Name: Richard Bona | Ottawa Jazz Festival
Start: 2025-06-20T19:00:00-04:00
Location: Azrieli Theatre

Richard Bona
45th Ottawa Jazz Festival
June 20th at 7:00pm, Azrieli Studio, National Arts Centre
“Imagine an artist with Jaco Pastorious’s virtuosity, George Benson’s vocal fluidity, Joao Gilberto’s sense of song and harmony, all mixed up with African culture. Ladies and gentlemen, we bring you Richard Bona!” — Los Angeles Times
Richard Bona is a Grammy-winning musician, one of the most accomplished international bass players, composers and multi-instrumentalists. With his unique sound and vocal gift he is continuously representing his African origins. Bona’s music addresses the continent’s traditions, culture, beauty and issues. His purpose, and the way he connects with his audience has turned him into a staple name in world, jazz and Afropop music.
He is currently producing and recording for Latin and Brazilian artists in the realm of pop, Brazilian songbook, Flamenco and Caribbean music.
Richard Bona has toured, composed, recorded, and created musical forms of art with the greatest: Herbie Hancock, Harry Belafonte, Steps Ahead, Quincy Jones, Chick Corea, Buena Vista Social Club, Cesária Évora, Sting, Mike Stern, Pat Metheny, Stevie Wonder, Bobby McFerrin, Chucho Valdés, George Benson, Oumou Sangaré and many more. Along the diverse notable collaborations Richard has also taught Jazz Improvisation at NYU and is constantly teaching and mentoring young talents throughout the world. He’s also a TED speaker and ambassador for various non-profit projects.
He is highly involved in developing better music business practices and ethics. His Signature Series collaboration with Italian-based MARKBASS has positioned him as one of the most creative and best-selling bass amp and bass guitar tailor-made manufacturers in the world.
Constantly touring around the world and exploring new musical directions, Richard continues to redefine his sound, while still performing live. He’s currently working on new Afrobeats, Afropop, Latin and Flamenco projects throughout Europe, the US and Latin America.