Legendary tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain has passed away in the United States. He was 73 years old. Today (December 16, Monday), the family of Zakir Hussain confirmed the news of his death.
The family mentioned that he had been undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital in San Francisco, USA, where he passed away. Zakir Hussain had been suffering from various health issues related to blood pressure for a long time.
His manager, Nirmala Bachani, told Indian media that Zakir Hussain had been admitted to the hospital two weeks ago due to a lung-related illness.
The news of Zakir Hussain’s death spread on Sunday night, and many people expressed their condolences on social media. Several media outlets, including Times of India, The Hindu, NDTV, and others from India and abroad, reported the news. According to an Anandabazar report, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also expressed her sorrow.
Later, Zakir Hussain’s sister Khurshid Aulia told the Indian news agency PTI, “At this moment, my brother is seriously ill. We request all his admirers in India and worldwide to pray for his recovery.”
Zakir Hussain was a legendary artist of Indian classical music. He was the first son of legendary tabla maestro Alla Rakha and was born in 1951 in Mumbai, India. He began learning the tabla from his father at the age of 3 and performed his first concert with him at the age of 12. From there, his fame spread across India. Later, the world witnessed how he beautifully blended Eastern and Western music through his musical artistry.
Zakir Hussain moved to the United States in 1970. In 1973, he gained significant recognition for his work on renowned American guitarist George Harrison’s album Living in the Material World. After that, he collaborated with many famous musicians such as John McLaughlin, Mickey Hart, Bill Laswell, Van Morrison, Joe Henderson, and others.
For most of his career, Zakir Hussain was deeply rooted in Indian classical music. Along with his solo career, he accompanied legendary musicians such as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Shiv Kumar Sharma, and Kathak dance guru Birju Maharaj, all of whom are icons in their fields.
In 1992, Zakir Hussain founded the music production company Moment Records. Through this label, he released works by renowned artists of Indian classical music and world music. In 2006, the album Golden String of the Sarod released by Moment Records was nominated for a Grammy Award. Zakir Hussain has been honored with several prestigious Indian awards, including Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan. Earlier this year, he received the prestigious Grammy Award in World Music.
Most recently, Zakir Hussain was working as a member of the Shakti band, which is led by vocalist Shankar Mahadevan. The band also features Ganesh Rajagopalan on violin, V. Selvaganesh on percussion, and John McLaughlin on guitar. The album This Moment was released on June 30, 2023, and won the Grammy Award for “Best Global Music Album” at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.
During the Bangladesh Liberation War, Ustad Zakir Hussain’s father, Alla Rakha Khan, was one of the organizers of the “Concert for Bangladesh” held in the United States. Zakir Hussain visited Bangladesh several times and performed at the classical music festival organized by Bengal in 2015 at Dhaka’s Army Stadium.