The Master of Slide Guitar

Playing otherworldly Hindustani slide licks on instruments of his own invention, Debashish Bhattacharya connects East to West in a fusion that's earned him raves from John McLaughlin and Americana Dobro icon Jerry Douglas.

- JIMMY LESLIE

DEBASHISH BHATTACHARYA IS truly a player's player. It's not unusual for guitarists to heap praise on their pals, but when luminaries gush like an atmospheric river, one must pay attention to what they say, and Bhattacharya inspires an impressive array of artists. His 2013 album, Beyond the Ragasphere, featured world jazz maestro John McLaughlin and Americana Dobro icon Jerry Douglas, and both are passionate in their praise.

"Debashish is the master of the slide guitar," McLaughlin proclaims. "From his soulful playing in the introductions to his compositions, to the brilliance of his up-tempo playing, he has no equal. A must for all guitarists!"

Douglas adds that Bhattacharya is "at the forefront of a new body of Indian slide players. His sense of melody is uncanny, and he has all the tools and history to back it up. Debashish has no peer in the depth of his technique and it is very obvious that he has put in the time listening to the masters that came before him. Now he is putting it all to good use on this new recording."

The Sound of the Soul (Abstract Logix) features four transcendent, all-acoustic tracks, and players of all styles can learn a lifetime's worth of lessons by immersing themselves. Playing in a lap-steel style on singular instruments he created for himself, Bhattacharya offers an enticing escape from Western worries and the trappings of familiar guitar tropes. Derek Trucks is perhaps the most iconic example of how studying Eastern players can help players transform a style. By examining the music of masters, including one of Bhattacharya's mentors, sarod guru Ali Akbar Khan, Trucks took down-and-dirty bottleneck blues to mystical heights.