One of the encouragements jazz players often shout to each other during intense solos is "Tell the story!" On Cameroonian Richard Bona's third release, "Munia (The Tale)," he does just that by weaving lovely epic tales in melody and rhythm that combine West African music with New York jazz.
During his upbringing in the countryside of Cameroon, Bona learned music from his musician parents and through the church, an influence he acknowledges in the opening invocation, "Bonatology," which sounds like a Gregorian chant you can tap your foot to.
He quickly moves to a rollicking West African beat on the second track, which features Salif Keita on lead vocal. They trade bass and vocal lines with the quick repartee of similar musical minds. Bona played bass on several recordings of Keita's before moving in the mid-'90s to New York, where he quickly secured top-notch bass spots with Mike Stern, Joe Zawinul, Bobby McFerrin and Pat Metheny. With a Jaco Pastorius-influenced style that underscores every tune on this new release, his bass is instantly recognizable for its lyrical and nimble high-range rhythms and crisp punch.