Richard Bona

In Minta, a small village in eastern Cameroon, a child began striking a balafon (African wooden xylophone) as early as age three. Thirty-five years later, that same boy was performing on the world’s most prestigious stages—from the Montreal International Jazz Festival to the Grammy Awards—where his mastery of the electric bass and the clarity of his falsetto voice dazzled music lovers. Richard Bona, whose real name is Bona Pinder Yayumayalolo, has become one of the most accomplished musicians of his generation, a virtuoso instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter.

In Brief

Key Dates

An Electric Bass Griot

Richard Bona was born on October 28, 1967, in Minta, Cameroon, into a deeply musical family¹. His grandfather was a griot—these West African musician-storytellers who transmit history and myths through song—and percussionist. His mother also sang. From the age of four, the child devoted himself to the balafon. At five, he participated in village services with his mother and sisters.

The unusual began when young Richard, lacking affordable instruments, crafted his own². He strung bicycle brake cables across an old motorcycle tank and carved reed flutes. At eleven, his family moved to Douala, and he became enthusiastic about the electric guitar. His peers mocked his twelve-string homemade guitar. He switched to the electric bass. A French jazz enthusiast, owner of a club in Douala, lent him his record collection.

Richard stumbled upon Jaco Pastorius’s Portrait of Tracy³. The legendary Weather Report bassist changed everything. “That day, I became a bass player,” he would say.

New York opened the doors for him².

Bona’s music does not confine itself to any single genre⁴.

Major Works

Legacy

Richard Bona is a cultural ambassador—TED speaker, ambassador for various organizations. His name is inscribed in the roster of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, which awarded him the Antonio Carlos Jobim Prize in 2010, and he received the Grand Prix Jazz SACEM in 2012. Bass Magazine summarized it this way: “Richard Bona brought the sound of his native Cameroon into the mainstream of jazz and world music.” Even today, he continues to redefine his sound.

Sources and References