JISHNU DASGUPTA
A jazz guitarist based in Bangalore, India, Jishnu Dasgupta is part of a younger breed of jazz musicians in India, making music that is forward-looking whilst being grounded in the jazz guitar tradition of classic jazz standards.
Jishnu began his study of the guitar in 2003, beginning with learning rock guitar, and later focused exclusively on jazz guitar, developing a style that incorporates the use of extended range 8 string guitars in jazz.
Jishnu focuses on developing his own jazz guitar style as a unique voice that strengthens and expands the jazz idiom with sensitivity, clarity, and uncompromising integrity. He has played within the many different jazz guitar styles such as bebop jazz, jazz rock fusion guitar and smooth jazz guitar, and is well-known for his use of an 8 string guitar for jazz and in-depth exploration of advanced jazz chord harmony and jazz music theory in jazz standards.
With long, bop-influenced melodic lines and a horn-like approach, his jazz guitar solos have a signature style of melodic sophistication. A modern player with strong traditional roots, Jishnu is at home with straight-ahead jazz, blues, funk, fusion and more.
Jishnu got his start as a young jazz guitarist in Bangalore, cutting his teeth playing bebop jazz with Indian music scene veteran Tony Das. Since then he has performed with a number of jazz musicians in India.
A self-confessed autodidact, Jishnu’s jazz guitar youtube lessons and articles on jazz guitar theory hint at an advanced understanding of music theory. His online guitar lessons often make references to the research of Dmitri Tymoczko, the musical analyses of Heinrich Schenker, and tonal frameworks of Neo-Riemannian music theory concepts.
In 2018, as his series of video jazz guitar lessons gained recognition, Jishnu created his own online jazz guitar school — Jazz Workshop Online — with original lesson content and delivery systems to better serve his jazz guitar student base. His focus on guitar technique and organizing qualities, in addition to his composition abilities, are the foundation of Jazz Workshop Online.