17.12.2024 | Artist
Tabla master Zakir Hussain has died, aged 73. An artist important both for his lifelong commitment to Indian classical music and for the bridge-building work between the genres that made him a pioneer of a transcultural global idiom, he leaves behind a rich legacy. “Everybody wants to play with Zakir Hussain,” Herbie Hancock once said. “He is able to transcend cultures and national borders.”
As Zakir saw it: “I work in a world dominated by musicians and creative artists who don’t think twice about who prays in a church, mosque or temple. That has never been the issue. The same applies to artists in India.”
Born in Mahim, Mumbai, in 1951, Zakir was the son of the innovative tabla player Alla Rakha who had effectively introduced the instrument to the wider world through his collaborations with sitarist Ravi Shankar and sarod player Ali Akbar Khan. Zakir studied with his father from the age of three, first joined him on stage at seven, and was himself playing professionally by the time he was 12.
Based in the US from the early 1970s, Zakir, following in his father’s footsteps, was principal accompanist to Ali Akbar Khan for eleven years. In parallel he began working with musicians from the west, including Mickey Hart and John McLaughlin – long-term associations in both cases – and playing sessions with a wide range of musicians, from John Handy to George Harrison.
He first came to ECM in 1980 for Who’s To Know an unconventional exploration of Indian classical music with L. Shankar on electric double violin, followed in 1984 by Song for Everyone with Shankar, Jan Garbarek and Trilok Gurtu. Whether playing in a more or less traditional context or with improvisers from non-Indian backgrounds, the signature qualities of Zakir’s often thrilling playing stood out: “What do I bring to the tabla? I think it is openness and clarity,” he reflected. “What I present must make sense, whether that involves a heart-to-heart interaction between musical instrument and musician, or zero hesitancy in the thought process, or not worrying about the parameters. Your musical statement must be created with as much clarity as possible. “
Zakir’s 1986 album Making Music was the modestly-titled first recording he’d made as a leader, and a major statement in what was now being called world music, bringing together three of his favourite players – Garbarek, McLaughlin and bansuri flute master Hariprasad Chaurasia – for a rippling and flowing programme of non-denominational music-making.
In 2004 Zakir joined forces with Charles Lloyd and drummer Eric Harland in the trio Sangam, whose ECM debut documents a live performance at a memorial concert for Billy Higgins. “Everything Zakir plays has this feeling of freedom and authenticity about it,” said Eric Harland at the time. “No matter where you go, he is able to be right there in the centre of it with the full force and flavour of his musical identity.”
The recipient of numerous classical awards in India, as well as international prizes in world music categories, in 2017 Zakir also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Francisco Jazz Centre. In his acceptance speech, he expressed his gratitude but noted that he was still on his musical journey, the next step yet to be taken. He recalled a line from Robert Frost’s poetry: “Miles to go before I sleep.”
