The world bids a heartfelt farewell to the legendary Tabla virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain, who breathed his last at the age of 73 in a hospital in San Francisco, United States of America, on 16th November 2024. As per reports, complications arising out of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis caused his demise, and after the deterioration of his condition during his stay at the hospital over the past couple of weeks, doctors shifted him to the intensive care unit. Hussain’s sister, Khurshid Aulia, stated that the legend passed away very peacefully after the doctors switched off the ventilation machine.
Ustad Zakir Hussain, born on March 9, 1951, was the son of the legendary Tabla maestro Ustad Allah Rakha. Starting his musical journey at the tender age of seven, Hussain collaborated with legendary artists worldwide during his six-decade musical career. Alongside his collaboration with iconic legends such as Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, and Shivkumar Sharma, his work with international artists such as Charles Lloyd, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Mickey Hart, George Harrison, etc., took Indian Classical music to a global audience, thereby making him one of the pioneers to bridge the gap between the music of the East and the West.
Here’s more about Ustad Zakir Hussain’s legendary musical project and the awards he has won in his career!
Even though Zakir Hussain has worked with several Indian and international artists, one of his most groundbreaking works happens to be his 1973 project, ‘Shakti’ in collaboration with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar, and percussionist TH ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram because this musical project brought Indian Classical music and Jazz together in a fusion never thought about or heard before.
Talking of awards and accolades, Zakir Hussain, one of the most celebrated Indian Classical musicians, has received the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023, and he is also a four-time Grammy Award Winner, wherein he received the first one in the year 2009 and the next three together at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards earlier this year.
A massive loss for the global music fraternity, Zakir Hussain leaves behind an exceptional legacy cherished and treasured by innumerable musicians and music enthusiasts worldwide and an influence that will resonate through generations.
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