Døre kl 20 / koncert kl 21

Guitar-mester fra Hindustan drager på tranceskabende rejse ind i den spirituelle jazz sammen med to fremragende polske jazzmusikere. Projektet JOY!Guru har høstet massive kritikerroser og kommer nu til ALICE. Bemærk, at koncerten er siddende og med begrænset plads. 

Debashish Bhattacharya, der stammer fra Hindustan-regionen i det nordlige Indien, er en af de helt store navne inden for indisk musik, og en instrumental-pioner, der har defineret sin helt egen lyd. 

Allerede som 4-årig blev han dybt fascineret af Hawaii-guitaren og andre former for slide guitar. Denne dybe kærlighed har han taget med sig ved at udvikle op til flere special-designede guitarer og spilleteknikker, der forener amerikanske slide-guitar traditioner og klassisk indisk musik. Ligesom hans tre patenterede guitarer Chaturangui, Gandharvi og Anandi (hans såkaldte “trinity of guitars”) forener vestlige og østlige traditioner - således har Debashish Bhattacharya også i sit musikalske virke bygget bro mellem traditioner i samarbejder med vestlige musikere fra jazz- og blues-traditionen. Han har også samarbejdet med navne som den vestafrikanske kora-spiller Ballake Sissoko og den marokkanske oud-mester Dris El Maulumi.

Med sin nye trio JOY!Guru teamer han op med to fremragende polske jazzmusikere: Wojtek Traczyk (kontrabas) & Hubert Zemler (trommer). Deres fælles album “Chaturangui Express” fra sidste år begejstrede kritikerne og fik bl.a. en Top of the World-placering i Songlines. Trioen udforsker arven fra 70ernes spirituelle jazz og fusionsmusik med både elementer af modaljazz, tranceskabende ragaer og selvfølgelig masser af hypnotisk indisk slide-guitar fra den store mester. 

Debashish Bhattacharya kunne opleves på Roskilde Festival i 2017. En “hypnotiserende tour de force” skrev Undertoner bl.a om den koncert. Og mon ikke man kan se frem til en lignende ekstatisk oplevelse på ALICE, når Debashish Bhattacharya optræder med JOY!Guru.

In English:

You’ve probably never seen or heard instruments like these. The hindustani slide guitar is the creation of Debashish Bhattacharya whose creation pairs his first love – a Hawaiian lap steel guitar, a gift from his father when he was only 3 – and the sounds ff india. In fact, he’s made three of them: a 24-string, hollow-neck chaturangui, the 14-String gandharvi and the anandi, a four-string slide ukulele. Grammy awarded Debashish Bhattacharya has been officially recognised as a pandit (master musician) since the age of 40 (he’s now 53) and acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest slide guitarists. Bhattacharya’s music incorporates a good deal of north indian (hindustani) classical music, but you can also hear the blues pouring out from his stunning instruments. Bhattacharya’s guitars are infinitely subtle vehicles employing microtonal scales and intricate patterns alternating brief, lightly touched notes and long, sustained slides. 

Just like his instruments build bridges between Eastern and Western influences, so Bhattacharya is known to create remarkable fusions in his music, often collaborating with musicians from the jazz- and blues-world. In his recent project, JOY!Guru, he has teamed up with two excellent Polish musicians - Wojtek Traczyk (double bass) & Hubert Zemler (drums) to explore a mutual fascination with the spiritual jazz of the 70s. An era in which masters from India and great jazz musicians from the West met for the first time. Their album, released in 2018 by Unzipped Fly Records, won second prize in the competition for the folk phonogram of the year of the Polish Radio; has been nominated to German Record Critics’ Award, and got the Top of the World mark from british Songlines Magazine.

In 2017 Debashish Bhattacharya did a mesmerizing show at Roskilde Festival. It’s a great pleasure to present him at ALICE with his new exciting project, a trio which will undoubtedly lead the audience into a state of trance.

Please note that the concert is seated with a limited amount of tickets.