Artist Information Biography Oriazul (Gold for the sands and Blue for the sea water colour typical to the Cape Verde Islands) has been created in 1993 with experienced pro musicians from 6 African Countries. In addition to the routine events in country, Oriazul - Family and Crowd friendly band - played in several countries in West Africa and Ethiopia with more than 200 concerts for audiences of 200 to 5,000. Oriazul have several pieces composed and play many songs of famous Cape Verdian Artists similar to Cesaria Evora. Our fans have migrated to other countries and brought us to their new home country, to enjoy our performances they so much missed. Our music is genuinely Cape Verdian and we resisted the introducing electronic sounds and safeguarded the string and wind instruments that are typical to the Cape Verdian Music, including the sound of the cavaquinho from the times of the slave trading that took place in the Islands during the 18th and 19th centuries. Interpreted by our vocal from Gabon, we play songs from the late and loved Brenda Fassie, 1er Gaou and others, that our fans have repetedly claimed it is very close to the original artist. One of our major successes is "Mario" from Congo, led by our Bass Guitar player from that country. In most of our concerts we have been asked to repeat our interpretation of Gloria Gaynor's I'l Survive which sets our African American link. We feel our personal relationship established with our fans has been a great asset in our continuous growth. We have also lost some musicians to bands and producers in Europe but we have been able to get replacement musicians on board quite successfully, as we have the luxury to leave in one of the biggest capitals of music in Africa. Onother aspect that sets us apart is that, whenever we play a sitting concert, our fans and spectators can not remain seated for more than 2 or 3 pieces as the Rythm inherent to the music we play, with the extra beat we add in, touches people in their blood and makes them move. We give a lot of value to the preservation of a very peculiar and sensitive culture that has entertained millions in the world. We worked with School Bands to give them the pro--confidence neede to play for large audiences and the coordination required. We have also played weekly at night clubs, on product / service launches, company parties and are planning to play for cruise ships. Instrumentation Daniel Gomes - Lead Vocal and Keyboard/piano - mic; Florent Loso - Bass Guitar; Johnny - Solo Guitar/cavaquinho; Evelyn da Cruz - Vocal mic; Claire Mbeng - Vocal mic; Pape Abdoulaye - Drums; Danny Brioto - guitar ; Sanou Diouf - Saxophone Discography Djobe pa mi - 1996. 14 Songs. Paciensa - 2003. 9 Songs (Africa Prod - France) Plan International - Single for Street Children Awareness Both include pieces that carry strong messages like the one copmosed by us JACABA, that strives to end all types of conflicts by singing It's Over. We have composed pieces for Plan International on the subject of Street Kids Dignity in Africa. We produced some commercial tracks for Radio and TV broadcasting. Plan International - Single for Street Children Awareness Links http://www.oriazul.com Oriazul Daniel & Oriazul