The Cameroonian-American jazz musician Richard Bona will appear at the 72nd Dubrovnik Summer Festival with the Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodríguez and the Croatian Radio and Television Jazz Orchestra on Tuesday, 20 July at 9.30 pm in front of the Cathedral.
Richard Bona, a versatile artist called ‘the African Sting’ by his fans, is one of the rare African musicians successfully established at the top of the international music scene. Born in a small town in Cameroon, he became fascinated with Jaco Pastorius from an early age. Inspired by the celebrated American bassist, he started playing bass and emerged as one of the world’s most renowned bassists. Richard Bona is exceptionally talented and skilled, not only a bassist, but also guitarist, vocalist, arranger, composer and producer, and has performed with artists such as John Legend, George Benson, Chaka Khan, Branford Marsalis, Pat Metheny and Bobby McFerrin. He won the Victoires du Jazz Award in the category of Best International Artist of the Year in 2004, the Antonio Carlos Jobim Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2009 and the prestigious Grand Prix Sacem in the category of jazz music in 2012. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, he was the guitarist, bassist, percussionist and vocalist of the Pat Metheny Group at the time they won the Grammy for the album Speaking of Now.
At the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Bona will be performing with his friend and colleague Alfredo Rodríguez, with whom he often appears worldwide. The young Cuban pianist and composer was discovered by Quincy Jones, who became his producer and mentor, as well as Bona’s. For this concert they will be joined by Ludwig Afonso on drums.
In their performance of top quality jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythms, the trio will be joined by the Croatian Radio and Television Jazz Orchestra, one of the world’s longest-running big bands, continuously active for over seventy years, and one of Croatia’s most influential jazz ensembles, which has performed with some of the biggest international stars, such as Dee Dee Bridgewater at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival in 2018.
Ticket reservations for this unique evening of music that will take place on 20 July in front of the Dubrovnik Cathedral can be made via e-mail at sales@dubrovnik-festival.hr or by phone at +385 (0)20 326 100 or +385 (0)20 326 107.