Greg Murat (mur-rah)
Singer-Songwriter Guitarist
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Light Hearted Latin Jazzy Reggae Pop
I was born onto the shifting sands of a military family.
I lived all over the United States, in Europe for 6 years and Southeast
Asia. All of that travel gave me a world view of life and music. Jazz
was the music at our house, and vocalists like Tony Bennett, Andy Williams
and the Brazilian music of Jobim and Stan Getz. Before I discovered
the Beatles, James Taylor, Kenny Loggins and Pop music, these were my
influences. I spent endless hours imitating all those great vocalists
and developing my own style. I memorized and mimicked hundreds of songs.
I beat out rhythms on anything that would sit still. I loved to be alone
because I could really let loose and sing at the top of my lungs. I
would never sing in front of people, I was much too shy. It seemed that
wherever we lived, there were woods out our back door. That's where
I would go to be alone. Many summer days found me running through the
woods and along streams, singing, always singing, and fantasizing I
was on some beautiful tropical island. Those daydreams later found their
way into a lot of my songs.
I
began playing guitar in the backyard of my Uncle John's house in Florida
when I was 18 years old. He had an old guitar laying around and some
60's pop song books. That was the beginning and that is where I wrote
my first two songs, both inspired by love gone wrong. I have celebrated
life (the good and bad) through songs ever sense. Music is about expressing
emotion, and that's the approach I take to singing, playing guitar and
piano. A training in classical guitar and percussion gave me a rhythmic
and melodic playing style. All the richness of my experience has found
its way into the songs I compose. Writing songs opened up a new world
where I discovered a use for my sometimes painful, sometimes joyful,
sense of empathy with people. I could capture other people's emotions
and express them too. To comfort the loss of a loved one, I wrote I'll
Love You Forever and my lovely wife, Andie, recorded it for her friend
Gia. To aid victims of abuse I wrote Far Cry From Love, also recorded
by Andie. As a commentary on teen pregnancy I wrote Young Lovers. For
the many lost souls who returned from Southeast Asia (but not really)
I wrote Lost In Viet Nam. To celebrate the joy of a wedding, I wrote
The Groom and the Bride Love is
Kind was written for Judy and Robert Jensen when they were struggling
with their marriage. What a gift I have been given! What an opportunity
Although I have played solo everywhere from living rooms to the Gorge Amphitheater, I opened 10 shows for BB King and many others, I truly enjoy kicking up the sand with some of my very talented friends.. I love playing shows with friends like Scott MacGougan, Mike Daily, John Matthews and Jimmy Culler. I love when they surprise me and show up to play and sing to Murat music. When we play songs like Love Me One More Time, The Dawn and Club Americana I am off on some tropical island and it puts a big smile on my face every time. The influence of Jazz Swing shows up in songs like Boody Wah Scoody or When My Baby Cannot Sleep. My love for the music of Brazil is apparent in songs like Brighter Days, Hey Buddy and Make Peace With Yourself. My young paradise island fantasy finds a home in Cool Wind From Jamaica. Light hearted joy is the feeling of Springtime of the Year and Summer Vacation. There are also tongue in cheek songs like Just Don't Know or Uh Oh and Gotta Get Back To Love.
There
is something timeless about the songs God has given me. Songs like Wasn't
It a Time and Love is Kind were influenced by classic ballads and I
feel hopeful they will remain alive and well long after I have gone
to the next great adventure. I love to hear other singers sing my songs.
I am working on publishing at this time and opening the door to get
my songs into the hands of many fine singers out there.