Reyes was born on September 24, 1952, in
Uruapan,
Michoacán, Mexico with the name Jorge Reyes Valencia. He was not a
Native Mexican, but played many Prehispanic instruments to which he was exposed from an early age in his village. Reyes attended the National School of Music, Mexico (Escuela Nacional de Musica de la
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, or UNAM) 1970–1975, studying the flute. During this time, he formed two seminal Mexican rock bands, Al Universo and Nuevo México, influenced by
Jethro Tull and
Pink Floyd but incorporating native musical instruments. In 1976, his growing interest in
jazz led to spending a year in
Hamburg, Germany, where he studied improvisation with
Herb Geller. As part of this training, he traveled through
Turkey,
Pakistan,
Afghanistan, and
Sri Lanka. In 1978, he attended a Hindu music course in the
Himalayas, in which he studied traditional Indian flute and percussion techniques. On these overseas trips, he began collecting many native instruments. After returning to Mexico, Reyes founded the band Chac Mool with drummer Armando Suárez and keyboardist Carlos Alvarado, which was one of the first Mexican
progressive rock bands. The band recorded four well-received albums, on which Reyes played flute and guitar, before disbanding. In 1985, Reyes began a prolific solo career. He collaborated with several other new-age and electronic musicians, including American synthesist
Steve Roach, Mexican singer and multi-instrumentalist
Arturo Meza (of the band Decibel), Spanish guitarist Suso Saiz, Mexican percussionist Juan Carlos López, German synthesist Elmar Schulte (of the band Solitaire),
Deep Forest, and others. His music was used frequently in Mexican radio and television programs. He performed many concerts at famous Mexican archeological sites such as
Malinalco,
Teotihuacan,
Templo Mayor,
Chichen Itza, and
Tenango del Valle. His annual
Día de los Muertos concerts at UNAM were popular events. He also gave many concerts at the Espacio Escultórico de Ciudad Universitaria, where he collaborated with dancer and choreographer Regina Quintero. Reyes died from a heart attack at his recording studio in
Mexico City while reinterpreting "Teguala" by fellow Mexican composer Felipe Waller on Saturday February 7, 2009. He was 56 years old. He had three children—Citlalli, Ridwan (with Ursula Kipp), and Erendira (with Ariane Pellicer). ==Discography==