Calcutta Slide-Guitar

Album review

Debashish Bhattacharya, rapidly gaining fame for his amazing abilities on the slide guitar after some well-publicized performances with Bob Brozman, among others, is also known for his innovative instrument design. This album focuses on his "Trinity of Guitars," three of his favorite designs that revolve around a common link between generations of music while remaining entirely different. The album starts out with a short composition based in "Raga Mishra Shiva Ranjani" on the small anandi, a slide ukulele that gives Bhattacharya the ability to show off the speed of his picking style. A longer exploration of "Raga Tilak Kamod" is done with the Ghandarvi guitar, created to sound like a guitar, a veena, and a sarangi depending on how it's played. The finale is notable for his abilities. For the ultimate in complexity, however, the final three pieces are based in "Raga Basant Mukhari," run off a high-speed teental, and use the Chaturangui guitar, a 22-string behemoth with sympathetic strings, chickaree strings, and a tone reminiscent of the Hawaiian slide. Bhattacharya explores the raga thoroughly, giving the old masters a run for their money. For guitar aficionados and Indian classical aficionados alike, this one's worth a spin or three.

© Adam Greenberg /TiVo