| Brij Bhushan Kabra | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1937 (age 74–75) Jodhpur, British Raj |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Instruments | lap slide guitar |
| Associated acts | Debashish Bhattacharya[1] |
Brij Bhushan Kabra (born 1937) is an Indian musician who popularized the guitar as an instrument in Indian classical music.[1]
Kabra was born 1937 to Goverdhanlal Kabra in Jodhpur where he spent his youth.[2][3] He was interested in sports and listened to Indian classical music, but did not intend to become a musician and trained as a geologist.[3] During a visit to Kolkata he discovered the Hawaiian lap slide guitar and convinced his father to allow him to learn it by promising to only play classical music.[3] Kabra then lived in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, learnt the instrument by imitating records, and later studied under Ali Akbar Khan.[3] He modified the guitar by adding sympathetic and drone strings.[4]
Kabra became the first Indian musician to play raga on the guitar, performed publicly, and recorded the successful album Call of the Valley (1967) with santoor player Shivkumar Sharma in 1960.[3][5] The guitar was seldom used in Indian classical music and his guitar playing gained popularity in the 1970s hippie culture.[6] Kabra recorded solo albums and concentrated on teaching since the 1990s, but continued to perform.[2][3] He was awarded the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 1983–84, was made a fellow of the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi for 1995–96, and received the national Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for 2005.[7][8]