Kauai's The Power of Music series presents the Indian-fusion slide guitar maestro Debashish Bhattacharya and his trio in their only Kauai appearance, 7PM Sunday, November 5, at Church of the Pacific in Princeville. Advance tickets for the concert are available by emailing info@steelgrass.org, or by calling (808) 821-1857. Visit Debashish's website: www.debashishbhattacharya.com

Born in Calcutta, Debashish Bhattacharya started learning Indian music from his parents before he learned the alphabet. In his childhood he mastered many Indian classical instrumental and vocal styles, and was accepted as a disciple and student of Brij Bhushan Khabra, the father of Indian classical guitar. He received additional training from Ajoy Chakraborty, the eminent Indian vocalist, and from sarod master Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

As a performer, Debashish evolved a unique style of playing, synthesizing features of other Indian instruments into his innovative Hindustani slide guitar. Perfected through years of research and experimentation, this consists of a Hofner acoustic F hole guitar, with a total of 22 strings. Debashish added a platform of wood running the length of the guitar's neck, which extends the width of the neck, making room for twelve sympathetic strings, and five supporting strings for additional versatility. Above the five conventional (sliding melody) strings, there is a pair of ckikari strings, as on a sitar. One of Debashish's many innovations was to move them to the treble side of the guitar, which enables far more complex playing, since their rhythmic drones can be played by the fingers, over other melodies simultaneously. Debashish plays this guitar while sitting cross legged, with the guitar held on the lap and played with a small steel bar, metal picks and a celluloid thumb pick.

Debashish's trio, which includes tabla, tamboura and vocals, has collaborated widely with musicians around the world. Their work with American guitarist Bob Brozman has resulted in two "World of Slide" tours of the USA and Canada, plus a European tour and recordings with John McLaughlin and his latest incarnation of Shakti.