FUTURE PRESENCE

Richard Bona

Bassist, singer, composer, 32

What he’s done: Bona--who was born in East Cameroon--looks to be the first world-class jazz artist to surface from Africa since Hugh Masekela. Immensely gifted, with bass playing reminiscent of Jaco Pastorius, a gift for melody, a sweet singing voice and the capacity to mix African and American rhythms, Bona has performed with Harry Belafonte, the Zawinul Syndicate, Bob James and others. His album, “Scenes From My Life,” was a carefully crafted studio production of original pieces mixing Cameroonian themes with an undercurrent of jazz rhythms and the accessibility of pop music.

Outlook for 2000: A live EP will be released in March, aimed at emphasizing his remarkable bass playing, heard in only a secondary role on the Columbia album. He will be back in Los Angeles for the Playboy Jazz Festival in June. Bona’s skills are so diverse, his potential so large that his next album, scheduled for recording later this year, will demand careful handling from his record company and management. He is a potential global crossover star.

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Anthony Wilson

Guitarist, composer, bandleader, 31

What he’s done: Wilson is the son of legendary bandleader Gerald Wilson. His experience ranges from performing with Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Loeb to leading his own small groups and appearing with his father’s band. But the release of his eponymously titled debut album on MAMA Records in 1997 (nominated for a Grammy) signaled his arrival as an important writer and player. Two successive albums, “Goat Hill Junket” and “Adult Themes,” confirmed his ability to craft hard-driving jazz charts for a compact, nine-piece jazz ensemble.

Outlook for 2000: A reported hiatus on new recordings at MAMA Records may be a mixed blessing for Wilson. On the one hand, it could delay the progress of a vital career. On the other, it may make Wilson a prime target for one of the major jazz labels. With a natural connection with young audiences and the capacity to bring together elements ranging from Gil Evans and Duke Ellington to Louis Jordan and Wes Montgomery, Wilson is one step away from becoming a major jazz name.

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David Sanchez

Saxophonist, 31

What he’s done: The Puerto Rican-born Sanchez has already had an accomplished career. A member of Dizzy Gillespie’s Grammy-winning United Nation Jazz Orchestra in the early ‘90s, he performed in the bebop master’s monthlong 75th birthday celebration in 1992. Since then, Sanchez has been on a fast track, appearing at the 1997 Havana Jazz Festival, and leading his own group on four Columbia CDs. In 1999, “Obsesion,” his fourth album, was nominated for a Grammy, the first for a native-born Puerto Rican jazz artist; he also was honored by New York’s Teatro Circulo for his contributions to Puerto Rican culture. Sanchez spent the last half of the year touring internationally, delivering his blend of American jazz and Afro-Caribbean rhythms at concerts reaching from Bosnia to Shanghai.

Outlook for 2000: Sanchez brings his group to Cal State L.A. for an appearance at Luckman Auditorium on Jan. 22, then heads into the studio to begin recording an album for release in June. On Feb. 21, he performs on Billy Taylor’s “‘Live at the Kennedy Center,” and a few days later is one of the headliners at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow.