WOMAD

John Zaizan Neptune

From Japan, United States

Widely acknowledged to be among the top masters of the shakuhachi, or Japanese bamboo flute. Well-known in Japan, this California native is also an accomplished jazz artist and composer who has gained respect in both the East and West for his versatile and technically sophisticated melting pot of sounds His first major highlight ' Bamboo' was awarded Outstanding Album of the Year for 1980 by the Cultural Affairs Agency of the Japanese Ministry of Education-- the first time ever a jazz album or foreign artist has been so honored! Neptune has collaborated extensively beyond traditional Japanese music and takes the shakuhachi to places yet unexplored, to settings unimaginable - within jazz fusion, Indian classical music or the world of string quartets - resulting in over 25 sets of recordings Whilst exploring new ground, John regularly returns to his "traditional Japanese roots" Working with traditional Japanese instruments, he creates melodies and harmonies that have a strikingly non-traditional flavor to them. "It was my intent," reports John, "to feature traditional instruments in ways that are not typically traditional." John has toured North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia and when not recording or performing he spends his time making shakuhachi and other bamboo instruments in his home-workshop in the Japanese countryside.