ZAKIR Hussain, the exuberant maestro of tabla who once called the instrument his “mate, brother and friend” and embodied the universality of music in his 60-year career, died in a San Francisco hospital early Monday. He was 73. Hussain, the globally recognised musician and one of India’s most celebrated, was suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease, his family said in a statement. Confirmation of the death of the music legend -- who cruised through genres, be it western or jazz, with the same ease and mastery with which he drummed out rhythm and magic from the tabla -- came after hours of fevered speculation on social media. The tabla virtuoso had been in hospital for the last two weeks and was shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after his condition deteriorated. “He passed away peacefully after the ventilation machine was switched off. This was 4 pm San Francisco time (5.30 am Monday, IST),” Hussain’s sister Khurshid Aulia told PTI.

 

Regarded as the greatest tabla player of his generation, Hussain is survived by his wife Antonia Minnecola and their daughters, Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi. “He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy cherished by countless music lovers around the globe, with an influence that will resonate for generations to come,” the family said in a statement. The last rites will take place either on Wednesday or Thursday, they said. Born on March 9, 1951, Hussain was the son of all-time tabla great Ustad Alla Rakha. The legacy of genius was perhaps destined. Hussain once recalled that his father recited “tabla rhythms” in his ears when he was born instead of the usual prayers. His mother was livid and then life took on its own trajectory.

 

He was just seven when he gave his first performance and started touring at the age of 12. In his early career, Hussain went on to collaborate with virtually all of India’s performers of the time, including Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan and Shivkumar Sharma. As news spread about the death of the loved musician, a distinctive figure with his broad smile, curly locks that kept rhythm with the rapid, blurry movement of his fingers on the tabla, the tributes poured in. Expressing his condolences to Hussain’s family, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge called him a “cultural ambassador who bridged borders and generations with his mesmerising rhythms”. Hussain, pivotal in moving the tabla from an accompanying instrument to centrestage, told PTI last year that music is his world. “It is the garb I wear. Tabla is a mate, it is a brother, a friend, it’s the bed I sleep in. My father always said that each instrument has a spirit and half the battle if you are a student is to get that spirit to accept you as a mate, as a friend and once that happens then the instrument reveals how you should react to it, how you should touch it and express yourself through it,” Hussain said.

 

Through his long career, the percussionist was at the front of innovation and experimentation in fusing different sounds from different worlds. He collaborated with several renowned international and Indian artists but it was his 1973 project Shakti with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar and percussionist T H ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram that brought together Indian classical music and elements of jazz in a hitherto-unknown fusion. His groundbreaking work with Western musicians such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, jazz musician Charles Lloyd, banjo player Bela Fleck, bassist Edgar Meyer, percussionist Mickey Hart and The Beatles’ George Harrison brought Indian classical music to an international audience, cementing his status as a global cultural ambassador. Hussain received four Grammy Awards in his career, including three at the 66th awards ceremony earlier this year. And, in fact, was planning a series of concerts in Mumbai early next year as part of the fusion band ‘Shakti’, for which he got one of his Grammys. The percussionist, who was also a composer and dabbled in acting, received the Padma Shri in 1988, Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023.

 

“The King, in whose hands Rhythm became Magic, has left us... RIP my dearest Zakir. We will meet again,” Shakti founding member John McLaughlin said on Instagram. Other in the music fraternity, including A R Rahman, Shreya Ghoshal, Kamal Sabri, Amjad Ali Khan, remembered Hussain as a true legend, a phenomenon and a rare talent who gave tabla a global identity. “I am completely heartbroken and devastated to hear about Zakir Bhai. Ustad Zakir Hussain was a phenomenon. He was indeed one of the most loved musicians the world saw,” Khan said. “One of the greatest musicians and personalities India has ever produced,” Grammy-winning musician Ricky Kej wrote on X. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta credited Hussain for bringing “an accompanying instrument to the forefront”.

 

“The maestro, Ustad Zakir Hussain passed away a few hours ago. Goodbye Ustad ji. The man who made the tabla sexy, who brought an accompanying instrument to the forefront is gone,” Mehta said, recalling the “Wah Taj” ad for the Taj Mahal tea brand. Besides his work as a tabla player, Hussain also composed music for many movies, including “Mr and Mrs Iyer”. He also acted in the Merchant Ivory film production “Heat and Dust”, “The Perfect Murder” and “Saaz”, opposite Shabana Azmi.