Debashish Bhattacharya

"You will likely never hear better acoustic slide playing than this."—Acoustic Guitar The reigning master of Hindustani slide guitar, Calcutta's Debashish Bhattacharya carries on a tradition that began when Hawaiian slack key guitarists visited India and local players adapted their open tunings and slide effects to perform classical ragas. Bhattacharya has innovatively modified his own guitar with additional strings, giving the instrument the dynamic range and versatility of a sitar and helping him showcase his supercharged slide playing. He performs time-honored traditional music and improvises alongside Western players like John McLaughlin, in the Remember Shakti band, or Bob Brozman, as on the collaborative release Mahima, an astonishing example of his skill. Whichever approach Bhattacharya follows, he "takes the listener to a place of deep emotional expression beyond the boundaries of time" (Acoustic Guitar).

For his Columbus debut at the Wexner Center, Bhattacharya performs in a trio alongside his equally talented siblings: his brother Subhashis, the leading percussionist of his generation, and his sister, vocalist Sutapa, who matches Debashish's swift-swooping melodies note-for-note.