BETHEL WOODS –  The Debashish Bhattacharya Legacy Trio: Debashish Bhattacharya (Chaturangui, Pushpa Veena), Anandi Bhattacharya (Vocals, Swarmandal), and Subashis Bhattacharya (Tabla) presents to US audiences in the Fall of 2024 a unique tribute to the pioneering Indian recording artists of the early 1900s. 

   In those days, small shellac discs captured succinct renditions of Hindustani classical ragas and popular songs, creating a sensation among the wider populace. This golden era saw the rise of the first celebrity musicians; household names of the time.

   The Trio will recreate the spirit and character of these early recordings. Dressed in the fashion of the period, they will transport us to those early days, where a family might have huddled around a radio to hear their favorite stars in, say, 1915.

Another major highlight will of course be the ornate stringed instruments of Debashish’s own design. These include the Chaturangui (Chat = 4, ang = color,“gui” from guitar), a 26-string slide guitar; Pushpa Veena (Pushpa = “flower” Veena = “stringed instrument”), a 25-string hybrid of the sarod and slide guitar; and the delicate Anandi, a 4-string slide ukulele.

Rounding out the Ensemble are Debashish’s daughter Anandi, a gifted vocalist and a rising star in her own right, and Debashish’s younger brother Subhasis, who is recognized as one of the greatest Indian classical percussionists of his generation.

 Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya is arguably the greatest slide guitarist in the world. He is an undisputed master of the demanding technique and discipline of both Hindustani classical music and modern world fusion. A “virtuoso’s virtuoso,” he has revolutionized a number of technical aspects of performance on the instrument. He also has designed and patented four types of guitar for performing raga music, which he has named Chaturangui, Ghandharvi, Anandi, and Pushpa Veena. These guitars are played lap style, with a small steel bar and finger picks.

Debashish has played extensively around the globe, logging in over 3000 live performances and 27 albums. He has performed both live and on recordings with musical icons such as Ustad Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin, Jerry Douglas, Derek Trucks, and many other world renowned musicians. In India, he has performed for Pandit Ravi Shankar and also appeared in countless Indian music festivals.

His large body of work has garnered extensive recognition, including two Grammy nominations, the Billboard top 10, Songlines Magazine top 10, Central Asia and Asia pacific world music top 10, Amazon top 100 albums, 2016 Songlines Music Award, 2007 BBC Planet Award, 2005 Asiatic society Gold medal, the 1984 President of India Gold Medal, 2022 World Music Hall of Fame, and is an Empanelled Artist of the Indian government’s Indian Council of Cultural Relations.