da Graça and Soares family papers (MSS-0072)

Biographical/Historical Note

Born in 1913 to Izora da Graça and Sebastian José Soares, Edwin José Soares was a Cape Verdean jazz pianist in Rhode Island. His brother was Arthur Sebastian Soares (1916-1987), who was the father to Sylvia Ann Soares, Anita Louise Fernandes, and Arthur John Soares. Soares’ uncle was Eduardo da Graça and his great-uncle was Deacon Joseph Andrews.

Edwin Soares played in multiple jazz and swing bands over his career in Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts. He performed with Louie Armstrong sometime in the 1950s at Paul Fillipi’s Celebrity Club in Providence. Soares played piano in Tony Tomasso’s the Jewels of Dixie jazz quintet for more than thirty-five years. The band opened for Dave Brubeck at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1962. Aside from the Jewels of Dixie, Soares played in Phil Edmund’s Boston-based ten-piece swing band and the Eddie Soares Trio, featuring Peter Peligian and Bob Petteruti. He recorded his solo album, ‘Like, WOW!” in the mid-1970s. Edwin Soares died on March 2, 1993.

Eduardo da Graça was born in 1903 and immigrated to the United States from Cape Verde in 1925, settling in Rhode Island. He then became a chef at the Minden Hotel on Providence’s East Side. In 1953, he became a United States citizen under the name Edward Grace.