Customer Reviews

Munia: The Tale

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cameroon's Richard Bona returns with a disc of African based jazz that resounds far more convincingly than anything he has done to date. Sure, he still has some American artists, most notable Kenny Garrett, on board, but this CD is more dedicated to the music that comes from his heart not just his intellectual interests. And with Garrett, he has a perfect collaborator. Garrett is a world musician in every sense. Bona's time on tour with Pat Metheny never took Metheny where Metheny should have gone, as you will no doubt see in the SPEAKING OF NOW DVD. Bona's protean bass work and soaring vocals and incredible songwriting were never fully utilized. Kind of like having Barry Bonds as a pinch hitter.
Perhaps it brough Bona to a broader audience than might otherwise find him. Still in all, he is better off working in other contexts. Here, from the opening INCANTATIONS through to the conclusion, you have a man who brings forth his soul as eloquently as you'll ever hear, this side of Bobby McFerrin. Garrett's contributions are just perfect. In fact, the entire team has produced a remarkable document. This Cd is an absolute joy.
Do yourself a favour and order this and REVERENCE and Huong Thanh's DRAGONFLY, on which Bona joins the Viet Namese singer, Thanh, and guitarist Nguyen Le to create one of the most captivating cross-cultural efforts ever committed to disc. Bona should be played more and hopefully there are enough like minded people out there looking for something extraordinarily creative and danceable and fun and, well, all those positive things that music can be.

"Munia" is the third album by bassist/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Richard Bona. Proving himself again not content to rest on prior successes of "Scenes from My Life" and the stunning "Reverence", Bona keeps reaching in different directions, for different sounds, and with different collaborators. The result-- his albums are never boring, nor are they ever repeats of previous records, but sometimes he misses a bit.

"Munia" starts off well enough, opening as did the previous record with an a capella piece featuring layered harmony vocals before bleeding into a funky, laid back groove on the stunning "Kalabancoro", featuring vocalist Salif Keita. But this sound isn't one Bona pursues largely on the record-- instead he explores two directions-- an electric jazz mode and an acoustic guitar mode.

The electric jazz material works quite well for me, from Miles Davis tribute "Painting a Wish" to the lovely closer "Playground". The former is a delicate, lovely and organic piece featuring Kenny Garrett turning in a superb soprano sax performance and some lovely work from Bona, the latter finds Bona shedding his Jaco Pastorius update sound in favor for a Marcus Miller slap-n-pop melody statement (although he delivers a smoking fingerstyle solo). Admittedly, "Engingilaye" has an ugly smooth jazz feel to it that makes it just too pop and too clean for my tastes.

The acoustic stuff though I find of mixed quality, many of which are largely unexciting ("Sona Mama", "Couscous"). Probalby more critical is the repetitive nature of some of this material on the record-- the songs pretty much blend into each other. But still, there's a couple really stunning moments-- lovely fingerpicked ballad "Dina Lam" features a vocal so totally infused with pain that it is palpable, and lullabye-ish "Muto Bye Bye" is sweet and playful before bleeding into a great jazz sound with brushes and lovely bass work.

All in all, a mixed bag from Bona-- I applaud his bravery in trying different sounds and his virtuosity is never a question, but "Reverence" is a better effort.

i love Richard Bona's latest effort, Munia: The Tale. After listening to him with Bobby Mcferrin on Beyond Words, i loved his lyricism on the bass. Then in the summer, i had the pleasure of seeing him live as a guest at a mcferrin concert in montreal. His voice is amazing and its really in view on this cd. Bonatology is a beautiful introduction that really hooked me and made me want listen to every song without skipping.

Im glad that he is getting more (but still not enough) recognition after touring with Metheny. so get this cd, or any other Richard Bona cd, you won't regret it.

I first became aware of Richard Bona from his rendition of "Redemption Song" on Lee Ritenour's "Twist of Marley" CD. After that, I discovered he had performed with other artists I like, such as on Bob James's "Joyride."

Since then, I've bought each of his CD's. Unlike some other reviewers, I don't necessarily think this is my favorite, but it doesn't matter. It's still great. You don't need to understand Richard Bona's words; his voice (like an angel's) and music convey the feeling and meaning of his songs.

I wish more people knew about him. Whenever I can,I turn people on to his music.

The 1st cd got people talking bcos it was good. The 2nd album was a bomb but for me it sends me to sleep because of the softness of the music.But this cd is a "MUST HAVE" because it's very matured & full of swinging nicely done tunes which is something a little bit different from all the other albums.Listen to " Bona Petit" ....Mama, & other songs they show maturity,great vocals, higher quality of music. Ofcourse he tries to fuse African sounds & morden instruments to a good extent he succeeds to make an impression & sticks to the formular...listen to the African horn at the beginning of one song of the songs.People must accept that even though this is an African artist from Cameroon, these guys are no longer playing kora, ngoni,djembe etc in their music they have become very much part of a Westernised music in a good way & have tried to retain a little sound from Africa. I believe Salif Keita is featured here? Also highly recommended is Sokouba Bambino Diabate's Sinikan CD.

Bona's latest album is somewhat faithful to the unique trend of music that he has been gratifying his listeners too. But "Munia" is a unique blend of creativity, sophistication and musicianship. There is everything in this album: The very first song of the CD is a mesmerizing concoction, hormoniously mixed to take you miles above the clouds!
The rest of the album will remind you of Scenes of my life, his very first hit.
Bona recently left Columbia because he did not want to sing remixes. He argued that he has things to say and needs not re-sing what people have sung already. But, Bona, although quite popular in the US, still needs broard exposure and acceptance among the average music listeners: if he were to re-record some of the successes that have made some singers famous, this could turn out to be quite beneficial.
I recently urged another top afican musician(Lokua Kanza<<go to www.lokuakanza.com>> ) to do a Christmas album and re-make some famous songs, with regards to what Nat King Cole did in his time. It wasn't until he (NAT) recorded his Christmas album that he finally was acknowledged as one of the most brilliant artist of his time.
Bona has done this in the past with Michael Brecker: the cd is called a twist of Marley and it is quite remarkable. This kind of endeavour will certainly help enlarge his fan base. There is a lot of originality in his works and this could be a major stepping stone if it was used judiciously; i mean with good judgment.
YOu never really know what the public will go for: if he could understand this.................................

If you understand the meaning of the words of the song,you will enjoy the it.If not just enjoy the music very nice fusion

3 1/2


If not completely captivating with an assuredly personal sound, Bona continues to smoothly dominate as one of progressive African jazz's most valued players.

Munia was the first purchase of Richard's music I ever made. I have not looked back since. This album is, to say the least, captivating. His duet with Salif Keita (track 2) gets me all the time. Track 6 paints to me a story that cannot be translated into words. He does a rendition of the song with Bobby McFerrin on McFerrin's Live DVD in Montreux. Stunning.

In 2005, I saw Munia: The Tale on a friend's desk in his record label office in France and asked him for a copy. He gave it to me and I haven't stopped playing it since. Even though it may not be at the top of the list, it is a recurrent favorite and gets a couple of spins per month. This is Richard Bona at his best. It captures who he is better than all of his other records. Start here if you're new to him. I'll buy your CD back from you if you don't find some inspiration and awe in this one. Munia changed my life.