Bana (singer)
| Bana | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Adriano Gonçalves |
| Born |
5 March 1932 Mindelo, Cape Verde |
| Died | 13 July 2013 (aged 81) Loures, Portugal |
| Genres | Morna, Coladeira |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1949–2013 |
| Labels | Discos Monte Cara Lusafrica |
| Website | Website |
Adriano Gonçalves (5 March 1932 – 13 July 2013), known by his stage name Bana and called the "King of Morna", was a Cape Verdean balladeer and an interpreter of the morna style, the plaintive, melodic lament which is a staple musical style of the country.
He was born in Mindelo on 5 March 1932, some sources said he was born on 11 March. In his childhood years, he was surrounded by music with local singers. At age four, he appeared with local singers.
Bana, who was over seven feet tall, began his musical career during Portuguese colonial rule, when he worked as a handyman and bodyguard for the legendary Cabo Verdean composer and performer, B. Leza. In the 1950s, the singer, uncle of Cesária Évora taught Bana and many other artists the art of morna songs. In 1958, BeLeza was presented at a round with the Tuna Académica da Coimbra which took place in São Vicente Island. Among the attendees were Portuguese poet and poilticial dissident Manuel Alegre and Portuguese writer, poet and novelist Fernando Assis Pacheco who tried to take him to Portugal to act. After B. Leza died, he began working in his own. Perhaps because of his popularity, Bana was accused of collaboration with the Portuguese colonial government. He later went to Dakar, Senegal where he recorded his first album in 1962 and gave his first performance, the record had four songs, 2,000 copies were sold within the first weeks.
Afterwards he moved to Europe in a few months, first to Paris which he remained until 1968, there Bana made two LPs including Pensamento e segredo and Bana à Paris, Bana later moved to Rotterdam in the Netherlands where he made a group "Voz de Cabo Verde" ("Voice of Cape Verde") with other exiled Cape Verdeans including Luís Morais (1934-2002), Jean da Lomba, Morgadinho, Toy de Bibha, Frank Cavaquinho and several others, he also published two "long-plays" and six EPs. In 1969 he headed southwest to Portugal where he opened "Restaurante Monte Cara" in Lisbon, named after one of the island's prominent feature Monte Cara west of Mindelo (also Casa de Cabo Verde), he met two of his friends, Luís Morais e Morgadinho. Also named after the prominent feature Discos Monte Cara, a record company (one of the first Cape Verde) he would establish. Bana created a sound which was the style of Cape Verdean bands, his discs were sold in his native island and other islands in Cape Verde and the Cape Verdeans in Portugal, Italy, France, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and the eastern United States were recognized in mora songs in Cape Verdean creole, Bana's with the voice of the folk was heard around the world.
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Wikipedia