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Biography
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Mercury, Biography >>
Brazillian entertainer Seu Jorge is well known in his homeland because of his music and his movies. But movies may be the way he crosses over in America.
Director Wes Anderson ("Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums") caught Jorge in the gritty, dramatic film "City of God." Anderson was looking for a Brazilian actor who could play guitar in his most recent film, "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou."
"He liked what he saw in the movie ("City of God") but it was just fate that I played a guitar," Jorgc said by phone
from Miami. Jorge was cast as a quirky member of Steve Zissou's crew, who played one David Bowie track after another while the action unfolded around him.
"I was asked by Wes to do some 'faithful renditions' with a bossa nova spin," Jorge said. "I was told to be as close to the originals as possible."
However, Jorge had other ideas. "I looked at the songs and realized because I wanted to strip them down to the basics that I felt creatively that I should personalize them," Jorge said. "I looked at the characters in the film and in my own life and then created the songs.
"I found inspiration from my own life, having gone from being a homeless addict to a musician in a decade. I feel as though I've added to the tracks mainly because the sound is so different."
(If you missed out on the "Life Aquatic" soundtrack, check out the tunes on "The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions," which was released in November.)
Jorge, 36, has a way with more than just Bowie covers. He offers his rendition of the Leibcr & Stoller classic "Don't," which charted courtesy of Elvis Presley, and Serge Gainshourg's "Chatterton" on his disc, "Cru," which was released last yeur. "Cru" is Portuguese for raw.
The amiable Jorge realizes he's starting over in a sense, since he's hardly a known quantity in America.
"It's a challenge," he said, "but I feel that people are aware of me from 'City of God.'
07/29/06
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