Origem

Luiz Murá is a diverse musician. He sings in Portuguese, Japanese, English and Italian, performs samba, bossa nova or any other sort of traditional song with just his guitar. Somehow even on record Murá comes across as a live performer tendering to a Friday night crowd in a local bar where he is keen on pleasing everyone. But he sings so in tune with João Gilberto’s whispering style and in such a delicate voice that it is hard not to sense the passion Murá has for each one of these tracks.

Put together as a tribute to João Gilberto, who passed away in 2019, Origem delves into bossa nova as Murá tries to explore his own musical identity; amid all his different references, he seems to summon up his hero’s legacy as a means to make his own path clearer. And if it is clear Tom Jobim and João Gilberto are key influences in Murá’s career – he pays homage to both with thoughtful renditions of ‘Corcovado’ and ‘Bahia Com H’ – he is more interesting when he goes a step further and tries out ‘Calabrisella’, a beautiful Italian waltz in a Caetano Veloso style, or when he goes into samba territory for ‘Até o Sol Raiar’. Origem proves Murá is an undeniable talent as a self-sufficient solo acoustic performer, but it falls short of marvelling the listener.