Joe Donato is a fabulous old time Miami Jazz saxophone player that I met and saw perform for the first time in 1973 at the old "Sebastians" club that was right off of US-1 and SW 17th Avenue in a forgotten section of old Miami known as "Shenandoah" where--ironically--I now live and own my own condo right around the corner from where Sebastians once stood. Sebastians was--as far as I know--Miami's FIRST real Jazz club. One of my favorite songs which I heard Joe perform there the first time I saw him was "Soul Makossa" (originally by an African Jazz musician, Mano Dibango) which Joe performed as well--if not better--than the original version, and from that day on I was sold on Joe Donato. (Back in those days Joe would get a rise out of his audience by occasionally putting down his Sax and picking up an African nose flute, which he would play--and play well!) Joe has been performing in the Miami area ever since those days and I have always gone out of my way to catch Joe (and his lovely wife Kathleen, who has joined Joe and his group as his lead singer) at the various venues where he performs. You can learn more about Joe Donato and his music by visiting his website at http://www.joedonatomusic.com/ |