[BA-NEWMUS-EVENTS:4798] Concerts Fri 3/5 & Sat 3/6: Debashish Bhattacharya, Hindustani Slide Guitar Master

[Richard Andrews]

The Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT) presents:

Debashish Bhattacharya
Hindustani Slide Guitar Master

Friday, March 5, 8 pm
and
Saturday, March 6, 8 pm

CNMAT (http://www.cnmat.berkeley.edu/)
1750 Arch Street, Berkeley
$15 general, $10 students
------------------------------------
Also, Debashish Bhattacharya presents an all-day Hindustani Slide 
Guitar Workshop
Saturday, March 6	 
9 am - 5 pm	 
CNMAT
1750 Arch Street, Berkeley	 
Contact Adrian Freed for info: adrian at cnmat.berkeley.edu
-------------------------------------

Debashish Bhattacharya (http://www.debashishguitar.com/ ) is the 
world's foremost interpreter of indian classical music on steel 
guitar. He will use each of his newly introduced Trinity of Guitars 
in these concerts. His designs combine numerous features of western 
steel guitar technology in innovative ways to provide the expressive 
range and timbral qualities necessary for traditional indian music.

"Debashish Bhattacharya's masterly performance of Raga Bhimpalasi.is 
showing Viswa Mohan Bhatt's crown is about to be stolen by young 
prince - Bhattacharya - One of the truly most lyrical musicians 
playing in any style."
---Dirty Linen, USA, September 1999

In February 2004 a master Classical musician, Debashish Bhattacharya, 
travelled to the other side of the earth from his native Kolkatta to 
pay homage to the renowned Hawaiian guitarist Tau Moe. Why would two 
obviously very different cultures share a musical history? 

The idea of stopping strings with a slide as opposed to frets (as in 
the Sitar) or fingers (as in the Sarod) is very old. 5th century AD 
Ajanti cave paintings give glimpses of a one string instrument that 
was played with a bamboo slide. By the 20th century this kind of 
instrument was no longer in widespread use although the vichitra vina 
and gottuvadyam represent relatively recent (19th century) revivals 
of the slide technique.

Although there is some argument about who really started slide guitar 
in Hawaii, there are several important accounts of one Gabriel 
Davion,  a kidnapped Indian brought to Honolulu by a sea-captain. He 
is reported to have played slide guitar in the 1880's.  Like India, 
Hawaii has a long history of assimilation and adaption of a variety 
of musical instruments from foreign sources including many kinds of 
guitars from Spain, Mexico and Portugal. These have evolved into 
unique Hawaiian forms such as the ukulele, slack-key guitar and 
(incorporating the slide) the acoustic lap steel and the electric 
steel guitar.

In 1929, Tao Moe, master of this newly developing slide guitar 
performed extensively in India and settled in Kolkatta for many 
years. The popularity of his music and teachings  resulted in a small 
but fast growing school of performers of classical Indian guitar 
music.  At the forefront of these developments is Debashish 
Bhattacharya.

Unlike his peers, Debashish from the beginning strongly believed his 
guitar should have six strings, not three or four. By doing so he was 
able to include the bass strings and exploit the complete range of 
the instrument. In 1980 he emerged with a complete design of the 
instrument and importantly mastery of the requisite technique. 
Complete with the innovative additions of side Tarab (resonating 
string), front Chikari with six main strings and three supporting 
strings his instrument was ready to accept the challenges presented 
by Raga music. He evolved and pioneered the required finger style and 
technique to enable the guitar players to explore the heights of 
articulation to the standards of Indian classical Instrumental 
recital.

Although pioneering the development of new instruments and adapting a 
rich traditional music to them is a formidable and sometimes lonely 
task, Debashish has been heartily supported in important quarters 
notably by Ali Akbar Khan. After all the Sarod is only 150-200 years 
old.

Debashish Bhattacharya will be introducing his latest Trinity of 
Guitars to  students and music lovers in workshops and concerts in 
Berkeley, California. These are:

>>  The Chaturangui, a 24-string, hollow-neck Indian classical guitar 
>>that blends the tonal resonance of several Indian instruments 
>>(including the sitar) while also keeping the original sound of the 
>>guitar.

  >> The Gandharvi, a 12-string that combines the sound of the guitar 
with Indian classical instruments.

  >> The Anandi, a four-string Debashish describes as being similar to 
a Western slide ukulele, or small lute.

"The instruments are derived from the Hawaiian steel guitar, but the 
structure and the tone has been developed in a way that it is the 
steel guitar plus something ... because if you play a foreign 
instrument in a foreign culture ... you will always be treated as a 
guest. That is what I didn't like being a guitarist -- that is why I 
have tried always to get a form of the slide guitar, which can have 
the access to the find the tradition of the style and technique of 
the instrumental technique of my country. That has been the entire 
focus of my life for the last 30 years."

     ---Debashsih Bhattacharya

This event is part of CNMAT's 2004 Guitar Innovators Series -- other 
events can be found here:
http://cnmat.cnmat.berkeley.edu/GIG/

CNMAT is located at 1750 Arch Street, Berkeley, CA and is wheelchair accessible
Map and directions: http://www.cnmat.berkeley.edu/Home/WhereisCNMAT.html
CNMAT Calendar: http://www.cnmat.Berkeley.EDU/Calendar

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