Jazz Is Dead teams up with Brazilian great João Donato on latest release in the series

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Jazz Is Dead teams up with Brazilian great João Donato on latest release in the series

For the seventh release in what continues to be an absolutely brilliant Jazz Is Dead series, Los Angeles based producers/multi-instrumentalists Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad have teamed up with legendary Brazilian composer and pianist João Donato on a superb new full-length album.

With a musical style that has always been truly unique to his own, Donato is one of the most groundbreaking and innovative musicians to ever come out of Brazilian. Known as a huge influence on other iconic greats from the region like Marcos Valle, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, and Gilberto Gil, the Donato has been at the forefront of some of the most forward-thinking recordings for over the past 70-plus years. Some of his essential classic recordings include the 1963 Bossa nova-inspired Muito À Vontade (also later released under the title Sambou, Sambou), the 1970 jazz-funk masterpiece A Bad Donato, the 1973 all-time classic Quem É Quem, and the 1975 Samba jazz groover Lugar Comum to just name a few. He’s also played with just about everybody, including some of the greatest artists of our time like Antônio Carlos Jobim, Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria, Bud Shank, Dom Um Romao, Eumir Deodato, Gal Costa, Emilio Santiago, Nana Caymmi, Astrud Gilberto, Ray Barretto, Sérgio Mendes, and so many more.

Even at the age of 86, Donato continues to be going strong, pushing his music to new heights. This is certainly the case on his latest nine-track collaborative release with the Jazz Is Dead crew, which fuses together funky soul jazz grooves with Samba and Brazilian-inspired textures and rhythms. The recording is able to capture the essence of those classic Donato compositions, while still having a modern forward-looking feel and vibe.

All the songs were co-written by Donato, Younge, and Shaheed Muhammad, with the Brazilian great almost exclusively on Fender Rhodes, while Younge and Shaheed Muhammad played the majority of the other instruments on the session including Hammond B3 organ, piano, electric bass and guitars, Clavinet, saxophones, percussion and more. Also featured on the recording is two other outstanding artists in soulful vocalist Loren Oden and drummer Greg Paul, who have both been solid contributors on many of the other JID releases.

As with all the previous Jazz Is Dead releases, this album hits the mark on all levels and is able to produce a masterful album that can stand up alongside just about any of Donato’s other outstanding recordings.
Highly recommended!