Donato was never a purest musically. He could even be seen as the Herbie Hancock of Brazil.
Best known as a keyboardist, he was also a singer and played accordion and trombone. He liked to fuse genres in playful ways, making jazz, funk, salsa, American pop, and pan-American hybrids that were entirely his own.
His work stretched over generations. Mixing in sounds of the day, he was never concerned with musical labels. He worked with artists that included singer and movie star Carmen Miranda, Milton Nascimento and rapper Marcelo D2. He recorded with Mongo Santamaria as well as A Tribe Called Quest.
Born in 1934 in Rio Branco, he began playing accordion and writing as a child. In his teens, his family moved to Rio de Janeiro, and it wasn’t long before his own band started playing the popular styles of the time.
In the early '50s, he played accordion on Luiz Bonfá’s first album along with studio bandmate Antonio Carlos Jobim. Jobim then went on to produce Donato’s debut album, making him a household name in Brazil.
From bossa nova to latin jazz, he went on to record with, and become one of, the best known Brazilian artists. He was a first-call artist with other Latin and jazz musicians, recording with Cal Tjader, Astrud Gilberto, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaría and Eddie Palmieri.
Donato’s compositions have found a home in the Latin jazz and Brazilian cannon, as well, with his songs recorded by Cal Tjader, Gal Costa, and Sergio Mendes.
In 1970, he recorded what became a pivotal album, A Bad Donato. It turned toward funk instrumentation and attitude while using Brazilian melodies and rhythms.
Shortly after releasing A Bad Donato, he returned to Brazil. In subsequent recordings, he started to include lyrics rather than solely instrumentals, including his own vocals.
The albums Donato made after resuming his solo career were very diverse. Some returned to his bossa nova-jazz fusions; some featured various singers, and still some included his lifelong fondness for musical hybrids.
The biggest of which was his 2010 release mixing sambas and boleros called Sambolero, that won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album. He also received a Latin Grammy for lifetime achievement that year.
In 2021, Donato collaborated with the Los Angeles-based project of Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge known as Jazz Is Dead, on the album, Jazz Is Dead 7.
João Donato was never hesitant to try new grooves.
