Friday night at Catalina’s, bassist and singer Richard Bona gave the packed house a concert evidenced by his West African culture. Unlike Americans, who worship the “now” and “present”, Bona comes from a worldview that sees his life as a continuum of the past. Being the grandson of a storyteller and son of a singer, Bona grew up in the church and has since used these inculcated qualities to make his musical mindset a part of his concert and overall musical attitude, as evidenced by the celebratory 90 minute set.
More of a celebration of life than a mere playing of notes, Bona and his team of Jesus Pupo/p-key and Harvel Nakundi/dr created celebratory moods and atmospheres. His rich molasses of a voice was a balm on the soulful and lithe tunes such as “Muntala Moto”, and worked well as an ethereal lullaby on the red clay’d ballad “Eyala”.His bass throbbed along like the gallop of a gazelle on the pretty “Janjo La Maya” as the dynamics of the team ebbed and flowed like a calypso’d tropical storm.
Bona gave tribute to the past in a salute to bass legend Jaco Pastorius, playing his “Threw Views Of A Secret” with a relentless groove supplemented by Pupo’s Afro Cuban harmonies and seductive chords, while a tip of the cap to Miles Davis brought forth a “ninja version” of “All Blues” that the leader vocalizing over Nakundi tricky time signatures in simmering fashion.
Bona even got the audience to join a sing-along, with men and women taking turns on the chorus of the swaying “O Sen Sen Sen” before amping up the pulse with Nakundi in no need of being told “More Cowbell” for a rousing climax.
In keeping with the family tradition, Bona then brought up a young girl from the audience, and loaned her his bass for a surprisingly hip and funky trio groove. Bona beamed as he seemingly passed his bass baton to the next generation, before closing the evening with Pupo mixing Chopin and Latin on a gorgeous duo serenade of “Alfonsina Y El Mar”.
It’s nights like this that make one realize that music is not only a culture of sounds, but of life. Bona gave the audience a taste of what has been taught from his family-a celebration of life passed on from earlier generations to be handed to the next. The baton was well handled Friday night.
Upcoming shows at Catalina’s include Bob James 11/4 ,Mon David-Josh Nelson 11/08, Gordon Goodwin’s BPB 11/10-11`