JOY! Guru

JOY!Guru is a collaborative project between the Bengali slide guitar legend Debashish Bhattacharya, who plays his own 22-string instrument, the Chaturangui, and leading Polish alternative jazz musicians: drummer Hubert Zemler and double bassist Wojtek Traczyk. The album, reminiscent of the 1970s, was recorded in a single, all-night analog recording session at Abbey Road, Polish Radio's S4 studio.

It's worth noting that all the compositions were created live, without any arrangements prior to recording. The result is an improvised narrative about the meeting of two musical traditions, East and West, told in the language of trance blues, modal jazz, Hindustani raga, and Hawaiian music.

Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya, a pioneer of the Indian sidle guitar, has been nominated for a Grammy Award twice. A student of Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, and Brij Bhushan Kabra, with whom he lived and trained for 10 years. Fascinated by the Hawaiian lap steel guitar, he created his own version of this instrument, sonically reminiscent of traditional Indian instruments – the sarod and sitar. During his career spanning over fifty years, he has collaborated with many great artists, including John McLaughlin, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Srinivas, and Bob Brozman.

Wojtek Traczyk – Polish double bassist, composer, and graduate of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. A jazz musician seeking his own musical language, he collaborates with numerous artists from the independent music scene, including Gaba Kulka, Marcin Masecki, and Wacław Zimpel. His solo projects for prepared bass lean toward improvisation and contemporary music.

Hubert Zemler – drummer, composer, and graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. He has performed with symphony orchestras (National Opera, Sinfonia Varsovia), collaborated with renowned jazz musicians (including Zbigniew Namysłowski and Wojciech Staroniewicz), and co-founded numerous important initiatives in the Polish independent music scene. He is also an interpreter of contemporary music and the author of critically acclaimed solo percussion concertos.

Tracklist:

1. Here comes the moon king
2. Night Rider
3. Midnight raga
4. Chaturangui Express
5. Alice
6. From Hawaii with Love
7. Red Moon over Warsaw