The Jazz Organ Scene

Brazil

João Donato A professional at the age of 15, João played accordion at the Sinatra-Farney Fan Club. He 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. He led the bossa nova band Os Namorados.   João became arranger and pianist for the band Garotos da Lua and was joined by João Gilberto. After moving to São Paulo, he played in the Luís César Orchestra and the band Os Copacabanas. Donato wrote "Minha Saudade" with Gilberto, and it became a hit. In an interview during the 1970s, Gilberto said João inspired the creation of bossa nova.   Jobs at nightclubs decreased when customers said they couldn't dance to his music. Musicians, too, found the music difficult to learn. Unable to find work in his home country, he left Brazil after his friend Nanai, a former member of Os Namorados, offered him a job in the USA. During the next decade, he recorded with Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Astrud Gilberto, Bud Shank, and Cal Tjader. His hits included "A Rã", and "Caranguejo", both recorded by Sergio Mendes. His album A Bad Donato (1970) was recorded with jazz bassist Ron Carter. He was music director for Gal Costa in 1974.   In 2010, Sambolero, credited to the João Donato Trio, earned the Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album at the 10th Latin Grammy Awards. In 2016, he was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Album for his album Donato Elétrico. The album was also chosen by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone magazine as the 11th best Brazilian album of 2016. His album Sintetizamor was named by Rolling Stone Brasil one of the best of 2017.   from Wikipedia

contact:
homepage:
	Click on the logo to see João's tour dates.

	n/a
	n/a

Back
 
If you don't see the left hand menu,
please go back to the homepage.
Back to the homepage