Scenes From My Life

Richard Bona | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 1999)
• Original Release Date: August 24, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000K29M
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,374 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From Jazziz

This gets my vote for debut jazz album of last year. This, despite the fact that it comes off - if you're not really listening - so sweetly as an Afro-Cuban-spiced song collection by a pleasant-enough vocalist who happens to be a bassist, too. Well, wake up, fellow listeners. "Scenes From My Life" is a deceptively smooth introduction to a substantial artist who might simultaneously satisfy populist and elite elements of the jazz crowd. A prodigiously self-taught youth from a remote village in West African Cameroon, Bona came to the country's capital, then to Paris, New York, and the world through the bands of proto-globo stars Harry Belafonte and Joe Zawinul. He can really write tunes, play, lead a band, and sing with the appealing soft-pedaled lyricism of the best Senegambian griots and Brazilian tropicalistas. On electric bass, Bona gives graceful lilt to a variety of funky chants and vamps, also applying the pure tone he's derived from his hero Jaco (at his healthiest) to aching ballads and in-the-pocket riffs. Even more gratifying, Bona's original songs (12 of them here) are superior - brimming with refreshing, singable melodies that trade on reggae, Latin jazz, and Afro-Diaspora music, but never less than musically. Each tune is distinctly set and memorable; highlights include the sharply fusionesque "Djonbwe," the driving Cuban-styled "Te Dikalo," the audibly seductive "One Minute" (the lone track Bona sings in English), and the string- quartet introduction on "Muna Nyuwe." Bona's titles may be obscure, but his message translates into real pleasure. The music is sunny, buoyant, mysterious, and up-to-date, perfect for sophisticated radio. In performance, he's unforced and charismatic, in a league with a very boyish Gilberto Gil if not quite King Sunny Ade. And there's jazz in the mix, melody that can be transmuted in multiple ways, rhythm that makes a difference, performance imbued with vitality and the belief that music matters. Bona's authenticity shines through the slightest bit of gloss. As he grows into his personal but unabashedly accessible idiom, he's already well worth hearing.

--- Howard Mandel, JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great musician saddled with Muzak producer, November 8, 1999

By 

Carl J. Appellof (Arroyo Grande, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scenes From My Life (Audio CD)

I agree totally with a previous review. I saw Richard Bona last week at Jazz Alley in Seattle. He was FANTASTIC! Great rythms, angelic voice, wonderful bass lines, and a great backup band. Bought the CD at the bar, took it home and was a little disappointed at the overdone pop styling. I wish I had a recording of his live show. It was so much better than the disk.

But the disk still has a lot of great music, interesting African rythms, and that voice! I hope the next one will be a little closer to the real musician.

Check out Richard Bona's music on a cut called "Mandingo Street" on Regina Carter's latest CD. The best song on a great disk.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bona's Bonafide, April 29, 2000

By 

Anderson (Barbados) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scenes From My Life (Audio CD)

I have just finished listening to Richard Bona's Scenes From My Life. Actually it was the fourth time for the day that I had listen to this cd back to back. One of the first things that I noticed about this Album (apart from the fact that the lyrics are not in English) is the cool fresh difference of Richard's voice, no two ways about it Mr.Bona can definetly sing. Even though I can't understand a word being sung, I love smooth and easy way his word and melodies gel and how it all flows.

Track one Depita, a lively number yet not too up tempo, with Bona's cool clear crisp voice over an infectious rythm. All the way through to the final track Messanga, which showcases Richard's talents as a percussionist, you can expect to hear a warm soulful voice, a vriety of West African rythms fused with rich melodies and of course some very fine playing by Richard Bona and others. Track five , a funky track, with Bona playing a really funky bass grove. Track six is a latin flavoured number with some great licks by percussionist Luisito Quintero. Adding to the variety are track seven, One Minute and track eight Muna Nyuwe, a melancholy piece about an orphan with strings arranged by Bona.

Scenes From My Life not only hightlights the great vocal talents on Richard Bona but also shows him as talented songwriter / composer / arranger /producer and a very versatile musician playing bass, percussion, guitar, keyboards and kalimba. Richard Bona is a very good bassist. A listen to D.D. Jackson's Anthem will certainly substantiate this.

Richard Bona; A very Talented musician with a loads of potential. Scenes From My Life; a very great effort, love this cd.

Andy

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great potential, January 30, 2001

By 

Robert M. Emanuel (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scenes From My Life (Audio CD)

I was struck by Bona's beautiful fusion when I first heard this cd played in my favorite music store. As a collector of West African music, Cuban Son, and jazz, I am struck by Bona's masterful combination of these stylings and his own superb technique. There isn't much out there like him yet. I can't wait to hear his next offering. Highly recommended for both 'world' music and jazz afficionados!