At the age of 74, with 59 years of career, João Donato is an internationally known Brazilian musician, born in Rio Branco, Acre (Amazonia). His name stands among the most important of Brazilian music as one of the greatest artists of its country and one of the most creative pianists of the planet. The way Donato plays is unique, marked by a lot of personal swing and bossa allied with good harmonic taste.
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Donato has a very interesting and outstanding sound, simple and sophisticated – at the same time – in the selection of a few music notes with which he interweaves its melody with improvisations that give a special color to his interpretations.
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Tom Jobim always referred to João Donato as a genius.
As a composer, Donato has been compared to Cole Porter by the producer Richard Bock. According to the critic John William Hardy, its piano would be “a Brazilian reproduction of jazz musician Tommy Flanagan”.
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“An element of the sound, what he plays, literally, turns into music. His magic is to create an indelible personal mark which, however, does not manacle him to the redundancy chains… The depth of his sound cathedral fills with surprises each performance. Therefore, it is not only modern and audacious, but also timeless – and soft. Genius thing”. (Tarik de Souza, João Donato Songbook, page 8).
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While on tour in the US, Donato performed at jazz clubs in Cleveland, Chicago and New York. Chicago Tribune critic wrote: “Jobim’s melodies are more famous, because even the most occasional listeners are acquainted to “Garota de Ipanema” (“The Girl from Ipanema”), “Desafinado” (“Slightly Out of Tune”) and “Dindi.” However Donato’s songs are elaborated with similar quality of mixture and notable economy, and the composer expresses lots of rhythm, romance and Brazilian cultures into a few well-chosen music notes.
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On the same tour, The New York Times published: “Donato is one of the great bossa nova composers of the late-'50s generation, and probably the one most influenced by American jazz; his performances these days are nostalgic and sometimes anarchically funny”. Time New York magazine announced: “The pianist João Donato has as much to do with the creation of the music that turned to be bossa nova as the guitarist João, an old partner of him. The difference you will hear tonight is that Donato kept his ears connected with the jazz from the North of the Brazilian frontier”.
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The emblematic jazz magazine edited in New York, Wax Poetics, dedicated 12 pages of its April/May issue to the life and work of Donato. “João Donato deserves a place among the legends of Brazilian music, with Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, Dorival Caymmi, Ary Barroso, and many others, despite the fact it is a challenge to classify his music style”, said the writer Allen Thayer, who signs the article.
More information about João Donato on www.joaodonato.com.br
Puxa, que legal encontrar você aqui. Ainda estou louco para ouvir nossa parceria de anos atrás (ou à frente), aquela canção chamada Aterrissagem.Grande abraço !
Grande João Donato, para nós é uma honra ter você em nossa página, eis “O Maquinista do Tempo”:
O Maquinista do Tempo ( Faustho)
Hoje embarquei bem cedo num trem na velha estação.
Meu coração seguindo os trilhos em outra direção.
O maquinista toca o sino do tempo, a Locomotiva já vai saindo.
Vejo a cidade se despedindo.
Sobre o solo destas terras cansadas, uma antiga mata viva morava.
Um canavial tão amargo de se ver é o que sobrou.
Um Ribeirão toca para o infinito, num batuque constante indefinido,
numa melodia ancestral.
Surgindo da pureza das águas em cada grão dessa estrada. O novo dia que sempre amanhece, as cicatrizes que sempre esclarecem que tudo está onde devia sempre renascer, no ventre do povo.
Olá, amigos! Peço licença para pedir um apoio para o meu projeto musical. Estou com uma musica nova chamada DEIXA ROLAR e que já e um gde sucesso por onde eu apresento. Podem coferir no video que esta em meu perfil. Desde já agradeço o apoio.
Donato, foi muito bom vê-lo no programa Sarau, do Chico Pinheiro acompanhando a cantora Olivia Byington. A cada dia o mundo reconhece mais e mais a sua genialidade.
