JOÃO DONATO
Genres: World Fusion, Latin Jazz, Bossa Nova • Brazil

João Donato de Oliveira Neto (17 August 1934 – 17 July 2023) was a Brazilian jazz and bossa nova pianist as well as a trombonist from Rio Branco. He first worked with Altamiro Carrilho and went on to perform with Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto. Because of the area he grew up in Brasil he was able to hear Cuban music on the radio. This influence would manifest itself in many of his compositions, piano, and trombone playing.   A professional at the age of 15, Donato played accordion at the Sinatra-Farney Fan Club. He would later learn piano and trombone. Donato recorded for the first time with Altamiro Carrilho. Soon after he joined a band led by violinist Fafá Lemos that played in Brazilian nightclubs. His first solo album came out in 1953.[1] He led the bossa nova band Os Namorados which performed songs such as "Tenderly". Donato became read more...