Global hit: the music of Olivier Ker Ourio

We go to Paris to meet a musician and his harmonica.

My name is Olivier Ker Ourio. I originally come from the Reunion Islands which are in the Indian Ocean. I’ve been living in Paris for the past 15 years. My instrument is the chromatic harmonica. The music I like to play is mainly jazz, improvised music, but I’m very, very fond of melody and music that’s groovy.

I’ve been playing for the last 15 years. And I’ve been lucky to mix this harmonica in all kinds of contexts. It’s amazing how it can blend. You can blend it with the saxophone, trombone, and flugelhorn. It keeps its own sound and at the same time it’s able to mix and blend with the rest of the instruments. That’s the beauty of it.

The CD title “Oversea” comes from the fact that I’m originally from this island. And moving from there and moving to Paris, there’s sort-of nostalgia for the island even though I’m very happy in Paris. So, oversea literally in French means beyond the sea. I thought is was poetic. I hope so.