The Heavy Roots Shakuhachi Ensemble

A small band of reverent renegades, The Heavy Roots create sounds unknown to modern society. Founded by woodwind specialist, shakuhachi master and award-winning composer Cornelius Boots, they celebrate the low tones of the raw, earthy vertical bamboo flute of Japanese Zen Buddhism. Uncompromising on quality and creativity, they draw nourishment not from the rigid halls of the Academy or the soulless arenas of the Industry, but rather from the banks of the stream, the foot of the tree, the porch of the shack and the gardens of the temple.

Rooted in Zen, Taoism, rural blues, old gospel and the deep history of woodwinding, The Heavy Roots explore themes of nature and the occult. Channeling an eclectic array of influences, this music emerges organically from collective, animistic collaboration with this rare, raw bamboo flute. Committed to sharing these sounds with open-minded audiences in acoustically appropriate spaces, their instrumental narratives are also portals into intentional multiculturalism and devotional nature symbiosis.  Underground Nature Music, a living art.