Kim Alves
With his ear attuned to the rhythms and melodies of his native Cape Verde seemingly from the moment of his birth, it could be argued the first language of Kim Alves was music. Befitting the son of a bricklayer (and virtuoso violinist), Alves took the building blocks of fervent music around him, stacking one instrument — and one style at a time — until he had built one of the strongest musical foundations ever laid in his culture.
Indeed, Alves became such an immense influencer, and highly-sought player and producer,that he was awarded a first-degree merit medal by then-Cape Verde Prime Minister José Maria Neves before he’d marked his 40th birthday. It was the first of three national awards of cultural distinction bestowed upon Alves. It’s just part of a remarkable tale of inner drive, passion and self-learning fueled by the flame of a musical upbringing.
As other kids were learning to walk and talk, Alves (born Joaquim Fernandes Pina Alves in 1966 in the Cape Verdean capital of Praia), was listening to and aspiring to something else. He wanted so to badly to join in the music his father and bandmates played at home that Alves’s first “baby rattle” was the double rhythm of shakers made with “black thorn” seeds in tin cans.His desire ran so deep that at just 6 years old, with only homemade instruments, he joined his father’s band for dances, providing the rattlesnake rhythms under the beat, playing through arm fatigue that would deter even an adult. By the time he was 7, Alves had been accepted as a full-fledged member of his father’s band, displaying his prodigal skills on instruments from cavaquinho, to viola to guitar, made all the more remarkable because the left-hander had to learn by playing right-handed guitars upside down. It was clear he was a special musician.
Even as a pre-teen, his skills were so notable that in a contest in Praia against the finest musicians in the country, Alves was judged the best string player ... at 11 years old! From there, Kim devoured every kind of music he could find, taking something from all to make his own. That schooling, and his leading role in numerous bands, led Kim to a graduate school of Cape Verdean music when, at 17 years old, he landed a spot in the Abel Djassi Ensemble, a landmark band that he would lead for nearly a decade. In that band, necessity required that Alves take up yet another instrument, keyboards, which he approached with such daring and inventiveness that it redefined the instrument in Cape Verdean music and became his calling card.
With such an incredible ear and passion for the communal nature of music, it was a natural that Alves would become an accomplished engineer and a top producer, establishing himself at studios in Cape Verde, Portugal and ultimately the United States. In doing so, he helped launch the careers of not only fellow Cape Verdean musicians but Haitian and Jamaican artists.
Today, the remarkable musical journey of Kim Alves continues in Providence, Rhode Island, where he is inspiring musicians in the city’s Cape Verdean community and beyond in his ever-evolving roles, just as he was as a child when music became the guiding force in his life — and a language at which he proved most fluent.
National honors
• October 2005 — First degree of the merit medal from Prime Minister Dr. José Maria Neves
• March 2006 — Installed in honor gallery of Ildo Lobo palace of Culture
• July 2006 — First class of the order of the Volcano from President Pedro Pires
Instruments mastered
• 6- 10- and 12-string guitars, Cavaquinho, Violin, Cello, Double bass, Electric bass, Electric guitar, Portuguese guitar, Hawaiian guitar, Mandolin, Banjo, Piano, Synthesizers, Transverse flute, Accordion, Harmonica, Balafon, Korá, Kalimba, Shimen (India), Koto (Japan), Drums and various percussion
Notable associations
• Abel Djassi Ensemble, as player and leader
• Finaçon, musical director
Discography
• Dança Das Ilhas
