Born in 1963, Debashish Bhattacharya is one of the most famous Indian musicians of our times, one who has - with the slide guitar he created himself - opened a new chapter in the interpretation of classical Indian music. In the course of his 50-year-long career, he has taken the stage more than 3,000 times and, as the only guru of the slide guitar in existence, has given indispensable guidance to students from all over the world at his music school in Kolkata. He has collaborated with such stars of world music and jazz as John McLaughlin, Jerry Douglas, Ballake Sissoko, Bob Brozman and Ustad Zakir Hussain, achieving extraordinary success - including two Grammy nominations - with his traditional and fusion records alike. Mahima, Calcutta Slide-Guitar, Vol. 3, Calcutta Chronicles, Slide Guitar Ragas from Dusk Till Dawn and Hawaii to Calcutta are all now indelible foundations of the genre.
On his most recent album, he plays in a trio alongside two noted figures of contemporary Polish jazz: drummer Hubert Zemler and double bassist Wojtek Traczyk. The music on JOY!Guru, which was released in 2018, was recorded over the course of a single night - without any previous coordination or arrangement - in Warsaw, with their attention to each other's playing running so hot they were able to transcend space, time and genre. Shining brilliantly alongside the Indian ragas are jazz, blues and Hawaiian music, in the the lofty heights were East and West are inseparable from each other. These extraordinary moments are sure to be repeated at the Festival Theatre.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest