Richard Bona Band at Kimmel Center

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Cameroonian bassist and vocalist Richard Bona and his Band perform global Jazz infused with African spirit, as part of their Kimmel Center debut on Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 7:30pm in Perelman Theater. Dubbed “The African Sting," Bona's distinctive style blends a bevy of cultural influences that explores a polyrhythmic, pluralist society; Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, Caribbean and Anglo-Saxon pop harmonies exist alongside jazz, bossa nova, afro-beat, traditional song and funk sounds in Bona's recent albums, such as Tiki.
His lyrical storytelling, steeped in African musical tradition, communicates universal themes of love, spirituality and a utopian world without war. Special guest guitarist Lionel Loueke, a native of Benin, shares the stage, and provides vocals, percussive tongue clicking and intricate multi-layered guitar, as heard on his soon to be released album, Karibu (March 2008), which includes collaborations with jazz legends Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.

"Mr. Loueke is a gentle virtuoso. As a singer, he has a husky, sincere baritone and a melting falsetto that he uses to scat-sing along with his guitar solos. He's also a full-fledged jazz guitarist, and he uses both electronics--guitar synthesizer, looping devices--and African roots."--New York Times

This concert is the third concert in the Mellon Jazz Up Close “Goes Global" Series scheduled for the 2007/2008 season. The next concert in the series will be Eastern Europe, Daniel Szabo Trio with special guest Marta Topferova on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 7:30pm in Perelman Theater.

Tickets for Africa featuring Richard Bona Band are $37 and $43, and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.

A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.

The grandson of a famous percussionist and singer, Richard Bona was born in 1967 in Minta, a village in central Cameroon. Bona, a musical prodigy, learned to play music by sight on homemade instruments. Upon joining a jazz band at the age of 13, Bona began playing the bass, inspired by the music of modern bass guitar pioneer Jaco Pastorius. Bona moved to New York in 1995, and has since collaborated with master musicians such as the late Michael Brecker, Paul Simon, Chaka Khan, Eddie Palmieri, Chucho Valds, Joni Mitchell, Harry Connick Jr., Herbie Hancock, Queen Latifah and George Benson, among many others. Bona's debut album, Scenes from My Life, was released in 1998, and included such luminaries as Michael Brecker, Omar Hakim and Jean-Michel Pilc, among others. Following his premiere effort, Bona showcases his artistic evolution on his subsequent recordings, Reverence (2001), Munia (2003) and the Grammy® winning Tiki (2005). Bona plans to release his first live album, Bona Makes You Sweat, in March 2008.

Guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke was born in Benin, a small country in West Africa. Loueke began playing guitar at age 17, and quickly became enamored with Afro-pop, traditional African music and jazz. Loueke left Africa in 1994 and moved to Paris to pursue jazz studies, enrolling at the American School of Modern Music. He continued his exploration of jazz in the United States at Berklee College of Music and then at Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in Los Angeles. It was at the Monk Institute that Loueke met his greatest mentors, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and trumpeter Terence Blanchard, with whom he toured and collaborated on the recordings Bounce and Flow, as well as pianist Herbie Hancock's Grammy®-nominated album, River: The Joni Letters. Loueke is scheduled to release his first major label album, Karibu, on March 25, 2008.

Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARC Wheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System and American Express. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming.

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