U Staré paní - Robert Balzar Trio & John Kaizan Neptune & Akihisa Kominato, 2025-06-21

Robert Balzar Trio & John Kaizan Neptune & Akihisa Kominato

Saturday 21. 06. 2025, 20:00

Robert Balzar Trio, John Kaizan Neptune and Akihisa Kominato will perform as part of the International Shakuhachi Festival Prague 2025 on 21 June at 10pm at U Staré paní. The stars of the Czech jazz scene will unite with exceptional Japanese artists – John Kaizan Neptune and Akihisa Kominato! John Kaizan Neptune, one of the most prominent figures in the contemporary shakuhachi world, brings a unique energy and passion to this traditional Japanese instrument, blending it seamlessly with jazz and modern musical styles. Alongside the Robert Balzar Trio, he will showcase his own compositions that marry deep tradition with innovative jazz elements. Akihisa Kominato, a rising star of the shakuhachi, is renowned for his deep connection to Japanese Min’yo folk music, which profoundly influences his distinctive musical voice. For this special concert, he will join the Robert Balzar Trio as a guest artist, performing his own compositions that fuse Japanese musical tradition with a contemporary jazz sound.

The performers

Robert Balzar ()

Robert Balzar is a leading Czech jazz double bassist and composer. He studied at the conservatory in Brno. He has worked with such musicians as John Abercrombie, Craig Handy, Benny Bailey, Wynton Marsalis and Lew Tabackin. In 1996 he founded the jazz formation Robert Balzar Trio.

Robert Balzar Trio ()

Robert Balzar Trio was founded in 1996 and has released several albums. The trio has long collaborated with one of the best Czech pop singers, Dan Barta. Together, they released an album called Theyories, which received critical praise and was nominated for the 2010 Anděl Award. The group has undergone many changes and is currently composed of Robert Balzar, Vit Kristan and Kamil Slezak.

John Kaizan Neptune ()

John Kaizan Neptune is an American player of the shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute. He brings a new and dynamic sound and feeling to the shakuhachi. A California-born American, Neptune received his master’s certificate in the Tozan School of Shakuhachi in 1977, at which time he was awarded the name “Kaizan” (“Sea Mountain”). He is the author of the book Shakuhachi, and has performed and recorded in many countries around the world. His second album, Bamboo, was named Outstanding Record of the Year by the Cultural Affairs Agency of the Japanese Ministry of Education, subsequent albums (24 to date) and his concerts throughout Japan, Asia, Australia, America, and Europe have made his original music, from traditional Japanese to contemporary jazz, widely know and loved by people of all ages. Neptune, who is acknowledged to be among the top masters of the instrument in Japan, now lives in Kamogawa, Chiba-ken, where he continues to make, write for and experiment with the instrument he had adopted as his own.

Akihisa Kominato ()

Akihisa Kominato is a shakuhachi performer of the Kinko school and the third iemoto of the Kominato school of minyō. He studied under the late Living National Treasure Gorō Yamaguchi and graduated from the Department of Traditional Music at the Tokyo University of the Arts. He made his major debut on Avex in 2004. He serves as tourism ambassador for the city of Sugagawa in Fukushima Prefecture and as producer of Blends, the series of programmes broadcast by NHK featuring music played on Japanese traditional instruments.