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João Donato

João Donato de Oliveira Neto, known as João Donato, was a Brazilian musician and composer. He was born on August 17, 1934, in Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil. Donato is considered one of the pioneers of the bossa nova and jazz samba movements in Brazil.

Throughout his career, João Donato has been a versatile musician, excelling as a pianist, keyboardist, and arranger. He has contributed significantly to Brazilian popular music, fusing traditional Brazilian rhythms with jazz and other influences. Donato's music is known for its melodic and harmonically rich compositions, characterized by his unique piano style and innovative use of improvisation.

In the 1950s, Donato moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he collaborated with influential musicians such as Tom Jobim, João Gilberto, and Vinicius de Moraes, contributing to the development of bossa nova. He later relocated to the United States and worked with prominent jazz musicians like Cal Tjader and Mongo Santamaria.

João Donato has released numerous albums throughout his career, including "A Bad Donato," "Quem é Quem," and "Lugar Comum." His music has garnered international recognition and has been covered by various artists across different genres. He continues to be an active performer and composer, influencing generations of musicians with his distinctive style and contributions to Brazilian music.

A Jazz Holiday In Rio

by Mark Holston
July 6, 2015

For most, mention a trip to Brazil and what comes automatically to mind is that vast tropical country's annual Carnaval celebration and the lure of its endless beaches. The high season, from December to early March, is when this nation of 200 million receives the most visitors by far. During Brazil's winter season, from roughly from mid-June into early September, when temperatures retreat from summer highs by as much as 30 degrees, foreign visitation becomes just a trickle compared to ...

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Album Review

Joao Donato: Amazonas

by Craig Jolley
February 1, 2001

A less-celebrated contemporary of Jobim and Gilberto, pianist/composer Joao Donato has enjoyed a more diverse career than his fellow bossa nova pioneers. As a versatile, accomplished pianist also at home in extroverted Cuban rhythms Donato has recorded and played with Mongo Santamaria, Bud Shank, Cal Tjader, and Michael Franks as well as with many of the major Brazilian singers.

Amazonas suggests itself as a career summary with some of Donato's best tunes presented in the back-to-basics context of a piano ...

Album Review

Joao Donato: Joao Donato

by Douglas Payne
October 1, 1999

This odd cult item, originally released on Muse in 1973, is also known as Donato/Deodato -- a reference to then-hot arranger Eumir Deodato's participation and, probably, the similarity in their surnames. With the exception of the kick-off tune - the insanely catchy and wonderfully funky “Whistle Stop" -- it's a brief, strange trip that meanders aimlessly and rather too lifelessly.Even the disc's notes admit as much. The prolific Brazilian keyboardist and arranger, whose many records never make it ...

Obituary

João Donato (1934-2023)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
July 18, 2023

João Donato, one of Brazil's original bossa nova pianist-composers who stood out among a sea of extraordinarily talented peers by integrating jazz and Latin chord voicings and rhythms into his playing style, died on July 17. He was 88. Donato's contemporaries included Brazilian musician-composers Johnny Alf, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, João Gilberto, Eumir Deodato and others who softened the samba with a West Coast jazz feel. Born and raised initially in Rio Branco, in western Brazil near ...
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