About Donato Soviero

Artistic Excellence & Creative Freedom

Donato is an inspiring Washington D.C. based guitarist who's been dedicated to music and performing for over 35 years. Through live performances and studio recordings, he has honed his creativity and sound to become a distinctive voice in jazz.
The guitarist and composer has been playing music since the age of twelve. By high school, he had already set course as a jazz musician. His formal jazz studies began at the University of Miami, and later he earned a bachelor’s degree from George Mason University. 
Donato has appeared with top local and national artists in the Washington D.C. area since 1982, and led his own groups in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean.  He has appeared at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Wolf Trap, and the Carter Barron Amphitheater, where he opened for Poncho Sanchez and the late Tito Puente. Mr. Soviero has also led bands in D.C. venues such as Blues Alley, Twins Jazz, the Bohemian Caverns, the Smithsonian Jazz Café, Bethesda Jazz and Blues, and several Jazz festivals. He has been a member of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, as well as co-led (w/ Jeff Antoniuk) the Jazz-fusion group, MARS 4tet. He’s played for several Presidents, and at the State Department for the Thelonious Monk Institute. Mr. Soviero has been the recipient of awards, including a 1994 TAP Award from the D.C. Commission of the Arts and Humanities and a 1995 GIA Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. 
Recent recordings include the 2021 release "Brazilian Moments", 2019 release “For All We Know”, “The Blind Watchmaker” (with the Mars 4’Tet), many features as sideman, and a CD tribute to Charlie Byrd entitled “Classical Jazz.” 
Tom Cole, host of WPFW’S ‘G STRINGS’ had this to say about Donato’s guitar playing: “His beautiful phrasing and impressive improvising took me aback… He’s one of those real surprises.”  
Please click below for Bio pdf.