Ustad Zakir Hussain, the legendary tabla master and composer, has died at the age of 73 following complications from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a representative confirmed following conflicting reports.
Born on March 9th, 1951 in Mumbai, India, Zakir Hussain was the eldest son of tabla maestro Ustad Alla Rakha. Under his father’s guidance, he began his musical journey early. After studying at St. Michael’s High School and graduating from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai, he went on to blend tradition with innovation, sharing the beauty of Indian classical music around the globe and playing on a number of popular albums including George Harrison‘s Living in the Material World (1973), John Handy‘s Hard Work (1973), Van Morrison‘s Into the Music (1979), Earth, Wind & Fire‘s Powerlight (1983), and John McLaughlin‘s records with Shakti.
Later, while captivating audiences with his virtuosic performances in the realm of Indian music, he continued to break new ground with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. After first collaborating on Hart’s solo albums Rolling Thunder (1972) and At the Edge (1990), their revolutionary Planet Drum project brought together drummers from diverse traditions and won the first-ever Grammy Award for Best World Music Album in 1992. Their partnership spanned decades and included tours and a followup album, Global Drum Project, which won the Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music Album in 2009. Just two years ago, they reunited for In the Groove and performed with Bob Weir & Wolf Bros.
Hussain’s contributions as a composer and performer also included soundtracks for acclaimed films like Vanaprastham, In Custody, The Mystic Masseur, Apocalypse Now, and Little Buddha.
His achievements have earned him recognition and a plethora of prestigious awards. Among them were India’s Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 2018. The United States honored him with the National Heritage Fellowship in 1999, and he won four Grammy Awards, including three in 2024 for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (As We Speak), Best Global Music Album (This Moment), and Best Global Music Performance (“Pashto”). In recent years, he taught at both Stanford University and Princeton University, where he was named an Old Dominion Fellow by the Humanities Council.
Hussain’s musical accomplishments and groundbreaking collaborations stand as a testament to his ability to build bridges across traditions and cultures, cementing his legacy as a global ambassador of Indian classical music and a world music pioneer.
He is survived by his wife, Kathak dancer and teacher Antonia Minnecola, their daughters Isabella Qureshi and Anisa Qureshi, and his granddaughter Zara.