EGN NEWS DESK
NEW DELHI — Zakir Hussain, one among India’s most completed classical musicians who defied genres and launched tabla to world audiences, died on Sunday. He was 73.
The Indian classical music icon died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a persistent lung illness, at a hospital in San Francisco, his household mentioned in a press release.
“His prolific work as a teacher, mentor and educator has left an indelible mark on numerous musicians. He hoped to encourage the following era to go additional. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy as a cultural ambassador and one of many biggest musicians of all time,” the assertion learn.
Hussain was probably the most recognizable exponent of tabla, a pair of hand drums that’s the foremost percussion instrument in Indian classical music.
Considered the best tabla participant of his era, Hussain had a profession that spanned six many years through which he collaborated with the likes of singer-songwriter George Harrison, jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd, drummer Mickey Hart and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
The son of legendary tabla artist Alla Rakha, Hussain was born in 1951 in Mumbai and was taught the right way to play the instrument by his father on the age of seven. A toddler prodigy, he was touring by age 12 and performing alongside India’s classical music legends throughout his teenagers.
In an interview that was shared broadly on social media in India, Hussain says his father welcomed him into the world after he was born by talking tabla rhythms into his ears.
“I used to be introduced residence, handed over to my dad in his arms. The custom was that the daddy is meant to recite a prayer within the child’s ear … So he takes me in his arms, places his lips to my ear and recites the tabla rhythms into my ears,” Hussain says within the interview, verbally imitating the rhythmic sample of the instrument.
Both Alla Rakha and Hussain got the honorific “Ustad,” an Urdu phrase which means grasp.
In 1973, Hussain shaped the Indian jazz fusion band “Shakti” with jazz guitarist John McLaughlin. The band performed acoustic fusion music that mixed Indian music with components of jazz, introducing a brand new sound to Western audiences.
In 2024, Hussain grew to become the primary musician from India to win three Grammy awards in the identical yr.
Hussain’s Shakti gained Best Global Music Album, and his collaboration with Edgar Meyer, Béla Fleck and flutist Rakesh Chaurasia gained Best Global Music Performance and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. He had earlier gained a Grammy in 2009.
In 2023, Hussain obtained the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to as Hussain a “true genius who revolutionized the world of Indian classical music” and “an icon of cultural unity.”
“He additionally introduced the tabla to the worldwide stage, fascinating thousands and thousands along with his unparalleled rhythm,” Modi wrote in a publish on social platform X.
Hussain is survived by his spouse and two daughters.
