Tabla player Zakir Hussain died at a hospital in San Francisco, US, his family said on Monday. He was 73. Zakir Hussain died due to complications arising from idiopathic aspiratory fibrosis, the family said in a statement. He was in the hospital for the last two weeks and was moved to the critical care unit (ICU) after his condition deteriorated. Hussain’s sister Khurshid Auliya said he passed away “extremely peacefully”. “He passed away very slowly after the ventilation machine was switched off. It was at 4 pm San Francisco time,” she told PTI. Considered the most famous tabla player of his era, Zakir Hussain is survived by his wife Antonia Minnecola and their daughters – Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi. Born on March 9, 1951, he was the son of legendary tabla player Ustad Alla Rakha. The family said in their explanation, “He is leaving behind an extraordinary legacy cherished by countless music lovers around the world, whose impact will resonate for ages to come.” In a career spanning over six decades, Hussain worked with some of the most iconic global and Indian artists, but it was his 1973 work with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar and percussionist TH ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram that brought together components of Indian classical music and jazz in an unknown blend.
He collaborated with all of India’s most infamous entertainers in his career, including Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan and Shivkumar Sharma, starting at the age of seven.
His groundbreaking work with Western artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Charles Lloyd, Bela Bit, Edgar Meyer, Mickey Hart and George Harrison brought Indian classical music to a global set of audiences, establishing him as a worldwide social ambassador.
Zakir Hussain has won four Grammy Awards in his career, three of which came at the 66th awards ceremony earlier this year.
One of India’s most celebrated classical artistes, the percussionist was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023.