Trivia

Because of the area he grew up in Brasil he was able to hear Cuban music on the radio. This influence would manifest itself in many of his compositions, piano, and trombone playing.

Donato was a Brazilian jazz and bossa nova pianist as well as a trombonist from Rio Branco.

A little known fact is that João played trombone and recorded on the instrument with the bands of legendary Latin bandleaders: pianist Eddie Palmieri (La Perfecta c. 1962) and master timbalero Tito Puente and his big band (Bossa Nova by Tito Puente c. 1962, Vaya Puente c. 1962).

His first solo album came out in 1953.

In 1956 he recorded an album for Odeon that was produced by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

A professional at the age of 15, Donato played accordion at the Sinatra-Farney Fan Club.

He led the bossa nova band Os Namorados which performed songs such as "Tenderly".

Donato recorded for the first time with Altamiro Carrilho. Soon after he joined a band led by violinist Fafá Lemos that played in Brazilian nightclubs.

He first worked with Altamiro Carrilho and went on to perform with Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto.

Donato became arranger and pianist for the band Garotos da Lua and was joined by João Gilberto. Donato wrote "Minha Saudade" with Gilberto, and it became a hit.

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 the same year, he was one of the recipients of the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

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 hits included "A Rã" and "Caranguejo", both recorded by Sergio Mendes and "Amazonas" which was also recorded by Cal Tjader, and a new big band version by the Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band on the Vox Humana album featuring Janis Siegel on vocals (2023).

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 U.S. During the next decade, he recorded with Mongo Santamaria as a pianist, Tito Puente as a trombonist, Eddie Palmieri as a trombonist, Astrud Gilberto, Bud Shank, and Cal Tjader.

His album A Bad Donato (1970) was recorded with jazz bassist Ron Carter.

He was music director for Gal Costa in 1974.

In an interview during the 1970s, João Gilberto said Donato inspired the creation of bossa nova.

Alexandre Carvalho dos Santos wrote, "I recommend a João Donato gig not only to someone who is interested in first-class music, an impressive pianist and a selection of historic compositions. I recommend it to anyone who needs an anti-depressive, an acupuncture session or any other form of deep relaxation. I had my dose on a Sunday evening, from a show in São Paulo. Perfect timing to start a week believing that happiness exists, in spite of your boss".

João Gilberto's other most well known composition is "Amazonas" written by João Donato in collaboration with Lysias Enio. It was first released by Nara Leão featuring João Donato in 1977.

His album Sintetizamor was named by Rolling Stone Brasil one of the best of 2017.