Zakir Hussain: A global citizen rooted in the Indian ethos

A brilliant child, Zakir Hussain was not guided by his teacher-father. They were allowed to grow wings and explore new shores. Illustration: Sai

A global citizen rooted in the Indian ethos, maestro Zakir Hussain left a mark when he spun thought-provoking stories from the tinkling sound of a simple drum set and composed music to bind a fragmented world in harmony. His conversation style was full of spontaneity. Natural flow defined his music and personality. Mr. Hussain will impress purists, enthrall world music lovers, and indulge fans of cinematic music with equal delight in his creative ecstasy.

Like her carefully designed free-flowing hairstyle, the versatile artist will execute intricate rhythms, complex patterns and subtle dynamics and move on objects such as the sound of traffic signals and the gait of a deer without stopping.

In keeping with the technology, he experimented with frequencies to highlight the subtle colors of the instrument to establish that Tabla It is not only a rhythmic instrument but also has a distinct melodic quality.

Ustad Alla Rakha, who is credited with taking Indian classical music to foreign shores along with Pandit Ravi Shankar, believed that every instrument had a distinct feeling. Mr. Hussain befriended Tabla At the age of three and by the time he reached adolescence, the instrument had become the basis of his life and perhaps an extension of his personality. This came to the fore in his stage performances when his demeanor alternated between that of a devotional artiste and that of a rock musician. After watching him play, he couldn’t see how to play. Tabla As a dance in classical music. Mr Hussain took his father’s legacy to the next level by adding a touch of ostentation and expanding the wealth inherited from the Punjab house. A keen learner and listener, Mr. Hussain was like a sensitive satellite in orbit as an accompanist, shining like a blazing star in his solos, and reserving a meteor’s adventurous streak for creating fusion music.

A brilliant child, Mr. Hussain was not guided by his teacher-father. They were allowed to grow wings and explore new shores. By the age of 19, Mr. Hussain was teaching at the University of Washington before joining Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s College of Music in San Francisco, where he met his classmate Antonia Minnecola. Another chance meeting in New York led to his lifelong association with the celebrated English guitarist John McLaughlin. Their friendship led to the formation of the groundbreaking Shakti Band in 1973, which included violinist L. Shankar and percussionist TH Vinayakram. He blends Hindustani and Carnatic classical music with Western jazz influences.

Mr. Hussain’s willingness 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 visited with his father’s contemporaries Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan and shared a special bond with them Santoor Instrumentalist Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, flautist Hari Prasad Chaurasia, and Sarangi Veteran maestro Sultan Khan. their Jugalbandi Will start as sweet banter and then turn into meditation.

Fusion was never foreign to Mr Hussain as he grew up hearing stories of Amir Khusro mixing Indian traditions. Dhrupad And Haveli Music To make with Sufi Qaul careAs a young composer, he watched his father and colleagues contribute to Hindi film music, drawing liberally from diverse musical streams. When Mr. Hussain used to act, he was fond of film music. Tabla For Laxmikant Pyarelal’s first venture parsimoniousHe later composed music for films like Ismail Merchant MuhafizAparna Sen’s Mr and Mrs Iyer,Rahul Dholakia’s Parzaniya, and Nandita Das Mantoits meaningful sound Tabla Provides layers to storytelling in international productions such as those by Francis Ford Coppola Apocalypse Now And recently Dev Patel’s monkey ManHe also acted in productions such as Merchant-Ivory heat and dust And of Sai Paranjape instrument,

However, it was a television commercial that made him a household celebrity in the late 1980s when he brought classical music into the mainstream by endorsing a tea brand. Tabla On Taj Mahal. combination of “Wah TajAnd young Mr. Hussain’s curly hair and charming smile, along with the resonance of his playing, ensured the immortality of the brand.

Fame did not diminish his humility and age did not diminish his curiosity. For Mr. Hussain, music was an endless journey. Every time someone tossed out the word perfection, he would respond, “I didn’t play well enough to give it up.”