Gandhi

Rão Kyao was actually born João Gorjão Jorge and was a key figure in the local Portuguese jazz scene in the 1960s and 70s, having played with such luminaries as Don Byas and Dexter Gordon. By that time, he was a renowned saxophonist and would soon add a stunning recording to the Portuguese fundamental discography with Fado Bailado, his own take on fado.

Jorge became Rão Kyao aft er a life-changing trip to India in the late 70s. From then on, he mostly favoured the bamboo flute over the saxophone and took on a musical and spiritual mission, travelling back to India to deepen his studies of classical Indian music. The music he has pursued since then is a personal mixture of Portuguese traditional melodies and rhythms with the vocabulary he developed in India, plus a pinch of his jazz roots. Th is mix of influences is clear in tracks like ‘Misericórdia’ or ‘Sathya Graha’ on Kyao’s newest record, a tribute to Gandhi.

Along with a string of traditional instruments such as Portuguese guitar, accordion or viola braguesa, Kyao documents his take on Gandhi’s favourite devotional song, ‘Vaishnav Jan to Tene Kahiye Je’, and excels when he trails the mysterious Indian-inspired melody of ‘Respeito Pela Natureza’. But most of all, Rão Kyao searches and succeeds in finding a harmony that should lead us throughout life.