Cornelius Boots
Forest Knolls, California, United States
Bamboo bluesman and Zen shakuhachi master. Composer-performer-teacher in the lineage of Watazumido and Eric Dolphy.
Active internationally since 1990, Cornelius Boots is creating virtuosic new repertoire for a rare woodwind. A master of lost techniques, his breath-defying compositions weave together threads from rock, blues, heavy metal and the traditional Zen Buddhist repertoire, honkyoku. Boots’ experience as a jazz saxophonist, funk bandleader, orchestral clarinetist and founder of the renowned bass clarinet quartet Edmund Welles have made him a sought after composer for bold soloists and chamber groups.