Coming off of 2005's Toto Bona Lokua, his world music collaboration with Congolese guitarist and vocalist Lokua Kanza and Martinique singer Gerald Toto, Cameroonian bassist/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Richard Bona's fourth solo album continues the artist's exploration of the possible linkages of global fusion, jazz, R&B, and pop. Bona has already proven his value to others by lending his bassmanship to an array of artists ranging from Bobby McFerrin (whose scat-informed vocal style is not unlike Bona's) to Paul Simon, Chick Corea, and Queen Latifah. But Tiki is about the expansion of his own brand name, with Bona providing much of the keyboards, guitar, and percussion in addition to the fluid bass pulses and the smooth, unhurried vocals that permeate the set. Shuffling between African, Latin, Brazilian, and Western pop and funk rhythms and a grab-bag of harmonic colors and mesmerizing melodies, Bona's talents as a multi-tasker finally converge here into an unmistakable identity. Guests, among them multiple Grammy-winning singer John Legend (on the opening track, "Please Don't Stop"), Indian music vocalist Susheela Raman, Brazilian star Djavan, and jazz guitar dynamo Mike Stern all assist graciously. But the particular stew that is Tiki is all Richard Bona this time, the richest, most whole manifestation of his artistry to date.
© Jeff Tamarkin /TiVo