Richard Bona


Richard Bona is a Cameroon-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 West African singer of praise and storyteller – and percussionist, and his mother was a singer. When he was four years old, Bona started to play the balafon. At the age of five, he began performing at his village church. Not being wealthy, Bona made many of his own instruments: including flutes and guitars.
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. The owner befriended him and helped him discover jazz music, in particular that of Jaco Pastorius, 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, 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 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, Michael and Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, George Benson, Branford Marsalis, Chaka Khan, Bobby McFerrin, and Steve Gadd.
In 1998, Bona was the Musical Director on Harry Belafonte's European Tour.
His debut solo album, Scenes from My Life, was released in 1999. He has also been prominently featured in Jaco Pastorius 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 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.
In 2005 Bona released his fourth solo album Tiki, which included a collaboration with John Legend 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.
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' Qwest label.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Extended plays

As guest

With Joe
  • Signature
  • DoubleBack: Evolution of R&B
With Pat Metheny
  • Speaking of Now
  • The Way Up – recorded in 2003–04
With Jaco Pastorius Big Band
With Mike Stern
  • Voices
  • These Times
  • Who Let the Cats Out?
  • Big Neighborhood
  • All Over the Place – recorded in 2011
With Sadao Watanabe
  • Sadao 2000
  • Wheel of Life
  • "One for You" Sadao & Bona Live
With Kazumi Watanabe
  • Mo' Bop
  • Mo' Bop II
  • Mo' Bop III
  • Acoustic Flakes
With Joe Zawinul
  • My People – recorded between 1992–96
  • The Zawinul Syndicate, World Tour – live
  • Faces & Places – recorded between 2001–02
With others