Street to Praça Luis Comöes, the square that is the venue for the festival, and shared a table with a sleeping calico cat at the Café Sofia, where we had watched the rehearsals and sat in on jams 7 years ago. There was no one jamming there at noon. The waiter told us the final set, buy 80-year-old Semba master Bonga (Semba is related to Samba and is from Angola) ran until after 4 AM. It must have been quite a party. As the afternoon progressed more people came to the café, and several wanted the extra chair at our table. The calico wasn’t budging, and they did not want to wake her.

We watched as they wheeled away the sound equipment and beer coolers. Kids played soccer in the square where the music lovers celebrated last night.

You can read about our visit here 7 years ago here.