Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Episode 105: Richard Bona is one of the most respected bass players, composers, vocalists, and bandleaders in modern music. Born in Cameroon and now celebrated around the world, Richard has worked with legends including Pat Metheny, Quincy Jones, Joe Zawinul, Harry Belafonte, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Bobby McFerrin, Mike Stern, George Benson, and many more. From the Pat Metheny Group to the Zawinul Syndicate, Richard has helped shape the sound of jazz fusion, African music, world music, and modern bass playing for decades.
Richard has also shared the stage and studio with some of the greatest drummers in the world including Antonio Sanchez, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Steve Smith, Omar Hakim, Paco Séry, Dennis Chambers, Manu Katché, Simon Phillips, Terri Lyne Carrington, Mark Guiliana, Steve Gadd, and more.
In this episode, Richard and Elmo talk about growing up in Cameroon, building his own instruments as a child, discovering Jaco Pastorius, moving to Germany, Paris, and New York, becoming Harry Belafonte’s musical director, joining Joe Zawinul’s Syndicate, winning a Grammy with Pat Metheny, rhythm, groove, African music, storytelling, singing while playing bass, improvisation, how to feel odd time signatures and polyrhythms, being managed by Quincy Jones, bass technique, composition, musical identity, and much more.
Richard also shares stories from the road, lessons from the greatest musicians in the world, and his philosophy on music, culture, creativity, and humanity. We hope you enjoy our conversation with the great Richard Bona!
Big thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!
Many thanks to the folks at Ace Studio for supporting the show! Check them out acestudio.ai
Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, ad free episodes, and discussions about music and music careers. patreon.com/gowithelmo
0:00:00 - TRAILER
0:01:59 - INTRODUCTION
0:04:47 - INTERVIEW STARTS
0:06:43 - DAVE WECKL
0:09:14 - A QUESTION FROM DAVE WECKL
0:13:21 - “TE MISEA,” TRADITIONAL RHYTHMS
0:15:18 - GROWING UP IN MINTA, CAMEROON
0:17:27 - SOLOING
0:18:22 - GIGGING AT 5 YEARS OLD
0:19:54 - BUILDING A GUITAR AT 7, RICHARD’S SOUND
0:25:11 - LEAVING AFRICA, LEARNING WHAT JAZZ IS
0:27:46 - JACO PASTORIUS
0:32:14 - PARIS, MIKE STERN, SIXUN
0:34:01 - JOE ZAWINUL
0:39:57 - MICHAEL BRECKER
0:40:53 - SIGNING TO SONY
0:42:17 - MICHAEL BRECKER, BRANFORD MARSALIS
0:50:17 - MUSIC DIRECTING HARRY BELAFONTE
1:08:47 - GREATEST LESSON FROM HARRY BELAFONTE
1:09:18 - JOE ZAWINUL SYNDICATE
1:09:49 - “BONA FORTUNA”
1:11:11 - DEBUT ALBUM, OMAR HAKIM
1:11:40 - “REVERENCE” ALBUM, PAT METHENY
1:16:20 - ’90s JAZZ ERA WITH MAJOR LABELS
1:19:29 - PAT METHENY GROUP, “SPEAKING OF NOW”
1:21:59 - PLAYING WITH DRUM LEGENDS
1:22:55 - HERBIE HANCOCK STORY
1:24:42 - A SURPRISING THING ABOUT HERBIE
1:25:36 - DRUMMERS
1:26:55 - NEW ALBUM IDEA
1:27:39 - QUINCY JONES, ROD TEMPERTON
1:32:44 - BEST LESSON FROM QUINCY JONES
1:35:01 - STING
1:36:26 - “KALABANCORO”
Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!
Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: elmolovano.komi.io
Follow Richard:
instagram.com/richardbonaofficial
Follow Go With Elmo:
instagram.com/gowithelmo
tiktok.com/@gowithelmo
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Episode 105: Richard Bona is one of the most respected bass players, composers, vocalists, and bandleaders in modern music. Born in Cameroon and now celebrated around the world, Richard has worked with legends including Pat Metheny, Quincy Jones, Joe Zawinul, Harry Belafonte, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Bobby McFerrin, Mike Stern, George Benson, and many more. From the Pat Metheny Group to the Zawinul Syndicate, Richard has helped shape the sound of jazz fusion, African music, world music, and modern bass playing for decades.
Richard has also shared the stage and studio with some of the greatest drummers in the world including Antonio Sanchez, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Steve Smith, Omar Hakim, Paco Séry, Dennis Chambers, Manu Katché, Simon Phillips, Terri Lyne Carrington, Mark Guiliana, Steve Gadd, and more.
In this episode, Richard and Elmo talk about growing up in Cameroon, building his own instruments as a child, discovering Jaco Pastorius, moving to Germany, Paris, and New York, becoming Harry Belafonte’s musical director, joining Joe Zawinul’s Syndicate, winning a Grammy with Pat Metheny, rhythm, groove, African music, storytelling, singing while playing bass, improvisation, how to feel odd time signatures and polyrhythms, being managed by Quincy Jones, bass technique, composition, musical identity, and much more.
Richard also shares stories from the road, lessons from the greatest musicians in the world, and his philosophy on music, culture, creativity, and humanity. We hope you enjoy our conversation with the great Richard Bona!
Big thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!
Many thanks to the folks at Ace Studio for supporting the show! Check them out acestudio.ai
Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, ad free episodes, and discussions about music and music careers. patreon.com/gowithelmo
0:00:00 - TRAILER
0:01:59 - INTRODUCTION
0:04:47 - INTERVIEW STARTS
0:06:43 - DAVE WECKL
0:09:14 - A QUESTION FROM DAVE WECKL
0:13:21 - “TE MISEA,” TRADITIONAL RHYTHMS
0:15:18 - GROWING UP IN MINTA, CAMEROON
0:17:27 - SOLOING
0:18:22 - GIGGING AT 5 YEARS OLD
0:19:54 - BUILDING A GUITAR AT 7, RICHARD’S SOUND
0:25:11 - LEAVING AFRICA, LEARNING WHAT JAZZ IS
0:27:46 - JACO PASTORIUS
0:32:14 - PARIS, MIKE STERN, SIXUN
0:34:01 - JOE ZAWINUL
0:39:57 - MICHAEL BRECKER
0:40:53 - SIGNING TO SONY
0:42:17 - MICHAEL BRECKER, BRANFORD MARSALIS
0:50:17 - MUSIC DIRECTING HARRY BELAFONTE
1:08:47 - GREATEST LESSON FROM HARRY BELAFONTE
1:09:18 - JOE ZAWINUL SYNDICATE
1:09:49 - “BONA FORTUNA”
1:11:11 - DEBUT ALBUM, OMAR HAKIM
1:11:40 - “REVERENCE” ALBUM, PAT METHENY
1:16:20 - ’90s JAZZ ERA WITH MAJOR LABELS
1:19:29 - PAT METHENY GROUP, “SPEAKING OF NOW”
1:21:59 - PLAYING WITH DRUM LEGENDS
1:22:55 - HERBIE HANCOCK STORY
1:24:42 - A SURPRISING THING ABOUT HERBIE
1:25:36 - DRUMMERS
1:26:55 - NEW ALBUM IDEA
1:27:39 - QUINCY JONES, ROD TEMPERTON
1:32:44 - BEST LESSON FROM QUINCY JONES
1:35:01 - STING
1:36:26 - “KALABANCORO”
Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!
Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: elmolovano.komi.io
Follow Richard:
instagram.com/richardbonaofficial
Follow Go With Elmo:
instagram.com/gowithelmo
tiktok.com/@gowithelmo
https://x.com/gowithelmopod
Follow Elmo Lovano:
Instagram.com/elmolovano
https://x.com/elmolovano
Follow Jammcard:
youtube.com/@jammcard
instagram.com/jammcard
jammcard.com
