GEORG KAJANUS

The Norwegian, Georg Johan Tjegodiev Sakonski Kajanus, seems to have led a life nearly as long as his name. He is the son of Prince Paulo Tjegodiev Sakonski of Russia and Johanna Kajanus, the famous Finnish sculptress. He is also the great- grandson of Robert Kajanus, a composer and confidant of Sibelius. Kajanus has lived in Canada, where he learned English; in Paris and St. Tropez; in Mexico City, where his mother's studios are located; in London and, of course, Norway.

The most reclusive and primitive of the Sailor musicians, Kajanus' talents seem to exceed those of merely creative artists. Born in Trondheim, Norway in 1946, Kajanus moved with his mother and sister to Paris at the age of twelve. In 1959, the family relocated to Quebec. Working as a stained glass window designer in the French-Canadian province, Kajanus was lured back to Europe by the Church of England commissioners who had requested his assistance in standardizing ecclesiastical symbology for use in church architecture.

Since 1960, Kajanus has been at work compiling his family journals, searching for manuscripts and contributing scholarly articles relating to his famous forebears to University quarterlies. Although an accomplished musician and songwriter, his primary interest is not simply music.

"I refuse to limit my interest to any single aesthetic discipline," says Kajanus. "The days of the 'Matelot' were fun, of course. But, as far as my involvement with Sailor was concerned, I was only interested in determining what limits might be applied to a medium in not only its most expressive and experimental aspects, but also its most readily-appreciated and commercial forms. When I write music, I am a composer. But when I paint or write, my interests are simply painting or writing. There is time for everything."

Before moving to Paris to join Sailor in 1967, Kajanus lived in London, (where he now again resides), and directed the activities of another avant-garde group, "Eclection". A close friend of M. Faux, the legendary proprietor of the 'Cafe le Matelot', Kajanus was shattered when the musical landmark was destroyed by fire in 1970. He travelled to Mexico City, where he lived in seclusion until July 1973.

Kajanus is a man whose talents range across the entire spectrum of the creative arts. Yet as a musician he is unparallelled, communicating the wealth and richness of his extraordinary gifts, filling a void in the world spread evenly with musical mediocrity.

(C)1974 Epic Records, Ltd./Sony Music UK. Reprinted without permission.


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