Richard Bona

On November 14, 2026, Richard Bona fills the Salle Gaveau in Paris. A bassist and singer born in Minta, trained in Douala and who passed through Paris before New York, he has developed a signature in which the bass sings as much as the voice. On stage he weaves supple grooves and clear melodies, moving between jazz, African musics, fusion, blues and acoustic song. His playing carries the rhythms of Cameroon to Europe, the Americas and Brazil, with a way of establishing the pulse while allowing the lines to breathe.

From his beginnings with Scenes from My Life to Reverence, Munia, The Ten Shades of Blues, Bonafied and Heritage, his repertoire spans ballads and polyrhythmic drives. Having worked within the worlds of Joe Zawinul, Pat Metheny, Bobby McFerrin and Lionel Loueke, Bona cultivates the art of dialogue: bass counter-melodies, measured vocals, precise breaks and exchanges with his collaborators. At the Salle Gaveau he unfolds a set steeped in his roots and travels, where melodic writing meets the energy of live performance, between timbral subtlety and a keen sense of rhythm.