Three famous world music performers reunite to woo the international audience with their superb musicianship, which is rooted in the rhythms and melodies of Africa, and embossed with American funk, R&B, jazz, blues, and Gospel.
Presented here for promotion of the artists and the Lugano Estival Jazz. No ownership or artistic interest claimed by me.
From Wikipedia.org: "Richard Bona (born October 28, 1967 in Minta, Cameroon) is a jazz bassist and musician. His real African name, as he said live in Montreal in a show with Bobby McFerrin, is Bona Pinder Yayumayalolo. (He said in a concert in Dominican Republic that his parents have Haitian roots)
Bona was born into a family of musicians, which enabled him to start learning music from a young age. His grandfather was a singer (griot) and percussionist, and his mother was a singer. At 4 years old, he started to play the balafon. At the age of 5, he began performing at his village church. Not being wealthy, Bona made many of his own instruments: including flutes and guitars (with cords strung over an old motorcycle tank).
His talent was quickly noticed, and he was often invited to perform at festivals and ceremonies. Bona began learning to play the guitar at age 11, and in 1980 aged just 13, he assembled his first ensemble for a French jazz club in Douala.[1] The owner befriended him and helped him discover jazz music and, notably including Jaco Pastorius in particular, whose work inspired Bona to switch his focus to the electric bass.
Bona emigrated to Germany at the age of 22 to study music in Düsseldorf,[1] soon relocating to France, where he furthered his studies in music.
Whilst 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, Richard left France and established himself in New York, where he still lives and works. There he has had stints with artists like Larry Coryell, Michael and Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, and Steve Gadd.
In 1998, Richard was the Musical Director on Harry Belafonte's European Tour.
His first 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 as a percussionist/vocalist.
In 2005 Bona released his fourth album Tiki, which included a collaboration with John Legend on one track, entitled "Please Don't Stop."
He currently holds a professorship of music at New York University."
"Lokua Kanza (born April 1958) is a singer, songwriter, and composer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is known for his soulful, folksy sound, which is atypical of the dancefloor friendly soukous music that is common in the Congo.
Lokua Kanza was born Pascal Lokua Kanza in Bukavu in the province of Sud-Kivu, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is the eldest of eight children, with a Mongo father and a Tutsi mother from Rwanda. In 1964, the family went to live in Kinshasa in a middle class area, until the day when Pascal's father, a ship's captain, died. His mother then moved to a much poorer area of the city, and Pascal, the eldest, had to work to feed the family. He therefore went to school part time, and took odd jobs, as well as singing in churches. Lokua Kanza sings in French, Swahili, Lingala, Portuguese, and English."
"Gerald Toto is a lyricist, composer, performer, multi-instrumentalist and artistic director.
Part of the underground scene in the middle of the 1990s, he chose a new direction by becoming the artistic director and composer of the first album of the well known Faudel (writing songs such as "Tellement je t'aime")
On the heels of the commercial success Gerald Toto released his first Album "Les Premiers Jours" (Warner, 1998), a mix between cashew music and the music of Daniel Lanois.
Then came Middle Eastern electro with the Band Smadj and the vocal improvisations of "Toto Bona Lokua" with Richard Bona and Lokua Kanza (No Format!, 2004).
In 2006 Gerald came back with a new album "Kitchenette" (V2music). He is also part of the "Nouvelle Vague -- Bande à part" project (Perfect Kiss) from which he did the covers "Don't go" and "Heart of Glass".
His his third album "Spring Fruits" with English lyrics has been released in 2011."
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Gil Goldstein - Sarah's Touchby zorrinho4ever114 views
Slick
evolusean 1 month ago
keep up
geetarxist 1 month ago