The pianist, arranger, singer and composer João Donato died this Monday, 17th, at the age of 88 at 3:20 a.m. in Rio de Janeiro. He was hospitalized with pneumonia at the Casa de Saúde São José in Humaitá and intubated on July 6.
The vigil will take place at the Theatro Municipal do Rio and the cremation will take place at the Memorial do Carmo. Dates have not yet been announced.
“Today the sky broke happier for composers: João Donato went there to play his beautiful melodies. Now his joy and chords will remain forever throughout the universe,” reads the text on the musician’s Instagram profile.
About a month ago, Donato canceled his participation in a show in Los Angeles (USA) together with the singersongwriter Joyce Moreno because of health problems.
João Donato was one of the main names of bossa nova, partner of João Gilberto, Tom Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes and others. Over the course of his 70+ year career, he has pushed the boundaries of MPB by fusing jazz, samba and other Latin and Caribbean rhythms.
João Donato looks back on a career spanning more than 70 years. Photo: JF Diorio/Estadão
João Donato de Oliveira Neto was born on August 17, 1934 in Rio Branco, Acre. A composer, pianist and arranger, he made his first recording with the accordion on Altamiro Carrilho’s debut album in 1949, aged 15.
It was the beginning of a national and international career spanning more than 70 years, during which he worked with the biggest names in bossa nova, as well as with Brazilian artists such as Dorival Caymmi and international artists such as Herbie Mann.
Brazilian composer João Donato during a photo session for the state at his home in Gávea, south of Rio, in 2016 Photo: Wilton Junior / Estadão
Donato began his career in the late 1940s when he joined flutist Altamiro Carrilho’s regional group after moving with his family to Rio de Janeiro from Acre, where he was born.
In 1956, Donato released the instrumental album Chá Dançante, featuring versions of Brazilian music classics and hits of the time, including Carinhoso, No Rancho Fundo, Peguei um Ita no Norte and Baião.
Period that coincided with the emergence of bossa nova, over which he had a major impact. In Rio de Janeiro he played in nightclubs and was asked to record and arrange for the Companhia Brasileira de Discos (CBD). In the early years of bossa nova, he met his friends and partners Tom Jobim, João Gilberto and Johnny Alf on long walks through the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro to talk music and football.
With the 1962 album Além à Vontade, Donato, accompanied by a trio, began to show a sound with more identity, in addition to his own songs like the bossas Sambou Sambou and Minha Saudade.
Although João Donato was born in the north of the country, a region influenced by the music of Central America, contrary to what it might seem, he had exposure to Latin American and Caribbean music when he decided to move to the United States in the 1960s to pull. Donato had gone to the country to delve deeper into jazz, a genre he had always admired, but it was there that he came into contact with Latin American orchestras playing in Los Angeles and New York. This influence would shape his music and everything he began to produce from then on.
While still in the United States, Donato recorded one of the most acclaimed albums of his career, A Bad Donato, for Blue Tumb Records. The CD’s arrangements are signed by another Brazilian, also USbased pianist Eumir Deodato.
It was Deodato who took American musician Stanley Kenton’s orchestra to participate in the recording of A Bad Donato. In this work there are titles like The Frog and Cadê Jodel that would accompany Donato’s career. The album had a kind of DNA from Donato’s music, a mixture of bossa, jazz, Latin music, American funk and electronica, the latter through synthesizers.
Back in Brazil in 1972, Donato was still not a big hit with Brazilian audiences. The story began to change as his instrumental songs gained lyrics.
On the 1973 album Quem É Quem, the lyrics of the song “Ahie” were written by the composer Paulo César Pinheiro, who had already composed for big names in Brazilian music such as Elis Regina and Elizeth Cardoso, and “Até Quem Sabe” by Lysias Ênio, his brother by Donato.
Donato then began to be picked up by others, especially female singers. In the same year, 1973, Nana Caymmi recorded Ahie. In 1974, Gal Costa recorded on the album Cantar The Frog, which was renamed A Rã with lyrics by Caetano Veloso and became a classic of Brazilian music. On the same album, Gal Até Quem recorded Sabe and Flor de Maracujá by Donato and Lysias.
Another constant partner in the 1970s was Gilberto Gil. Together they made Lugar Comum, Bananeira, and Emoriô, all of which were huge commercial successes. Emoriô is also frequently rediscovered and remixed by DJs, especially in Europe.
Gil recently posted a video of him leaving the stage of a show of the Nós, A Gente tour, in which he performs with his family and singing Emoriô, and enters the corridors leading to the dressing rooms of Concha Acústica in Salvador. Recorded by Fafá de Belém in 1975, Emoriô won a 2023 remix and video by French electronic music duo Trinix.
In 1982, Donato achieved another great success with the recording of Nara Leão for the title Nasci Pra Bailar, cocomposed with Paulo André. The musician signs the title arrangements. In the same year, Angela founded Ro Ro Simples Carinho, a partnership between Donato and Abel Silva.
With Gil, Donato also wrote the song A Paz, also called Leila IV, which was released in 1987 by the singer Zizi Possi. The recording was included in the soundtrack of the soap opera Mandala on TV Globo and soon became a hit.
Gil said he wrote the lyrics when he visited Donato at his house and saw him sleeping in broad daylight. The composer was also inspired by Leon Tolstoy’s book “War and Peace” because of the contradictions that the lyrics entail.
Despite this acclaim, Donato went nearly 20 years without recording an album in Brazil, only returning to the studio in 1995 when he released Coasts Tao Simples, featuring new songs and versions of hits like Bananeira and Lugar Comum. On this album there is a partnership between Donato and Cazuza, the bolero Doralinda, also recorded by the singer Nana Caymmi in 1998.
Donato continued to record and tour the US, Europe and Japan into the 2000s. He also shared albums with partners such as musician Paulo Moura, with whom he recorded the 2006 album Pano Pra Manga, and Joyce Moreno, with whom he made Aquarius in 2012. With his son Donatinho he released Sintetiza Amor , in 2017. In 2021 it was his turn to enter the studio accompanied by Jards Macalé for the album Síntese do Lance.
The last album released by João Donato was Serotonina in 2022, his first new album in two decades. In it, the musician brings in partnerships with the likes of Anastácia and Rodrigo Amarante. In February 2023, Donato presented Serotonina at Sesc Pinheiros in São Paulo. About two months ago he performed at the Jards Macalé in the Casa Natura Musical, also in São Paulo.
João Donato in Urca, in Rio de Janeiro, in 2018 Photo: Wilton Junior / Estaao
He has won awards such as the Latin Grammy in 2010 for Best Latin Jazz Album with Sambolero, the Shell Music Award in 2000 for his complete works and the Tim Award in 2004 for the album Emílio Santiago meets João Donato. In 2022, the album Síntese do Lance, which he shared with Jards Macalé, was nominated for a Latin Grammy.