Hussain, Zakir << hoo SAYN, zah KIHR >> (1951-…), is an Indian musician, composer, and bandleader. He is considered one of the greatest living players of the tabla, a traditional drum of India . The tabla consists of a pair of small drums played with the fingers or with the entire hand. Hussain has performed concerts around the world with many Indian musicians, including the famous sitar musician Ravi Shankar and the great sarod musician Ali Akbar Khan . A sitar is an Indian string instrument with a long neck. A sarod is an Indian string instrument that looks like a lute . In 1991, Hussain collaborated with the American percussionist Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead rock band on Planet Drum. The recording became the first to win a Grammy Award for best world music album. In 2009, Hussain, Hart, and others won a Grammy Award for best contemporary world music album for Global Drum Project. Hussain has also performed many solo tabla concerts.
Zakir Hussain was born on March 9, 1951, in Mumbai. He is the son of the great tabla musician Ustad Alla Rakha. Ustad is a title that means respected teacher. Hussain began playing the tabla as a child. He performed his first professional concert at age 12. In 1970, Hussain made his American debut as an accompanist for Ravi Shankar. In 1973, Hussain became the leader of the Tal Vadya Rhythm Band. Hart joined the band in 1975, and it was renamed the Diga Rhythm Band. The group released one album, Diga (1976).
In 1974, Hussain founded the group Shakti with the British guitarist John McLaughlin and the Indian violinist Lakshminarayana Shankar (also known as L. Shankar or simply Shankar). The group recorded the albums Shakti (1975), A Handful of Beauty (1976), and Natural Elements (1977). Shakti disbanded in 1978 but reunited in 1997. The group, renamed Remember Shakti, toured and released several albums. In 1987, Hussain released his critically acclaimed debut album, Making Music. In 1999, he helped found an experimental group of Eastern and Western musicians called Tabla Beat Science. It features the American bassist Bill Laswell, the Indian American tabla musician and producer Karsh Kale, and others. The group has released a number of successful recordings.
Hussain has also performed on recordings by many other performers, including the British rock musician George Harrison , the Northern Ireland singer Van Morrison, the Latin music percussionist Tito Puente , and the American cellist Yo-Yo Ma .
Hussain has composed music for a number of motion-picture sound tracks, including Heat and Dust (1983), in which he also acted; In Custody (1994); Vanaprastham (1999); The Mystic Masseur (2001); and Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), in which he also sang. He has also played the tabla on the sound tracks of a number of motion pictures, including Apocalypse Now (1979) and Little Buddha (1993). Hussain established his own record label, Moment Records, in 1991.
