Zakir Hussain: A global citizen rooted in Indian ethos

A child prodigy, Zakir Hussain was not regimented by his teacher-father. He was allowed to develop wings and explore new frontiers. Illustration: Sai

A global citizen rooted in Indian culture, Master Zakir Hussain blazed a trail when he created music to bind a fragmented world in harmony, drawing out illusory narratives from the percussive sound of a humble drum set. His conversational style resonated with a spark of ease. A natural flow defined his music and personality. Mr. Hussain will impress purists, enthrall world music seekers, and indulge cinema music fans with equal delight in his creative delights.

Like his carefully designed free-flowing hairstyle, the versatile artist will execute complex rhythms, complex patterns, and subtle dynamics and move to objects such as the sounds of traffic signals and the walking of deer without pause.

In tune with technology, he experimented with frequencies to highlight the subtle nuances of the instrument to be installed. Tabla Not only a rhythmic instrument, it also has a distinct melodic quality.

Ustad Alla Rakh, credited with taking Indian classical music to foreign shores along with Pandit Ravi Shankar, expressed his belief that every instrument has its own soul. Befriended Mr. Hussain Tabla At three years old and well into adolescence, this instrument became a muse for his life and perhaps an extension of his personality. It came to his stage performance when his demeanor switched between that of a devotional artist and a rock musician. No one could see him play after watching him play Tabla As a work in classical music. Mr. Hussain took his father’s legacy to the next level by adding a touch of showmanship and expanding the wealth inherited from the Punjab gharana. A keen learner and listener, Mr Hussain was like a responsive satellite as a companion in class, shone like a blazing star in his solos, and had a meteoric adventurous streak reserved for creating fusion music.

A child prodigy, Mr Hussain was not regimented by his teacher-father. He was allowed to develop wings and explore new frontiers. By 19, Mr. Hussain was teaching at the University of Washington before enrolling at Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s College of Music in San Francisco where he met his friend Antonia Minecola. Another chance meeting in New York led to a lifelong bond with legendary English guitarist John McLaughlin. Their friendship led to the formation of the groundbreaking Shakti Band in 1973 with violinist L. Shankar and percussionist TH Vinayakram were included. They blended Hindustani and Carnatic classical music with Western jazz influences.

Mr. Hussain’s desire to experiment led to rewarding collaborations with George Harrison, Irish singer Van Morrison, American percussionist Mickey Hart, Latin jazz percussionist Giovanni Hidalgo, and Grateful Dread lead singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia. He shared a special relationship with his father’s contemporary Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan. Santoor Ustad Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, flute player Hariprasad Chaurasia and the fiddle The legendary Ustad Sultan Khan. their Jugalbandi Start as a melodious banner and then move on to meditation.

Fusion was never strange to Mr. Hussain as he grew up hearing stories of how Amir Khusrau blended Indian traditions. Dhrupad and Haveli music Along with creating Sufi Qaul take care. As a young composer, he watched his father and colleagues contribute to Hindi film music that was liberally drawn from various musical streams. Mr. Hussain had his brush with film music when he played Tabla For Laxmikant Parelal’s first venture Parsamani. Later he composed music for films like Ismail Merchant MuhafizAparna Sen Mr. and Mrs. IyerRahul Dholakia’s Perzania, and of Nandita Das Manto. His meaningful voice Tabla International productions like Francis Ford Coppola gave layers to the storytelling Apocalypse Now And now Dev Patel’s monkey man. He has also acted in productions such as Merchant-Ivory heat and dust and of Sai Paranjape Saj.

However, it was a television commercial that made him a household figure in the late 1980s when he played and promoted a brand of tea, bringing classical music into the mainstream. Tabla At the Taj Mahal. combination of “wow taj!” and the resonance of young Mr. Hussain’s curly locks and charming smile ensured brand immortality.

Fame has not dampened his humility and age has not dampened his curiosity. Music was an endless journey for Mr. Hussain. Every time someone tossed out the word perfection, he would retort, “I didn’t play well enough to quit.”