Mridangam Balakumar Paramalingam

Indian classical music on slide guitar and violin. His playing embodies the unmistakable serene, rich sound of classical Indian music. Yet he plays an instrument that is rooted in an entirely different culture: the slide guitar. Pandit (‘scholar’) Debashish Bhattacharya has enjoyed praise from both sitar player Ravi Shankar and guitar guru John McLaughlin. Now he shares the stage with Ambi Subramaniam, ‘the new king of Indian classical violin’ (The Times of India). The ensemble of these masters traverses the diverse landscape of Indian music, ranging from subtle meditative passages to breathtakingly fast ones brimming with exhilarating tonal bends. Through his lifelong dedication to crafting his own slide guitar variations, Debashish Bhattacharya brings about innovation. Ambi Subramaniam has been compared to violinist Itzhak Perlman, who approached the European classical world with similar innovation and curiosity.