Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain passed away in the United States on Sunday. He was 73. Hussain was admitted to the ICU of a San Francisco hospital with heart related problems, his friend and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia had told PTI earlier on Sunday. Hussain is hailed as the maestro who took the tabla to the global stage.
He had been having blood pressure issues, added Hussain’s manager Nirmala Bachani.
The eldest son of legendary tabla player Allah Rakha, Hussain followed in the footsteps of his father, becoming a marquee name in India and across the world. Hussain has received five Grammy Awards in his career, including three at the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year.
In his career spanning six decades, the musician has worked with several renowned international and Indian artistes, but it was his 1973 musical project with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar, and percussionist TH ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram that brought together Indian classical and elements of jazz in a fusion hitherto unknown.
The percussionist, one of India’s most celebrated classical musicians, received the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023.
