João Donato

Career

João Donato was already a working musician at fifteen, playing accordion for the Sinatra-Farney Fan Club before picking up piano and trombone. His first recording session was with Altamiro Carrilho, and soon after he joined violinist Fafá Lemos’s band in Brazilian nightclubs. He released his first solo record in 1953 and later fronted the bossa nova group Os Namorados, whose repertoire included “Tenderly.” As arranger and pianist for Garotos da Lua, he was joined by João Gilberto.

After relocating to São Paulo, he performed with the Luís César Orchestra and the band Os Copacabanas. In 1956, Antonio Carlos Jobim produced an Odeon album for him. Donato co-wrote “Minha Saudade” with Gilberto, a hit that led Gilberto to credit Donato with inspiring bossa nova in a 1970s interview. Over the next decade, he recorded as a pianist with Mongo Santamaria, as a trombonist with Puente and Palmieri, and with Astrud Gilberto, Bud Shank, and Cal Tjader.

His hits “A Rã” and “Caranguejo” were both recorded by Sergio Mendes, while “Amazonas” was taken up by Tjader and later by the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band on their 2023 album “Vox Humana.” The 1970 album “A Bad Donato” featured bassist Ron Carter. In 1974, he served as Gal Costa’s music director.

Awards and honors

João Donato’s trio took home the Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2010 with Sambolero, and he also picked up a Lifetime Achievement Award that year. His 2016 release Donato Elétrico earned a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Album and was ranked the 11th best Brazilian album of 2016 by Rolling Stone Brasil. The following year, Rolling Stone Brasil named his album Sintetizamor one of the best of 2017.

Did You Know?

• Donato played accordion at the Sinatra-Farney Fan Club at age 15 before learning piano and trombone.
• Donato recorded as a trombonist with both Eddie Palmieri's La Perfecta and Tito Puente's big band around 1962.
• Donato's composition "Amazonas" was first released by Nara Leão in 1977 and later recorded by Cal Tjader and the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band (2023).