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Debashish Bhattacharya's Biography 

From the age of three, Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya became fascinated with the Hawaiian guitars and his desire and passion for this instrument developed into a life long pilgrimage into creating guitars and unique playing styles. The mastery of his instrumental designs and musical techniques has brought great inspiration to the contemporary and traditional music fields. He has become a legend of slide guitar and his musical expressions continues to deeply mesmerized and uplift audiences and fellow artists all over the world. 

 

Debashish Bhattacharya is the designer and creator of his three signature patented slide guitars: Chaturangui, Gandharvi and Anandi, that have received global recognition and become very popular in the unique, enriching, and refined soundscapes each of his instruments offers. 

 

Debashish Bhattacharya follows under the lineage of his beloved gurus Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty and Late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan as well as his very special parents: Shree Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya and Shreemati Manjushree Bhattacharya, who were all a great source of love, inspiration, mentorship and encouragement for him and his creative approaches and playing styles in music.

Debashish Bhattacharya has been featured in:

BILLBOARD TOP 10

SONGLiNES MAGAZINE TOP 10

CENTRAL ASIA WORLD MUSIC TOP 10

ASIA PACIFIC WORLD MUSIC TOP 10 

AMAZON TOP 100 ALBUMS

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY

WORLD'S WHO'S WHO ENLISTED ARTIST

Debashish Bhattacharya was nominated in 2002 and 2009 for GRAMMY NOMINATIONS.

 

He has received awards from:

2016 SONGLiNES MUSIC AWARD

2007 BBC PLANET AWARD

2005 ASIATIC SOCIETY GOLD MEDAL

1984 PRESENT OF INDIA GOLD MEDAL

Among the 50 years of playing guitar, Debashish has mentored and fostered a line of young guitarists and musicians, training more than 1000 students, over 3000 of them are his direct and indirect disciples. He has inspired and changed the lives of many.

In Debashish's travels all around the world, he has received both national and international recognition. His unique approach to contemporary compositions attracted some of the greatest musicians and produced numerous World Music collaborations for the first time in the history of Indian music. He has created a new niche of Hindustani Fusion.

 

Debashish Bhattacharya has worked with internation legends such as:

American Dobro Guitarist and 12 times Grammy Winner, Jerry Douglas

African Kora Legend Ballake Sissoko

Jazz Guitar Legend John McLaughlin

Moroccan Oud Legend Driss el Maloumi

American Bluesman Bob Brozman

British Singer Martin Simpson

Australian Rocker John Butler

American Rocker Henry Kaizer

He has worked with great Indian Legends:

Late Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra

Late Mandoline U.Shrinivas

Ustad Zakir Hussain

Pandit Ravi Shankar

Pandit Swapan Chowdhury

L. Subhramanium

Ganesh Rajagopalan

Debashish Bhattacharya runs his own guitar-making workshop where he works with the finest local craftsmen in Bengal, supporting 6 Guitar Luthier families that help create his patented instruments to make available for the public.

He remains humble and a student of music who continues to seek the blessings of God to learn, grow and blossom everyday.

 

 

 

Debashish Bhattacharya's Biography (shorter verison)

Within the 50 years of studies, teaching and performances, Debashish has pioneered a new style of Hindustani slide guitar that is remarkably unique. Through his persevering nature and exhaustive research he has designed and created 3 patented signature slide guitars: Chaturangui, Gandhravi and Anandi for raga music. Debashish Bhattacharya continues to travel all over the world and his creations have attracted many musicians to study and learn from him.

His gurus: Parents Shree Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya, Shreemati Manjushree Bhattacharya, Late Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra, Late Acharya Gokul Nag, Late Acharya Maharaj Bandyopadhyay, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Late Swar Samrat Ustad Ali Akbar khan.

 

Debashish Bhattacharya has performed live and recorded with global legends: John McLaughlin, Jerry Douglas, Derek Trucks, Ballake Sissoko, Driss el Maloumi as well as Indian legends: Ustad Zakir Hussain, Late Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra, Late Mandoline U.Shrinivas to name a few.

 

Debashish's approach to raga music and his unique philosophy of teaching has become a true inspiration for many and transformed people of all different colors and backgrounds. He has played over 3000 concerts all around the world and trained over 1000 students. Debashish has redefined Indian Classical Music on the slide guitar and has created the first 16-Stages of Slide Guitar Syllabus that is aimed to help teach and train students in how to play music beyond their superficial understandings and skills and to give them a deeper and enriching learning experience that encourages them to capture the essence of soulful expression through music.

 

Debashish Bhattacharya elevated the Hindustani slide guitar to be the highest evolution of slide guitar on a global scale.

 

 

 

Factual Biography of Debashish Bhattacharya

  • Date of birth: 12-01-1963

  • Gurus and their subjects -

    Shri Sunil Kumar Bhattacharya khyal (Father)

    Smt. Manju Shree Bhattacharya khyal (Mother)

    Late Pandit Gokul Nag (Sitar)

    Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra (Guitar)

    Late Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (Sarod)

    Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty (Khyal)

  • Academic: Geography Honours (Calcutta University) 1984

  • Creation: Hindustani Classical Guitar - Chaturangui, Gandharvi, Anandi and Debangui.

  • Style Dhrupad Alap jod to khyal style Gat jhala to thumri ang.

  • Performing in AIR since the age of four.

  • First live broadcasting from Akashvani with Ustad Karamatullah Khan on tabla.

  • All Bengal music competition winner 1978. Same year he first developed Chaturangui.

  • All Bengal music competition first 1978, 79, 81 Recieved awards from stalwarts like Pandit Radhika Mohan Mitra, Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh, Acharya Shree Hirendra Kumar Ganguly and Shri Satyajit Ray.

  • Radio Competition first prize 1984.

  • Performing in India professionally since 1991.

  • Music reflects mix of Patiala, Maehar and Gwalior Gharana.

  • Wrote first Indian classical guitar syllabus in 1981.

  • Performed with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Swapan Chowdhury, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Ustad Sabir Khan, Ustad Rafiuddin Sabri, Shree Yogesh Samsi, And many more.

  • Performed more than 2000 concerts in all over the world. Specially North America Has recorded 21 albums.

  • Received BBC award 2007 and Grammy Nomination 2009. Asiatic Society gold medal 2005 and He has done more than thirty years research work which started around 1975 covering finger style of right hand, finger picking and wrist movement of the left hand to create a new world of Hindustani Raaga guitar playing..

    Out of many Twelve guitarists of India studied with that syllabus with Debashishji are performing in Akashbani/ door darshan as A grade artistes.

  • Internationally he has been in Billboard top 10 artiste, World's who's who and national geography enlisted artiste, Among Amazon's top 100 album are a few instances of his dedicated life to Guitar.

  • Contact No: + 91 98309 73333

    E-mail: debashishguitar@gmail.com

 

 

YouTube Links

Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya, Raag Shudh Sarang  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuZHRJhoEIw

Debashish Bhattacharya ~ The Brilliant Slide Guitarist  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahvMvEhUILQ

Debashish Bhattacharya, Indian Guitar + Subhasish Bhattacharya, Tabla Part 2  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEZmqLH83m8

Back to the Source by Debashish Bhattacharya, Shangri La Hawaii  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLk5iGC6Z6s

Pt. Debashish Bhattacharya and Ballake Sissoko at Fes Festival-25th May,2015  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5Q9IVNOdy4

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