Purbayan Chatterjee is an Indian sitar

Sitar

The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...

 player and composer who lives in Kolkata, India. He is noted for amalgamating traditional Indian classical music

Indian classical music

The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...

 with contemporary world music genres.

Early life and career

Chatterjee is the son of Indian sitar player Parthapratim Chatterjee and Susmita Chatterjee. He studied at Calcutta Boys' School

Calcutta Boys' School

Calcutta Boys' School was founded by the Rev. James Mills Thoburn , and was opened in 1877...

 and did his graduation in English Literature from Presidency College, Kolkata

Presidency College, Kolkata

Presidency University, Kolkata, formerly Hindu College and Presidency College, is a unitary, state aided university, located in Kolkata, West Bengal. and one of the premier institutes of learning of liberal arts and sciences in India. In 2002 it was ranked number one by the weekly news magazine...

.

When he was 12 years old, he gave his first sitar recital in Switzerland. He was taught by his father Parthapratim Chatterjee, a disciple of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Chatterjee has designed the DWO, which is a doppelganger of the Indian sitar.

He has performed as a solo artist and as a part of the groups Shastriya Syndicate and Stringstruck. He is also a vocalist and has performed in duet with Shankar Mahadevan

Shankar Mahadevan

Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:...

 (Dwo - from the album Stringstruck).

Purbayan's music has been appreciated by jazz artists Chick Corea

Chick Corea

Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...

, Béla Fleck

Béla Fleck

Béla Anton Leoš Fleck is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.-Early life and career details:Fleck was born in...

, and Pat Metheny

Pat Metheny

Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...

, who describes him as an "outstanding musician".. He has performed several times with tabla

Tabla

The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...

 artist Ustad Zakir Hussain.

Awards

Chaterjee was a recipient of the President of India Award for being the Best Instrumentalist of the country at the age of 15. He has also received the Aditya Vikram Birla Award for excellence and contributions to the field. He has also been honoured with the Rasoi Award by Rotary International

Rotary International

Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...

 in 1995.

Discography

• Horizon - by Peshkar Music Germany
• Nirman - By Sense World Music UK
• Samwad - By Sense World Music UK (duet with violinist Kala Ramnath) - Songlines World Music Magazine Top Of The World (Top ten)
• Rasayana - By Sense World Music UK (duet with flautist Shashank) - Songlines Top Of The World)
• Taalash - By Sense World Music UK
• Rising Stars Magical Fingers - by HMV
• Singing Sitar - by Virgin Records India
• Lehar - Times Music (Purbayan's group Shastriya syndicate - The First Indian Classical Band ) Top of the charts for 6 months (Planet M charts and rhythm house charts)
• Purbayan - Times Music with Pt Anindo Chatterjee tabla
• Stringstruck - Times Music - Awarded Best World Music Album at Iraa Palm Expo 2009 - featuring Shankar Mahadevan, Taufiq Qureshi, Rakesh Chaurasia, Atul Raninga

The album Lehar released by Times Music in 2008 has remained the bestseller for a year and a half.

Shankar Mahadevan has performed the title song Dwo in Chaterjee's fusion album Stringstruck, released by Times Music. The number has also been compiled in the album Aman ki Asha, an Indo-Pak peace project released by Times Music and has also received the Palm IRAA Award for the Best World Music Album of the Year.

Performances

Chatterjee has performed in the following venues:

• Queen Elizabeth Hall
  Queen Elizabeth Hall
  The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
  
  , London
• Sydney Opera House
  Sydney Opera House
  The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
  
  
• Ted Baxter Hall, Capetown
• Konzerthaus, Berlin
• Esplanade Theatres, Singapore
• Adelaide Festival Centre
  Adelaide Festival Centre
  The Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre, was built in 1973 and opened three months before the Sydney Opera House. The Festival Centre is located approximately 50 metres north of the corner of North Terrace and King William Street, lying near the banks of the River...
  
  
• Theatre de la Ville, Paris
• Salle Gaveau, Paris
• Palais de Beaux Arts, Brussels

He has also performed in the following music festivals:

• Bath International Music Festival
  Bath International Music Festival
  The Bath International Music Festival, also known as the Bath Music Fest, is held each summer in Bath, South West England. Inaugurated in 1948, the festival includes many genres such as orchestral, contemporary jazz, folk and electronica...
  
  , UK
• Brighton Festival
  Brighton Festival
  The Brighton Festival is an annual arts festival which takes place in the city of Brighton and Hove in England each May. It was founded in 1966, and is the largest multi-art form festival in England...
  
  , UK
• WOMAD, UK
• Fishguard International Music Festival, UK
• International Music Symposium, Germany
• Millenium Festival WDR Koln, Germany
• The Port Fairy Folk Festival, Australia
• The North Sea Jazz Festival, Capetown
• World Music Festival, Chicago