Rory Jagdeo was born in little village called Fyrish in the county of Berbice, Guyana, South America. (Fyrish is located approximately eleven miles from New Amsterdam and two miles North from the Atlantic coast. Guyana is bordered by Brazil, Venezuela, Suriname, and the Atlantic Ocean.)
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Rory attended Fyrish Congregational School, Berbice Educational Institute and later studied Electrical Technology at New Amsterdam Technical Institute.
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After graduation, Rory migrated to Toronto to study at Radio College of Canada. He would eventually move back to Guyana to work at the Bauxite Plant in Linden as an Industrial Electrician.
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Growing restless yet again, Rory traveled to Suriname – a Dutch colony in South America for two weeks and ended up spending five years working as an Industrial Electrician.
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Rory’s musical career started when he was around nine or ten after his father gave him a harmonica for Christmas. Rory remembered playing it non-stop at the time.
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Another of Rory’s earliest memory was belting out songs during lunch break at school with his friends. Rory’s love for music was so profound that he began playing harmonica and acoustic guitar in a gospel band.
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In between working full time in the Telecommunications field for the past 20 years, Rory would go on to receive his BS in Electrical Technology at the University of Houston, became a member of the Unitarian Fellowship blues band called Sam and the Blue Notes. Volunteered as a Board member for the Houston Blues Society.
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During this time, although Rory’s love for music was on the back burner, he would continue to search out new music and rhythm to “soothe or intoxicate” this being because music to Rory is really food, water, air and nectar for the soul.
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Although Rory’s taste of music is universal, he finds himself more drawn to classical, rock, pop, latin, blues, new age, and recently he was introduced to alternative by his son Peter who is a music major at Moores Music School. (In fact, Peter was the one who laid the bass track on “Friday Night Blues” and “You Belong To Me” and violin solo in “Hanging On”)
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“Hanging on” is Rory’s first studio album and was definitely a challenge that brought him out of his comfort zone to sing in many key – something he won’t normally do. This is what gives this album its uniqueness and it includes songs and rhythm on many genre of music.
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Rory began working on the album Hanging On at home with his guitar and harmonica after the title track was recorded. His recording idea was just to have a single but there was an excitement to produce an entire album. He credits his producer Locke for his patience and encouragement and also his many close friends who enjoy his musical style.
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Rory dedicated the third song on the album “I will Love You Forever” to his uncle Ricknauth Jaggernauth who was a September 11 victim. This song was created from the point of view (POV) of Rick as if he is reaching out to comfort all those who knew him.
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“Fragile” one of Rory’s favorite is a slow rock that has a Pink Floyd feel but takes on its own character- soothing yet intense.
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On the track, “You Belong To Me,” Rory showed his love for the Blues by incorporating the romantic side of the Blues with lyrics to intoxicate the senses. Rory believes The Houston Blues Society influenced and disciplined him to write and record his songs in the studio.
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On the track, “Friday Night Blues,” a song that was intended solely for the “Blues” bin, Rory poured in a mixture of Reggae and Pop for fun and found it fitted in with the lyrics and rhythm. This song was born on a Friday while Rory was spending some time with his friend Colin Firth from Scotland.
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Rory worked hard to transform his “simple melodies” into “catchy and contagious” pieces because he hopes to inspire his fans to listen to his song over and over. “This is what I do when I fall in love with a song. I listened to it endlessly until it becomes unbearable.”
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Rory believes his musical achievement was possible through MKV (Mathematical Karmic Value) a phrase he invented. MKV, also a name used for one of the songs on his album has a combination of guitar and tabla as well.
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Rory hopes to touch people with rhythm and hope that each and every soul would be inspired with at least one song on his debut album. Most of the songs are based on a “bluesy seductiveness, pop/rock melodies that reflect “the secrets of the soul.”
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