Bringing a dream to life Amandio Cabral is one of the most famous and prolific of Cape Verde’s composers, having penned such beloved songs as Sodade, Xandinha, Fruto Proibido and Camim di São Tomé.. Living in San Francisco since the mid 1960s, Amandio has maintained a lengthy musical friendship with American pianist and arranger Larry Dunlap. At Amandio’s invitation, Larry has recorded approx. 10 recordings of his music with various size bands. His arrangements and production have transformed Amandio’s haunting melodies into strikingly beautiful musical pictures. Dream of a new vocal recording Amandio’s recent dream has been to create a recording featuring a very special Cape Verdian singer with arrangements by Larry that would include the 3 time Grammy nominated string quartet, Quartet San Francisco along with woodwind master Charlie McCarthy and a top rhythm section, all fronted by Larry’s piano mastery. Enter one of Cape Verde’s rising stars Gabriela Mendes. Amandio brought her to San Francisco to record this marvelous cd at the world famous Fantasy Studios. A magical melding of talents The result is Um Renovo Musical, a marvelous new recording with 12 beautiful songs by Amandio, arranged thoughtfully by Larry and sung masterfully by Gabriela. This recording promises to bring Gabriela Mendes to another level in her career as one of CV’s top performers. It stands as a remarkable testament to the songs of Amandio Cabral.