Ustad of Percussion: Family Confirms the Death of Tabla Legend Zakir Hussain at San Fransisco Hospital
- He won many awards during his illustrious career, including five Grammys, and was honored in India with the Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awards.
Tabla maestro and five-time Grammy Award winner Zakir Hussain has died, his family confirmed. The 73-year-old was admitted to a hospital in San Francisco where he succumbed to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He is survived by his wife Antonia Minnecola; his daughters, Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi; his brothers, Tauq Qureshi and Fazal Qureshi; and his sister Khurshid Aulia.
In a statement, his family said Hussain’s “prolific work as a teacher, mentor and educator has left an indelible mark on countless musicians,” as reported by NPR. “He hoped to inspire the next generation to go further. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy as a cultural ambassador and one of the greatest musicians of all time.”
A child prodigy who was touring by the age of 12, Hussain made his American debut in 1970 performing with Ravi Shankar at the Fillmore East in New York City. While in New York, he met guitarist John McLaughlin, and their friendship led to the formation of Shakti, a musical group that also included Indian violinist L. Shankar. Over the years, Hussain has accompanied some of the greatest Indian musicians and collaborated with such diverse performers as the London String Quartet and Van Morrison. “He defied genres and collaborated with an impressive range of musicians, including jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd, bluegrass artists Edgar Meyer and Béla Fleck, as well as rockstars George Harrison and Van Morrison,” according to NPR.
Hussain won many awards, including five Grammy Awards in his career, including three at the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year, as well as the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and Padma Shri, in 1988, becoming the youngest percussionist to be awarded these, given to civilians of merit, by the Indian government. In 1990, he was awarded the Indo-American Award in recognition for his outstanding cultural contribution to USA-India relations. In April 1991, he was presented with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the President of India, making him one of the youngest musicians to receive this recognition from India’s governing cultural institute. In 2007, readers’ polls from both Modern Drummer and Drum! magazines named him Best World Music and Best Worldbeat Drummer respectively.
He has contributed to the soundtracks of several films. He starred in the film “Heat and Dust” as well as playing music for it and was nominated for an award at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival for his musical contributions to that film. A year later, he started his own percussion ensemble, the Zakir Hussain Rhythm Experience. In 1991, he was awarded the Sangeer Natak Akademi by India’s preeminent cultural institute, and in 1996 he was involved in composing music for the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
In a review of his 2009 concert at New York City’s prestigious Carnegie Hall, The New York Times wrote that “the peerless North Indian tabla player, favors an impish strain of virtuosity. He’s a fearsome technician but also a whimsical inventor, devoted to exuberant play. So he rarely seems overbearing, even when the blur of his fingers rivals the beat of a hummingbird’s wings.”