Constant Boty

Ivorian Constant Boty is among a select group of West African musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often contradictory elements of innovation and tradition. Boty has found his niche perfecting a fine mix of West African folkloric music, European classical, jazz, and electronic music, having recorded with artists as diverse as saxophonist Greg Osby, pianists James Weidman and Benito Gonzalez, drummers Poogie Bell and Jerome Jennings, clarinetist Oran Etkin, bassist Solomon Dorsey, and the late trombonist Calvin Jones, among others,

Boty regularly performs in countries across Africa, both as a solo act and with his band, the Guru Guru Project. The group released its debut album, Guru Guru, in 2015 to critical acclaim, with a second release, Comme Ci, Comme Ça, due in 2018.

Trained as a classical guitarist at the Abidjan High Institute of Arts, Boty is also an enthusiastic and experienced music educator, dedicated to sharing his craft with the next generation. He has taught guitar and West African tribal drumming at the German Swiss International School in Accra for the past five years, and conducts music workshops on jazz and West African folkloric music all over Europe and Africa.