John Kaizan Neptune

by Bruno Deschênes
John Kaizan Neptune is one of today's top masters of the Shakuhachi. This California native is also a jazz musician and composer. He has gained respect in both the East and West for his versatile and technically sophisticated melting pot of sounds. He began learning the Shakuhachi in Hawaii with a Japanese Buddhist priest in 1971. In 1973, Neptune went to Japan to continue his Shakuhachi studies for one year, but then returned to Honolulu to complete a degree in ethnomusicology. After graduation, Neptune traveled again to Kyoto and in March 1977, he received the "shi-han", or master's certificate, along with the honorary name "Kaizan" which means Sea Mountain. Since then, John Kaizan Neptune has made a mark in contemporary music as an artist of exploration and expansion, utilizing the Shakuhachi with various instrumentation from many different cultural backgrounds. Neptune has toured North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. He also makes Shakuhachi and other bamboo instruments.