Richard Bona and Bireli Lagrene

Jazz in unfortunately a dying art, or at least, the appreciation of jazz has really died down. However, with artists like Richard Bona still cranking out the jazz tunes, there is still life in the genre that can be appreciated with all its potential…maybe even catch the attention of more people of my generation. Born into a music family, the West African artist still continues to make the tour rounds to share his musical expression.
As for the crowds that attend his shows, they are varying in so many different ways: age, ethnicity, etc. His live sets include accompaniment from drummer, guitarist and horn player, while he plays bass. His vocals will vary between French and English, both of which are the official languages of his native Cameroon. Like all jazz shows, each live set is extremely unique due to the solos taken during the night. Every solo is infused with an emotion and tone that is particular to that day. He doesn’t speak much, aside from the occasional thank you to the audience, as well as a one-time introduction of his instrumentalists of the night. Most of his songs are slightly funky or very light-hearted, but either way you can’t help but feel your body move along, even if it’s just a tiny head bob.

Guitar is one of my favourite instruments to listen to, and Bireli Lagrene’s recordings are some of my most listened to records of all time. His abilities on the electric guitar as well as acoustic means that his style can be super versatile, journeying through swing, jazz, pop, and a bit of classical along the way. Going to see him live in concert, I wasn’t sure what I was going to hear performed, but the jazz fuelled night lived up to and beyond my expectations from the moment he picked up his instrument and began an improvisation before introducing himself and his band.

There were several moments throughout the show when people would jump up from their seats to dance along to the jazzy rhythms with their neighbours, and ever single song received a standing ovation. Of course on recordings you can tell that Lagrene is incredibly talented, but watching his fingers dance across the fret boards in a seemingly effortless manner really makes you appreciate the extent of his skill. With so many albums, it must have been difficult to select a set, but he mainly focused on Mouvements, his newest album, and also played some awesome tracks from earlier work. The rest of his band were incredibly talented too, and they all worked together magnificently.