Jorge Job
Cape Verdean, 1928 - 2021
BiographyOne of Connecticut's most accomplished Cape Verdean musicians, Jorge Job (1928-2021) was a Cape Verdean guitar and cavaquinho player as well as a composer in Krioulu, the local language of Cape Verde. Jorge lived in Waterbury, where he retired from a lifetime’s work as a cook. Born into a farming family on the island of Sal in 1928, Jorge was a shepherd as a boy. Later, at age 11, he worked in the kitchen of Cape Verde's only international airport, just built at that time on Sal. From the time he was 20, Jorge moved from island to island as a cook and on oil freighters traveling from his island of Sal to the western hemisphere. His morna Shell 15 describes a near disaster suffered by that ship and its crew - including Jorge - when they encountered a hurricane while transporting oil between Cape Verde and Senegal. Jorge worked as a cook at a restaurant in Waterbury where he emigrated with his family in 1974.
Music has always been a central part of Jorge's life, an important vehicle of expression for his experiences. He has written sambas for Carnival, parade marches for soccer teams, coladeiras, and nine mornas with lyrics based on actual events in Cape Verde. People on the islands share each others' sorrows, expressing their grief through mornas. Luis Cordero relates a story about two men tuna-fishing from the rocks, a very dangerous activity because of the depth of the sea and the precipitous cliffs. Ano Novo was written about an imprisoned man; his mother cried when Jorge sang it for her at New Year. Morna d'Corral is a bittersweet song about a lost love from Jorge's youth.
Jorge and his son Rui, a professional keyboard player and record producer, have arranged many of Jorge's compositions for their CD "Geracao," published in 2006. Bassist Djim Job (Jorginho), a professional bass player, has collaborated with his father on several musical ventures including composing mornas under the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program in 2005-2006. Away from Cape Verde and deeply emotional experiences, Jorge doesn't write many mornas these days, saying "morna is very sentimental, you have to have inspiration to create it. Now I would go with another type - bolero, coladeira, samba. I'm crazy for samba!"
Music has always been a central part of Jorge's life, an important vehicle of expression for his experiences. He has written sambas for Carnival, parade marches for soccer teams, coladeiras, and nine mornas with lyrics based on actual events in Cape Verde. People on the islands share each others' sorrows, expressing their grief through mornas. Luis Cordero relates a story about two men tuna-fishing from the rocks, a very dangerous activity because of the depth of the sea and the precipitous cliffs. Ano Novo was written about an imprisoned man; his mother cried when Jorge sang it for her at New Year. Morna d'Corral is a bittersweet song about a lost love from Jorge's youth.
Jorge and his son Rui, a professional keyboard player and record producer, have arranged many of Jorge's compositions for their CD "Geracao," published in 2006. Bassist Djim Job (Jorginho), a professional bass player, has collaborated with his father on several musical ventures including composing mornas under the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program in 2005-2006. Away from Cape Verde and deeply emotional experiences, Jorge doesn't write many mornas these days, saying "morna is very sentimental, you have to have inspiration to create it. Now I would go with another type - bolero, coladeira, samba. I'm crazy for samba!"
Person TypeIndividual
Cape Verdean, 1924 - 2005
