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One of the world’s best bassists, Richard Bona talks about learning jazz from Jaco Pastorius, working with Joe Zawinul, his Afro-Cuban explorations and more.
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. [3] 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. [4]
Mar 6, 2015 · It’s no wonder that Bona took to the music of Pastorius; his tone, fretless playing, athletic right hand, use of harmonics, and soloing are clearly reminiscent of Jaco’s style. He plays with a funky and percussive edge, integrating rhythmic punctuation, dead notes, audible hic-cups, and slides.
The club owner also offered his collection of 500 jazz LPs as a kind of reference library for Bona to start learning the repertoire. Purely by chance, the first record he pulled out of the stacks was Jaco Pastorius, the revolutionary self-titled debut album from 1976 by the bassist from Weather Report.
Feb 14, 2020 · Being a bassist, one of Bona’s biggest inspirations is late American jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius. He says, “Jaco was my introduction to jazz music. And it’s very simple: the very first time I heard Jaco, I was 14 and everything changed immediately.”
Nov 27, 2015 · The signs of Pastorius’s influence are widespread in pop as well as in jazz, and not just among instrumental heirs like Richard Bona and Esperanza Spalding. “Jaco” assembles testimonials...
Jul 9, 2023 · How Richard Bona went from homemade guitars to being hailed as “the African Jaco” By Scott Rowley. ( Bass Player ) published 9 July 2023. "I don't want to play for bass players – I want to play for truckdrivers! I want people to dance!" The rise of a reluctant virtuoso.
