Zakir Hussain musical genius – a tribute

Ustad Zakir Hussain passed away on December 15^th, 2024, aged 73. He was one of the greatest musicians of the generation; a significant contributor to world music through collaborations with George Harrison, Van Morrison, Earth Wind and Fire and many others including Mahavishnu John McLaughlin in both Shakti and Remember Shakti. Zakir Hussain also joined with Grateful Dead drummer Micky Hart to form Planet Drum. More recently, he played in the marvellous Crosscurrents Trio with jazz legends Dave Holland and Chris Potter.

Hussain won three Grammys in 2024 for his collaboration with Béla Fleck on the album As We Speak. The track Motion was awarded the Grammy for best instrumental. In 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024 he won the Downbeat Critics’ award for best percussionist. Hussain was awarded the United States National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship, India’s prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Japan’s Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy among many other distinctions.

Hussain appeared in the classic Merchant Ivory movie Heat and Dust as well as working on the score. He appeared on numerous albums with such luminaries as L Shankar, Shivkumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia.

From infancy Zakir learned from his father Alla Rakha, the best-known tabla player of his generation. Alla Rakha can be seen with sitarist Ravi Shankar on videos of the famous festivals at Monterey and Woodstock. Two of Zakir Hussain’s brothers – Fazal Quereshi and Taufiq Quereshi – are also renowned percussionists.

Hussain absorbed the many different tabla forms of India. He brought an expressiveness to the tabla previously unknown. Indian Classical music is a highly developed tradition that differs in many ways from the European system. Hussain was among the small number of players who managed to successfully and beautifully combine these traditions.

I had the great good fortune of seeing Zakir Hussain twice. He was stunning. When he was unable to play at an L Shankar concert, his father Alla Rakha sat in for him, which meant I had the privilege of seeing the greatest tabla player of the previous generation.

I’ve played kit drums and percussion since I was fifteen (a long time ago!). I even spent a couple of years learning the basics of tabla and understanding that this is the most subtle of percussion instruments. Hussain was the perfection of tabla. An equal in innovation to Paganini, Jimi Hendrix or Segovia.

Zakir Hussain had a rare presence. He quite simply sparkled. When I saw him, he exuded good cheer. It was an amazing experience watching him call out beats before playing them in duo with his long-term collaborator claypot player Vikku Vinayakram. I think John McLaughlin captured the essence of this wonderful man in the piece Zakir a version of which can be found on Hussain’s album Making Music with McLaughlin, bansuri flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and eminent Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek.

The documentary Zakir and His Friends gives insight into the magical presence and remarkable musicality of this wonderful man and shows the high esteem in which his fellow musicians held him.

Zakir Hussain left us an amazing legacy. I am grateful that he lived, and my sympathies are with those who were close to him.

Recommended listening:

Zakir Hussain: Making Music

L Shankar: Nobody Told Me, Pancha Nadai Pallavi and Who’s to Know

Shivkumar Sharma: Rag Madhuvanti and Rag Misra Tilang

Remember Shakti: Saturday Night in Bombay

Zakir Hussain and Ustad Alla Rakha: Tabla Duet

Crosscurrents Trio: Good Hope

Béla Fleck: As We Speak

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakir_Hussain_(musician)

Zakir Hussain website