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RICHARD
BONA |
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Once in a while a musician comes out and makes the world stop, wonder and ask, “where is he/she from”? “What experiences have given him/her so much depth”? Most of those kind of musicians have been coming out of the indigenous countries of the world for many years now. It just goes to show how hungry the world is for something fresh, beautiful, with depth yet sincere. Africa has made a remarkable contribution in this regard. Bass players from the African continent are no exception. From South Africa - Bakithi Khumalo is one and from Cameroon - Amand Sabal-Lecco is another. Once again Cameroon has done it. A son of the soil who is creating positive vibrations throughout the world, and bringing dignity back to the continent. Richard Bona was born in Minta, east of Cameroon 35 years ago. He later moved to Douala. He started out as a guitarist/percussionist and one day had a first encounter with jazz through a jazz musician from France, who asked him to pick out any jazz record from his (the French musician’s) collection. The first one he picked out happened to be Jaco Pastorius and the song was “Portrait of Tracy”. He heard that amazing sound and his mind was made up. Let’s just say, “the rest is history” Richard had an opportunity to spend seven years in France, learning and working with many musicians. He went back to Cameroon and then relocated to the U.S., New York, to be more precise. Bona was in South Africa recently. Thanks to The Joy of Jazz Festival and Arts Alive for bringing him. He did three concerts and a workshop. I got to see the workshop and the gig at the Zoo Lake. Richard is a simple person yet very special. He is a great listener and likes to be listened to. The warmth of his heart comes through in his music. At the workshop he seemed a bit tired since this was an early morning after a late night gig. Things were also a bit unorganized at the workshop, but in spite of all that, he had so much to give. At the mention of any of his songs, he would just start playing it and singing. It was actually interesting how he was comfortable with playing any of his songs with only the bass and voice, and still make them sound full with the use of chords (on a 5-string) and percussive rhythms. In his earlier years Richard Bona spent time checking Jaco, the music of Weather Report, playing Jazz standards, and a whole lot more music. However, he feels that, even though those were a good school, one has to move on and find a personal approach and sound. This is something he has done so well. He has developed a personal, unmistakable musical sound. Being the monster player that he is, he still practises basic things like scales on a regular basis. Bona knows he’s a good player and can play very fast,(if you were at the workshop you would know that) but he down plays that side of his musicality. He says he has no reason to show off what he can do. This is quite apparent in his recordings. He writes good songs, strong melodies and the production is great. In fact at the Zoo Lake gig he did not take a single solo. The whole band but him had solos, yet he still came across as a very strong band leader/bass player/singer/ entertainer. He came across as a strong willed and strong charactered and highly confident person. I guess if you live in New York you have to be. You will realise that I’m not giving a technical analysis of his bass playing or musicianship. It is because things that fascinate me with musicians are the ‘non-musical’ elements that tend to influence the music. There is no debate whether or not Richard Bona is a talented musician. I just have a great interest in the person he is. When he is away from the music, his two kids bring him joy and inspiration. Among the musicians Richard has worked and/or recorded with are : Bobby McFerrin, Pat Metheny, Joe Zawinul, Sadao Watanabe (also as producer), Lee Ritenour, Harry Belafonte (also as musical director), Michael and Randy Brecker, Branford Marsalis, Manu Dibango, Salif Keita and many others. I will be following him closely and from time to time will let you know what he is up to. If you want to check Richard Bona’s CDs and web-site here’s the info: Richard Bona, Scenes from my life. Sony/Columbia Records 1999 Richard Bona, Reverence. Sony/Columbia Records 2001 www.richardbona.com or www.columbiajazz.com Enjoy and learn Concord Nkabinde |
