Richard Bona at Berklee Performance Center

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Bona and his new Mandekan Cubano group – a sextet devoted to reappraising Africa’s influence on Cuban rhythm. A cruising Cuban chant was first invitingly warmed by gently goading trombone and trumpet riffs and the clatter of timbales. Dennis Hernandez’s muted trumpet line danced coaxingly around Bona’s falsetto on the ensuing ballad, and the first of a string of sparkling piano breaks from the superb Osmany Paredes opened in clipped jazz phrases and sly trills and built to percussive chords.