Richard Bona coming to the Hollywood Bowl

2009 marked ten years since Richard Bona's first album Scenes From My Life set the music world on fire. Five studio albums and one live album later, the Grammy-nominated Cameroonian bassist and singer continues his musical journey of past decade with The Ten Shades Of Blues. Richard will kick off his .

Showing his diversity and love for music of all kinds, Bona focuses on the Blues and "its key notes that can be recognized in all cultures and music." Marking the album with his trademark sound, Bona also makes this album unique with an irresistible blend of Western blues and Jazz influences, layered with African rhythms and melodies.

Of the album Bona states; "I like each of my albums to have a theme, a project behind it. This time I chose the blues. I look at the blues from the universal angle: you can find it in Africa, in America and in India. People put a style to it, a style with guitar and vocals. But I see it first as a scale, one that's present in different traditions and expressions in music. “Ten Shades Of Blues” means ten nuances, ten different ways of playing the blues."

The Ten Shades Of Blues starts out with “Take One,” of which All About Jazz considered a “a choral masterpiece.” All of the vocals are Bona’s except there are no actual lyrics, just notes played on the guitar. “Shiva Mantra” showcases his Jazz and African music background while introducing an Indian overtone with his signature bass line. This moving tune features the mesmerizing vocals of Shankar Mahadevan and Nandini Srikar, as well as Niladiri Kumar on sitar. “Good Times” features R&B vocalist, Frank McComb and Gregoire Maret on harmonica while Tennessean Ryan Cavanaugh (banjo) and Christian Howes (violin) assist on “African Cowboy” giving an Americana feel to it. Stand-out track “Mbemba Mama” meaning “the tears of the mother” pays tribute to all mothers, including his own. Of the song, Bona says “there are the joys and sufferings of a mother: they're there to protect us all their lives.”

June 17-20 New York, NY Jazz Standard
June 25 Syracuse, NY Syracuse Jazz Festival
June 30 Montreal, CANADA Montreal Jazz Fest. w/ Manu Katche & Sylvain Luc
July 2 Montreal, CANADA Montreal Jazz Fest with Bona Group
July 4 Ottawa, CANADA Ottawa Jazz Festival
July 5 San Francisco, CA Yoshi’s
July 6 Oakland, CA Yoshi’s
July 7 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl with LA Philharmonic

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