About
The Artists:
Debashish Bhattacharya started
learning Indian music from his parents before he learned the
alphabet. In his childhood he mastered many Indian classical
instrumental styles as well as vocal music from different musical
teachers in Calcutta. He became a disciple and student of Brij Bhushan
Khabra, the father of Indian classical guitar, for 10 years, and also
trained under Ajoy Chakraborty, the eminent Indian vocalist. He has
also studied with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
As a performer, Debashish gave his first guitar
recital at the age of four on the All India Radio, and in a public
concert. In his twenties, he evolved a unique style of playing guitar,
synthesizing selected features of various other instruments such as the
Veena, Sitar, Sarod and Kannur. In 1984, he was awarded the President
of India award at the age of 21.
Debashish developed his innovative Hindustani slide
guitar after years of research and experience. It consists of a Hofner
acoustic F hole guitar, with a total of 22 strings. He added a platform
of wood running the length of the guitar's neck, mounted with 17 tuning
gears. This piece of wood extends the width of the neck, making room
for twelve sympathetic strings, and five supporting strings for
additional versatility. Above the 5 normal (sliding melody) strings,
there is a pair of ckikari strings, as on a sitar. One of Debashish's
innovations was to move them to the treble side of the guitar, which
enables far more complex playing, since their rhythmic drones can be
played by the fingers, over other melodies simultaneously. Debashish
plays this guitar while sitting cross legged, with the guitar held on
the lap and played with a small steel bar, metal picks and a celluloid
thumb pick.
Debashish is considered by some critics to be the
greatest slide guitarist who has ever lived. He has, both through
creating the actual design of the instrument, and through his
incredible talent and discipline, elevated the Hindustani slide guitar
to be the highest evolution of slide guitar anywhere. Though he is
often compared to V.M. Bhatt, there is little basis for comparison,
because Debashish's music has far greater musical range, physical
dexterity, and emotional depth. To develop his playing, he has
undergone decades of disciplined study of Indian vocal technique
combined with his instrumental work. Debashish can sing perfectly in
parallel with every blindingly fast melody he plays. Possessed of a
very open musical mind, Debashish is eager and more than
qualified to collaborate and truly blend with musicians from any other
country.
Since 1996, his
collaboration with Bob Brozman has resulted in two "World of Slide"
tours of the USA and Canada, plus more appearances with Brozman, and
with The International Troupe, in Canada and South Africa. Most
recently, Debashish has toured Europe and recorded with John McLaughlin
and his latest incarnation of Shakti. In 2002, Debashish returned
to Quebec with Brozman, and later reunited with him in California for
the recording of MAHIMA, released June 2003.
Subhashis
Bhattacharya is a leader of his generation of Indian
percussionists. As the younger brother of Debashish, Subhashis
grew up steeped in the deep musical background of the Bhattacharya
family, learning melody and rhythm from infancy. His father Sri Sunil
Bhattacharya taught him tabla and his mother, vocalist Smt. Manjushree
Bhattacharya worked with him melodically when he was a toddler.
He started to make his presence felt in the music
scene from childhood as a promising tabla player trained by teachers
Sri Prabir Bhattacharya and Pt. Shyamal Bose. Now, he is considered to
be a master player, and he continues to study with Pandit Anindo
Chatterjee, the senior tabla maestro. He has regularly performed in
every major Indian music festival, and has recorded four albums with
Debashish and seven albums with Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty.
Subhashis first toured outside of India in 1996 with
Debashish and Bob Brozman. His skill and flexibility as percussionist
on several instruments, rhythm arranger, and vocalist have since been
heard on subsequent overseas tours in the USA, Canada, South Africa,
Greece, Kuwait, Bangladesh, and Nepal. A leading studio musician in
India, he has begun creating and leading large percussion ensembles,
and his arranging skills are essential to the music on
this album, as an equal participant in its creation. With meticulously
tuned hand drums, he played intricate rhythms, plus melodic parts
inside the rhythm section. Creating percussion landscapes by playing
several instruments on multiple tracks gave Subhashis a sense of
liberty, yielding one creative explosion after another.
Vocalist Sutapa Bhattacharya, the sister of
Debashish and Subhashis, has clearly inherited the vocal genes of
generations of Bhattacharyas. With a master's degree in music, she has
spent her life as a vocalist and teacher of music. Capable of singing
fluently in the 10 most well-known languages in India, she sings most
genres of Indian music, from classical and semi-classical to
traditional folk songs to film songs, both classic and contemporary. On
tours with Debashish and Subhashis and also with larger overseas
touring groups organized by Bob Brozman, she has astounded audiences
and musicians alike by matching Debashish's lightning-fast guitar
melodies note-for-note with her voice. Her 2002 release, JETE JETE,
placed among the top 10 Bangla albums of the year, positioning Sutapa
foremost among artists in her genre in India.
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