New Delhi: Indian tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain has passed away at the age of 73 in San Francisco, USA, after battling heart-related ailments. He died on Sunday at a hospital where he had been receiving treatment.
Renowned for bringing the tabla to a global audience, Hussain was a four-time Grammy Award winner, most recently earning three Grammys at the 66th edition of the prestigious awards earlier this year.
Throughout his remarkable career, Hussain collaborated with some of the world’s most prominent musicians, including British guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L. Shankar, and percussionist T.H. Vikku Vinayakram. He was also the son of legendary tabla maestro Allah Rakha, and began his musical journey as a child prodigy, performing alongside India’s top classical musicians by the age of 12.
Hussain’s exceptional contributions to music earned him several accolades, including the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023, India’s highest civilian honors. In 1999, he was honored with the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship by the United States National Endowment for the Arts.
Beyond performance, Hussain was a prolific composer, creating scores for films and major events. He composed three concertos, including the world’s first concerto for tabla and orchestra, which was premiered in India in 2015 and performed across Europe, the UK, and the USA.
Zakir Hussain was also an esteemed educator. He conducted workshops and lectures annually, sharing his knowledge with aspiring tabla musicians. Over the years, he held residencies at prestigious institutions such as Princeton and Stanford universities, and was appointed Regents Lecturer at UC Berkeley in 2015. His yearly workshop in the San Francisco Bay Area had become a major event for tabla enthusiasts.
In addition, Hussain was the founder and president of Moment Records, an independent label dedicated to showcasing live recordings of Indian classical and world music. He served as the resident artistic director at SFJazz from 2013 to 2016, and was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by SFJazz in 2017, recognizing his immense contributions to the music world.
Zakir Hussain’s death marks the end of an era in the world of Indian classical music, leaving behind a lasting legacy that will inspire generations to come.
