RICHARD
The owner befriended him and helped him discover jazz music, in particular that of Jaco Pastorius, which inspired Bona to switch his focus to the electric bass. Bona emigrated to Germany at the age of 22 to study music in Düsseldorf, then relocated again to France to further his studies in music. While in France, he regularly played in various jazz clubs, sometimes with musicians such as Manu Dibango, Salif Keita, Jacques Higelin and Didier Lockwood.
In 1995, Bona decided to leave France and establish himself in New York, where he still lives and works. In New York he played bass guitar with artists including Larry Coryell, Michael and Randy Brecker, George Benson, Branford Marsalis, Chaka Khan, and Bobby McFerrin. In 1998, Bona served as Musical Director on Harry Belafonte’s European Tour.
Bona’s debut solo album, 1999’s Scenes from My Life, was extremely well received, and new doors kept on opening. He was prominently featured on Jaco Pastorius Big Band albums, and in 2002 he went on a world tour with the Pat Metheny Group. The release of the Grammy-winning (for Best Contemporary Jazz Album) Speaking
RICHARD BONA
of Now album that year marked a profound change in the group’s direction by adding younger musicians to the band, including Bona as bassist, vocalist, guitarist and percussionist. The group was also nominated in the Best Pop Instrumental Performance category for the track “As It Is.”
In 2005 Bona released his fourth solo album Tiki, which was nominated for Best Contemporary World Music Album and included the John Legend collaboration “Please Don’t Stop.” Following the 2009 release of The Ten Shades of Blues, Bona was honored with the Antônio Carlos Jobim Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. His 2013 album Bonafied was certified gold.
Bona has toured, composed, recorded and created musical forms of art with some of jazz’s brightest stars, including Belafonte, Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Chick Corea, Buena Vista Social Club, Sting, Chucho Valdés, and Stevie Wonder. Along the diverse notable collaborations Richard has taught Jazz Improvisation at NYU and is constantly teaching and mentoring young talents throughout the world. He’s a TED speaker and ambassador for various non-profit projects. And from 2015 to 2020 he owned, together with restaurateur Laurent d’Antonio, the Club Bonafide, a jazz club in New York.
Bona’s music took on a distinctive Afro-Cuban flavor with the 2016 release of the Heritage album with Cuban band Mandekan Cubano. Released under Quincy Jones’ Qwest label, Bona’s eighth album as a leader is an energetic, life-affirming exploration of the alchemy of African rhythms in Cuba. Bona and Cuban pianist Alfredo Rodriguez first met through Jones, their shared mentor. After years of friendship, the two worked together on Rodriguez’s album Tocororo, produced by Jones. On the album, they released two songs together – “Raíces (Roots)” and “Ay, Mamá Inés” – that showcase how their unique musical backgrounds can cohesively come together to produce inspiring sounds. The Cameroonian bass player and Cuban pianist also appeared together in 2018’s
Grammy-winning Netflix documentary Quincy, and toured the world.
NOVEMBER 1
Continuing to tour around the world and explore new musical directions, Bona continues to redefine his sound while still performing live. He’s currently working on new Afrobeats, Afropop, Latin and Flamenco projects throughout Europe, the U.S. and Latin America. Bona’s new group, Asante Trio, is testament to his philosophy of cultural collaboration. Pianist Jesus Pupo pays tribute to the “piano Cubano” style’s vibrant Afro-Cuban rhythmic and melodic heritage. Percussionist Harvel Nakundi provides the groove and layered rhythmic complexity inherent to the many styles that influence the group’s sound. Don’t miss this Sunshine Jazz Organization presentation with his Asante Trio. More at richard-bona.com
LYRIC THEATER MIAMI
OCTOBER 23
BLUE TAVERN
TALLAHASSEE
OCTOBER 25
SONGS & STRINGS
LAKELAND
OCTOBER 26
ACMA LISTENING ROOM
FORT MYERS
OCTOBER 27
HOOCH & HIVE
TAMPA
OCTOBER 30
ESTUARY JUPITER
Jon Shain
Hailing from Durham, NC, veteran singer-songwriter
Jon Shain has been turning heads for years with his words, fiery acoustic guitar work, and evolved musical style – combining improvised Piedmont blues with bluegrass, swing, and ragtime. Shain has released nine solo albums to date, along with two albums with duo partner FJ Ventre, a Jon Shain Trio live album, and one album of co-writes with Joe Newberry. Shain’s newest album, Restless Soul Syndrome, was released earlier this year. In 2019, Shain won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN in the solo/duo category. Shain headed to North Carolina in 1986, to study American History at Duke University and to continue his musical journey. In addition to studying with jazz professor Paul Jeffrey, he also had the good fortune to play in Big Boy Henry’s backing band. That mixture of the academic environment and real-world blues music is what has most informed his musical direction. Shain then cut his touring teeth from 1989-1998 founding the NC folk-rock group, Flyin’ Mice and their spin-off group, WAKE. The band performed with acts such as Hot Tuna and the Dixie Dregs, released four CDs, and played to a legion of East Coast fans. Shain then went solo, returning to his folk and blues roots, opening shows for the likes of John Hiatt, Keb’ Mo’ and Little Feat. He has also become a sought-after guitar teacher and studio producer, and authored the music books
With the Blues – a Tribute to the Legacy of W.C. Handy
Gettin’ Handy and
Jon Shain’s Fingerstyle Guitar Method
More at jonshain.
com
Tom Brantley
OCTOBER 28
As Professor of Trombone at USF since 1999, Tom Brantley emphasizes both Classical and Jazz Trombone. He also leads the USF Jazz Ensemble I, Trombone Octet, Trombone Choir, and Bone Band I and II.Since 1995 Brantley has toured, performed, and recorded with internationally regarded chamber ensemble Rhythm and Brass, with whom he recorded three CDs and published the chamber music book Team Play. Brantley’s 2009 solo outing Boneyardcomplements two additional recordings with colleagues in small groups:2002’s Confluences and2006’s Obsessed with Treasure. Nominated for a Best Large Jazz Ensemble Grammy in 2018 as a member of Chuck Owen’s Jazz Surge on the recording Whispers on the Wind, Brantley has also recorded projects with USF colleague Jack Wilkins and three other recordings for Chuck Owen’s Jazz Surge. While a graduate student, Brantley performed and recorded with the Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band, playing lead trombone and jazz trombone. He also appears on four recordings with the UNT Jazz Program. Most recently, Brantley created an etude book entitled Stylistic Etudes for Trombone. He made recordings of each etude, to assist students who work on them. His first etude collection for Carl Fischer, Essential Etudes for Trombone, was published in 2015 and was also warmly received by trombone teachers and students. Brantley earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master’s degree in Music from the University of North Texas. He has been a Yamaha Performing Artist since
OCTOBER 5
AMELIA ISLAND
JAZZ FESTIVAL
FERNANDINA BEACH
Marcia Ball
“Fifty years have passed in a flash,” says pianist, songwriter and vocalist Marcia Ball of her career. The 2018 Texas State Musician Of The Year, conferred by the Texas State Legislature, has won fame and fans worldwide by igniting a full-scale roadhouse party every time she takes the stage. On her most recent album, 2018’s Shine Bright, Ball has put together the most musically substantial and uplifting set of songs of her career. “It is a ridiculously hopeful, cheerful record,” she says, the secret being “to set the political songs to a good dance beat.” After dropping out of Louisiana State University, Ball moved to Austin, TX in 1970 and began performing locally with Freda And The Firedogs, pioneering the Progressive Country movement. Ball launched her solo career in 1974 with the country-rock Circuit Queen, and released six acclaimed titles during the 1980s and 1990s. Then Presumed Innocent won the 2002 W.C. Handy Blues Music Award for Blues Album of the Year. Its follow-up, the Grammy-nominated So Many Rivers, won a 2004 BMA for Contemporary Blues Album as well as Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year. 2005’s Live! Down The Road, 2008’s Peace, Love & BBQ (which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart), and 2010’s Roadside Attractions all received Grammy nominations. 2014’s The Tattooed Lady And The Alligator Man successfully grew her fan base even further. She has been inducted into the Gulf Coast Music Hall Of Fame, the Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame, and the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. More at marciaball.com
OCTOBER 7 LAKESHORE CENTER OCOEE
OCTOBER 30 THE FISH HOUSE MIAMI
Martin Bejerano
Acclaimed Latin Grammy-nominated pianist, composer, and educator Martin Bejerano has performed/recorded with numerous jazz luminaries, including his 20-year association with drummer Roy Haynes (Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner), Christian McBride, Pat Metheny, Dafnis Prieto, Jonathan Kreisberg, and Roxana Amed among many others. He has performed at nearly all of the major jazz clubs, festivals and venues around the world, as well as on the Late Show with David Letterman. He is featured on more than two dozen recordings, including his most recent Latin Grammy-nominated (for Best Latin Jazz Album) #CubanAmerican, the Grammy-nominated Fountain of Youth with the Roy Haynes Quartet, and Roxana Amed’s Latin Grammy-nominated albums Ontology and Unánime. Bejerano has twice been awarded the prestigious “New Jazz Works” grant from Chamber Music America (2010 and 2017), many other composition grants and commissions, and a Provost Research Award grant from the University of Miami, where he is currently a tenured faculty member of the Frost School of Music. Bejerano worked with multiple Grammy- and Tony-award-winning arranger/orchestrator Alex Lacamoire on numerous projects, including Linn Manuel Miranda’s musical Bring it On and on other musical theater projects in New York City. He composed the theme song for Arizona Opera’s “UnMic’d”podcast, and was commissioned to arrange Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” for classical piano duo Stephanie and Saar and the Portland Percussion Group. Bejerano heads the Jazz Piano Studio at the Frost School of Music, where he teaches jazz piano, improvisation, and composition, and continues touring and recording with his current project, #CubanAmerican Trio, as well as numerous other artists. More at martinbejerano.com
Mitch Grainger
OCTOBER 1
PARADISE BAR AND GRILL
PENSACOLA
BEACH
OCTOBER 20
CAMPING WITH THE BLUES BROOKSVILLE
Beginning his career at age 14, playing harmonica and guitar in the bars of Balmain in Sydney, Australia, Mitch Grainger spent his teens honing his craft as a sideman before joining The Bondi Cigars and all of Australia before he turned 21. AC/DC’s Malcolm Young walked in to a gig one day, leading to a long-term friendship and the introduction of Grainger to legendary Australian producer Harry Vanda, who worked with Grainger on his 2006 Love and Demons album. Meanwhile, Grainger’s touring work continued with multiple bands. In 2010, Grainger relocated to Los Angeles and Hollywood’s live music scene, leading to his solo acoustic release The Blues. Grainger’s mastery of the genre and his charismatic stage presence led to packed houses in Australia and Scandinavia, performances at prestigious festivals, and standing ovations while opening for Tommy Emmanuel on a tour of the northeastern U.S. In 2017 Grainger invented, patented, and Kick-started the Dyna-Mic, a harmonica microphone that enabled him to play harmonica hands-free in an electric band setting. The Dyna-Mic is now used by hundreds of harmonica players around the globe, notably by Bob Dylan on his 2018 New Zealand Tour. Grainger’s two new releases, Plug It In and Plug It In Acoustic, are two sides of the same coin. One is electric, featuring Grainger and his
Willie Colón
OCTOBER 4
KIA CENTER
ORLAND
OCTOBER 31
HARD ROCK
HOLLYWOOD
One of the pioneers of Latin American music, salsa legend Willie Colón’s 1967 debut album El Malo is one of the first albums to feature the “New York Sound” that sparked a renewed interest in Latin music during the 1970s. Colón is considered a founding member of the Fania All-Stars, as one of the key artists from Fania Records who made up the group when it was established in 1968. The Bronx, NY-born Colón has been instrumental in the careers of musicians such as Rubén Blades and Celia Cruz. Colón has also produced albums for many others, including the late Hector Lavoe, who sang with Colón’s band in the early 1970s. Inspired by the music of various cultures, Colón has recorded with such musicians as David Byrne and Puerto Rican cuatro player Yomo Toro. In addition to 11 Grammy nominations and one Grammy award, Colón has received a prestigious CHUBB fellowship from Yale University. In 1978, Colón was named Musician, Producer, and Trombone Player of the Year in a readers’ poll conducted by Latin New York. Three years later, he was awarded Musician of the Year and his album Fantasmas was named Album of the Year. His third studio album with Blades, Canciones del Solar de los Aburridos earned a Grammy nomination in 1982. In the late 1980s, Colón formed a new band, Legal Aliens, and they recorded Color Americano in 1990 and Honra y Cultura in 1991. Two years later, Colón recorded Hecho en Puerto Rico with an all-star band featuring ex-members of the Fania All-Stars. In 2004, Colón received the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Latin Recording Academy, and he received the International Trombone Association’s Lifetime Achieve-
ment Award in 2010. More at williecolon.com
