João Donato

João Donato de Oliveira Neto is a Brazilian jazz and bossa nova pianist from Brazil, probably best known for his numerous albums as bandleader in the idiom. He first worked with Altamiro Carrilho, and went on to perform with other masters of the idiom such as Tom Jobim, Astrud Gilberto, as well as a host of others.

João Donato de Oliveira Neto was born in Rio Branco, the capital of the state of Acre, Brazil, on August 17, 1934. His father, also called João Donato, was a pilot and in his leisure hours liked to play the mandolin at home. His mother sang and the eldest sister, Eneyda, turned out to be a pianist. The youngest, Lysias, was more inclined to letters and became the main partner in his brother’s compositions.

João’s first instrument was an accordion, on which he composed his first piece, the waltz “Nini”, at the age of eight. Before his 12th birthday, his father gave him 24 and 120-bass accordions. In 1945, Donato senior was transferred and the family had to leave Rio Branco heading to Rio de Janeiro.

The musical circuit consisted of parties at the schools of Tijuca and neighboring areas. He tried his luck on TV on Ary Barroso’s talent search program. Intransigent, Ary emphatically refused to hear him, with the allegation that he “did not like child prodigies”. Luckily, there were more attentive ears.

Becoming a professional in 1949, at the age of 15, Donato’s resume already showed the mythological jam-sessions held at singer Dick Farney’s place and at the Sinatra-Farney Fan Club, of which he was a member. Johnny Alf, Nora Ney, Dóris Monteiro, Paulo Moura and even Jô Soares, on bongos, were among the components of these vitaminized jams.

On his first recording date, joining flutist Altamiro Carrilho’s band, Donato plays accordion on the two tracks of the 78 RPM: Ernesto Nazareth’s “Brejeiro”, and “Feliz aniversário”, by Altamiro himself. Soon after he migrates to violinist Fafá Lemos’ band, as a substitute for Chiquinho do Accordion.

From 1953, now as a piano player, Donato begins to lead his own instrumental groups, – Donato e seu Conjunto, Donato Trio, the group Os Namorados – with whom he launches on 78 RPM instrumental versions of American and Brazilian music standards (such as “Tenderly”, a Nat King Cole hit) and (“Se acaso você chegasse”, by Lupicinio Rodrigues, a samba composer from the state of Rio Grande do Sul).

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