GREG MURÁT (mur-rah)           
GREG MURÁT All Rights Reserved   Singer Songwriter Poet
Papa Murat Band  

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                  Papa

   I am blessed to be called Papa by some amazing human beings. I am happy to be a husband and friend to Andie. I am grateful to God for my life and the chance that I have been given to be a singer and a songwriter. I am humbled by the experience of being a papa. I am excited to get closer to our adult children and stand in awe of their talents and individuality. Freedom's gift of words and music and his dedication to sharing his message are a blessing to behold. Sarah's multi-talents in music, art, dance, yoga are all a reflection of God to me as is her capacity for kindness. Josh is gifted musically in many ways more than all of us. If he can hear it, he can play it and his ability to compose grows all the time. He is now a proud papa to Saria. Chani has the gift of art and articulation of inner expression with both the spoken and written word. Then there is Andie's niece Liz, the dancer and actress. And now Kayden Anthony joins the clan. We love him a lot. He certainly changed our lives and our future. He is beautiful.For all the things I love about our family, I love their hearts and spirits most of all, who they are inside, and all of their humanity. I am glad I am dad.

   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.  
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   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 for our friends Samantha and Keith. 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 to give in return.

   Although I have played solo everywhere from small lounges to the Gorge, I opened 10 shows for BB King and countless others, I truly enjoy kicking up the sand with some of my very talented friends, especially the Dale (Manolito) Fuentes' Latin Jazz band, Bahia. I love playing shows with friends like Jamie Phalen, Dale Fuentes, Scott MacGougan, Scott Drexler, Mike Daily and Jimmy Culler. I love when they surprise me and show up to play and sing to MURÁT 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.
   

   When not writing and performing, I love traveling or being home with Andie and working with new talents in the studio and helping to shape other artist's careers. One of those talents is our daughter, Sarah Maria, and now that she is home from over seas, we are recording her. She is also a singer songwriter and amazing soul, as are all the people who have called me "Papa". It is my dream to get Freedom and Josh and Sarah and I together with Andie and Grampa Joe and record some songs. We will see.
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