Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor, and composer (1951–2024)
Zakir Hussain (Hindi: ज़ाकिर हुसैन, Urdu: ذاکِر حسین; 9 March 1951 – 15 December 2024) was an Indian musician, renowned in playing the tabla, an Indian percussion musical instrument. A child prodigy playing at the age of five he evolved to become the reigning king of tabla players. He was also musical producer, film actor and composer. He had rendered unforgettable solo as also many fusion music with other famous artists. He has 145 albums to his credit with Indian and western artists. He had also scored music for films and television serials. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, and Padma Bhushan in 2002. He was also recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990. He also received the United States National Endowment for the Arts's National Heritage Fellowship award in 1999.
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From being made to wait in the kitchen to becoming the cynosure of attention and interacting with the who’s who has been a big leap. Music is no longer something that ‘respectable people’ keep children away from. We’ve had corporate czars and barons like Arvind Parekh and Brijbhushan Kabra taking to music.
As a child I remember accompanying Abbaji to private mehfils in the homes of the ‘beautiful people.’ While they wined and dined, musicians would wait in the kitchen and only come out when summoned. I personally remember bringing back large Tiffin carrier|tiffin carriers with left-over food as honorarium.
I usually do field work before I sit down to play with somebody; in other words I go listen to them play in a concert, listen to their music, tapes, whatever, so that when I sit down with them, I have a vague idea what their temperament is about and what kind of musical patterns they enjoy playing. Solo, I am the captain of the ship, and I decide what I will play and dictate the pace of the show.