Richard Bona (born 28 October 1967) is a

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

-born American multi-instrumentalist and singer.

Early life

Bona Penda Nya Yuma Elolo was born in Minta, Cameroon, into a family of musicians, which enabled him to start learning music from a young age. His grandfather was a

griot A griot (; ; Manding languages, Manding: or (in N'Ko script, N'Ko: , or in French spelling); also spelt Djali; or / ; ) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. Griots are masters of communicatin ...

– a West African singer of praise and storyteller – and percussionist, as his mother was a singer. When he was four years old, Bona started to play the

balafon The balafon (pronounced , or, by analogy with ''xylophone'' etc., ) is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone. It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé peoples, Mandé, Bwaba Bobo people, Bobo, Senufo people, Seno ...

. At the age of five, he began performing at his village church. Not being wealthy, Bona made many of his own instruments: including

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

s and guitars (with cords strung over an old motorcycle tank). His talent was quickly noticed, and he was often invited to perform at festivals and ceremonies. Bona began learning to play the guitar at the age of 11, and in 1980, aged just 13, he assembled his first ensemble for a French jazz club in

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...

. The owner befriended him and helped him discover jazz music, in particular that of

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

, which inspired Bona to switch his focus to the electric bass.

Career

Bona emigrated to Germany at the age of 22 to study music in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, soon relocating to France, where he furthered his studies in music. While in France, he regularly played in various jazz clubs, sometimes with players such as Manu Dibango, Salif Keita,

Jacques Higelin Jacques Joseph Victor Higelin (; 18 October 1940 – 6 April 2018) was a French pop singer who rose to prominence in the early 1970s. Early life Higelin was born on 18 October 1940. His father, Paul, a railway worker and musician of Alsatian de ...

and Didier Lockwood. In 1995, Bona left France and established himself in New York, where he still lives and works. In New York he played bass guitar with artists including Joe Zawinul,

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist, widely considered the "godfather of fusion". Alongside Gábor Szabó, he was a pioneer in melding jazz, country and rock ...

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

and

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock music, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was ...

, Mike Stern,

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

, Branford Marsalis,

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

Bobby McFerrin Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and conductor (music), conductor. His Vocal pedagogy, vocal techniques include singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in Pitch (music), pitch—fo ...

, and

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American jazz fusion drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and most highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction i ...

. In 1998, Bona was the Musical Director on

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...

's European Tour. His debut solo album, ''Scenes from My Life'', was released in 1999. He has also been prominently featured in

Big Band albums, as well as many other albums by various top-tier jazz musicians. In 2002 Bona went on a world tour with the

Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977 by guitarist and composer Pat Metheny, along with his core collaborating member, keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays. Other long-standing members included bassist and producer Steve ...

. The release of the successful '' Speaking of Now'' album that year had marked a profound change in the group's direction by adding younger musicians to the band, notably with Bona as bassist, vocalist, guitarist and percussionist, along with drummer Antonio Sánchez and trumpet player

Cuong Vu Cuong Vu (Cường Vũ) (born 19 September 1969) is a Vietnamese-American jazz trumpeter. In addition to his own work as a bandleader, Vu was a member of the Pat Metheny Group. He is the first American person of Vietnamese descent to win a Grammy ...

. In 2005 Bona released his fourth solo album ''

Tiki In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small woo ...

'', which included a collaboration with

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

on one track, entitled "''Please Don't Stop.''" The album was nominated for Best Contemporary World Music Album at the 49th Grammy Awards. He held a professorship of jazz music at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. Between 2015 and 2020, he owned, together with restaurateur Laurent d'Antonio, the Club Bonafide, a jazz club in New York. Richard Bona's music took on a distinctive Afro-Cuban flavor with the 2016 release of the Heritage album with Cuban band Mandekan Cubano. The album was released under

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

' Qwest label.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Extended plays

As guest

With Joe * ''Signature'' (563 Entertainment, 2009) * ''DoubleBack: Evolution of R&B'' (563 Entertainment, 2013) With

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...

* '' Speaking of Now'' (Warner Bros., 2002) * ''

The Way Up ''The Way Up'' is the eleventh and final studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 2005 and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 2006. It is the last album in the prolific three-decade collaboration of Pat ...

'' (Nonesuch, 2005) – recorded in 2003–04 With

Big Band * ''Word of Mouth Revisited'' (Heads Up, 2003) * ''The Word Is Out!'' (Heads Up, 2006) With Mike Stern * '' Voices'' (Atlantic, 2001) * '' These Times'' (ESC, 2004) * '' Who Let the Cats Out?'' ( Heads Up, 2006) * '' Big Neighborhood'' (Heads Up, 2009) * '' All Over the Place'' (Heads Up, 2012) – recorded in 2011 With Sadao Watanabe * ''Sadao 2000'' (Polydor/Verve, 2000) * ''Wheel of Life'' (Verve, 2003) * ''"One for You" Sadao & Bona Live'' (JVC, 2005) With

Kazumi Watanabe is a Japanese guitarist. Other guitarists such as Luke Takamura and Sugizo have cited him as an influence. Career Watanabe learned guitar at the age of 12 from Sadanori Nakamure at the Yamaha Music School in Tokyo. He released his first album ...

* ''Mo' Bop'' (EWE, 2003) * ''Mo' Bop II'' (AWS, 2004) * ''Mo' Bop III'' (EWE, 2006) * ''Acoustic Flakes'' (EWE, 2009) With Joe Zawinul * '' My People'' (ESC, 1996) – recorded between 1992–96 * The Zawinul Syndicate, ''World Tour'' (ESC, 1998) CD– live * '' Faces & Places'' (ESC, 2002) – recorded between 2001–02 With others *

, ''An Evening with Harry Belafonte & Friends'' (Island, 1997) * BélO, ''Reference'' (Aztec Musique, 2008) *

, ''Irreplaceable'' (GRP, 2003) *

, ''Hangin' in the City'' (ESC, 2001) * Regina Carter, ''Rhythms of the Heart'' (Verve, 1999) * Andre Ceccarelli, ''Ultimo'' (Universal/EmArcy, 2012) * Mino Cinelu, ''Mino Cinelu'' (EmArcy, 1999) *

, ''Spaces Revisited'' (Shanachie, 1997) * Corin Curschellas, ''Goodbye Gary Cooper'' (Make Up, 1999) *

Chico DeBarge Jonathan Arthur "Chico" DeBarge (born June 23, 1966) is an American R&B singer and musician. DeBarge was formally a member of the DeBarge family musical group DeBarge. As a solo artist, he scored a 1986 US Top Forty hit with the song "Talk to ...

, ''Addiction'' (Kedar, 2009) * Robert Dick, ''Jazz Standards On Mars'' (Enja, 1997) * Coreon Du, ''Binario Da Banda'' (2014) *

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias (born 19 March 1960) is a Brazilian jazz pianist, singer, composer and arranger. Biography Elias was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on 19 March 1960. She started studying piano when she was seven, and at age twelve she was transcribing ...

, Dave Grusin, Herbie Hancock, Bob James, Brad Mehldau, ''Portrait of Bill Evans'' (JVC, 2004) * Jonathan Elias, ''Prayer Cycle: Path to Zero'' (Across the Universe, 2011) *

Bill Evans (saxophonist) William D. Evans (born February 9, 1958) is an American jazz saxophonist, who was a member of the Miles Davis group in the 1980s and has since led several of his own bands, including Push and Soulgrass. Evans plays tenor and soprano saxophones ...

, ''The Other Side of Something'' (Intuition, 2007) * Bela Fleck, ''Throw Down Your Heart'' (Rounder, 2009) * Guaco, ''Bidimensional'' (Producciones Guaqueros, 2017) *

Anna Maria Jopek Anna Maria Jopek (born 14 December 1970) is a Polish vocalist, songwriter, and improviser. She represented Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Ale jestem" and finished 11th out of 25 participat ...

, ''ID'' (EmArcy, 2008) * D. D. Jackson, ''Anthem'' (RCA Victor, 2000) * Bob James, ''Joy Ride'' (Warner Bros., 1999) * Eric Le Lann, ''Cap Frehel'' (Musidisc, 1992) * Lionel Loueke, ''Mwaliko'' (Blue Note, 2010) * Lura, ''Heranca'' (Lusafrica, 2015) * Christophe Mae, ''La Vie D'artiste'' (Parlophone, 2019) * Maria Markesini, ''Kosmo Etcetera Now'' (KTD, 2009) * Hector Martignon, ''Refugee'' (Zoho, 2007) * Keiko Matsui, ''Moyo'' (Stomp, 2008) * Frank McComb, ''Love Stories'' (Columbia, 2000) *

, ''Beyond Words'' (Blue Note, 2002) * Jane Monheit, ''Come Dream with Me'' (N-Coded, 2001) * Les Nubians, ''One Step Forward'' (Virgin, 2003) * Danilo Perez, ''Panafrica'' (Verve, 2001) * Dianne Reeves, ''Beautiful Life'' (Concord, 2013) *

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born in 1952, in Los Angeles, California. At the age of eight he started playing guitar and four years l ...

, ''Smoke 'n' Mirrors'' (Peak, 2006) * Renee Rosnes, ''Art & Soul'' (Blue Note, 1999) * Kamil Rustam, ''Cosmopolitain'' (Can U Feel It, 2017) * Philippe Saisse, ''Halfway 'Til Dawn'' (GRP, 1999) * Soldier String Quartet, ''Inspect for Damaged Gods'' (Mulatta, 2004) * Joseph Tawadros, ''Chameleons of the White Shadow'' (ABC, 2013) * Jacky Terrasson, '' What It Is'' (Blue Note, 1999) * Huong Thanh, ''Dragonfly'' (ACT, 2001) * Two Siberians, ''Out of Nowhere'' (Heads Up, 2005) *

Victor Wooten Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...

, ''Palmystery'' (Heads Up, 2008)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bona, Richard 1967 births Living people American jazz bass guitarists American funk bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American funk musicians Pat Metheny Group members 20th-century bass guitarists 21st-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Zawinul Syndicate members The Eleventh House members Cameroonian emigrants to the United States People from Centre Region (Cameroon)