The Old Courthouse Heritage Museum will host their free, monthly Coffee and Conversations lecture on Thursday, August 17, 2023, at 7:00 pm, featuring Jazz Hall-of-Famer Joe Donato.

Museum Presents Jazz it Up with Joe Donato

Mr. Donato will share his extensive knowledge on the origins and history of jazz while delighting the audience with his saxophone.

Joe Donato is a saxophonist, band leader, composer, and lyricist in the field of jazz and has been inducted
into the Jazz Hall of Fame. He has performed with some of the greats: Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey,
Carmen McRae, Nina Simone, and Jack Jones. He has toured through the United States of America,
Canada, Central and South America, Europe, and Asia. Mr. Donato has performed as a soloist with the
Jerry Fischer Jazz Orchestra and has served as an adjunct professor at the Osher Lifelong Learning
Institute of the University of Miami (UM).

Donato was born in New Jersey, studied saxophone, and started touring with The Honeycombs when he
was 15. He performed with other groups, mainly in the South, until 1968. Though reading was not his
forte, Donato won a scholarship to study at Houston Baptist College. While he was honing his musical
talents, the Dean of the UM School of Music heard Donato perform and offered him a scholarship to
study. He’s been playing music out of South Florida since.

Attendance is free, but eventgoers should RSVP by calling the museum at (352) 341-6428 or registering
online at www.cccourthouse.org/events.

The doors will open at 6:00 p.m. — an hour prior to the lecture. Lecture guests should also make time
beforehand to see the temporary “Florida’s Got the Blues” exhibit that will be on display between August
and the end of October. The display contains a fun photo booth and the history of jazz artists who had
their humble beginnings in The Sunshine State.