Luis Morais (10 February 1935 - September 2002) - Born in Mindelo (on the island of São Vicente, Cabo Verde), Luis Morais spent his youth in Dakar where he studied and learned the rudiments and theory of music, then composition. Caboverdean evenings were very popular in Dakar at the time and it was at these dances that he first appeared on stage, playing his chosen instruments, the clarinet and saxophone (alto and tenor). In those postwar years, Latin beats (merengue, cha-cha, etc.) were gathering popularity and Morais began to adapt Caboverdean standards to the new genres and also composed instrumentals. While retaining the traditional form of coladera, he changed its rhythmic structure, basing his work on Cuban beats. In 1964 in Rotterdam, Luis Morais formed the group Voz de Cabo Verde along with other musicians like Frank Cavaquinho Djosinha and Chico Serra. In about ten years, Voz de Cabo Verde recorded many records - singles and albums - on the Morabeza label, also based in Rotterdam... In the 60s and 70s, Luis Morais divided his time between Cabo Verde and Lisbon, where most of the Caboverdean musical scene was centred. Voz de Cabo Verde, until then an instrumental group, were joined by Bana, a singer who enabled them to reach another audience in Portugal. When the group finally split up, Luis Morais continued to accompany Bana and arranged some of his records. Luis Morais accompanied his old friend Cesaria Evora (from the live shows of Radio Mindelo when she started out as a singer) in the recordings of her first album, "La Diva aux Pieds nus", in 1988, and in her tours and some months before his death, on stage for the "Nuit du Cap-Vert" at the Paris Zénith. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.