Opinion | Zakir Hussain: The Maestro And His Magic
Music lovers will remember Zakir Hussain for the body of work he has left behind — and for transporting them to a zone of pure joy when they watched him perform on the stage
Great music creates unforgettable memories. One such memory takes me back to an early afternoon spent inside an apartment in Nepean Sea Road, Mumbai, in the mid-1990s. I sat in silence that day, watching three musicians play the percussion instrument on the balcony: the father Ustad Allah Rakha Qureshi, and two of his sons, Zakir Hussain and Fazal Qureshi. Having visited the apartment to write a piece on the illustrious family, I consider myself fortunate to have experienced those moments years ago.
After the tabla session ended, Hussain continued to talk about music before leaving for the film shoot of Sai Paranjype’s Saaz in which he had an acting role. I told him about a couple of albums featuring his work I had heard recently. One of them was Planet Drum, a world music studio album conceptualised by the Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. The other was Eye Catcher, a new wave album by The Epidemics led by violinist L Shankar. “You liked both?" he asked. “I liked Planet Drum more," I said. He stared at me and smiled without saying a word. That is my last memory from that day — one that comes to mind after the news of his passing.
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Ustad Allah Rakha Qureshi, Hussain’s legendary father who often accompanied sitar virtuoso Pandit Ravi Shankar on the tabla, left this world in 2000. Now, his eldest son has bid goodbye, creating a void not only in the world of Hindustani classical music but music in general. Uniquely accomplished, versatile and blessed with a star’s appeal, Hussain’s craft transcended geographical boundaries and charmed music lovers from all over the world.
Taught by his father, he carved his distinct identity in the six decades that followed. The list of renowned musicians he collaborated with is a long one, including names like santoor player Shiv Kumar Sharma, flautist Hari Prasad Chaurasia, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and Latin jazz percussionist Giovanni Hidalgo. He symbolised pure mastery, in his solo performances, as an accompanist, a part of a band, and also in a large musical ensemble.
Classical music listeners marvelled at the consummate ease with which he played complex rhythm patterns in the traditional Indian form, with the most casual among listeners applauding his enviable skill when he played, for instance, a ‘rela’ that reminded of the sound of a fast-moving running train or a running horse — he explained the nature of the sound produced by the ‘rela’ to his audiences — so effortlessly. And, world music lovers were fascinated by his contributions to cross-genre collaborations such as the album As We Speak, a critically acclaimed work by banjo player Bela Fleck, double bassist Edgar Meyer, Hussain and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia. Incidentally, As We Speak won a Grammy this year for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, with Pashto, one of the inclusions, winning the second for Best Global Music Performance.
Guitarist John McLaughlin, L Shankar, ghatam player TH ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram and Hussain co-founded Shakti, a fusion band, in 1973. Long after Natural Elements, their 1977 album, the band released This Moment, their third studio album with their new line-up: percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram, vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan, McLaughlin and Hussain. This Moment, which won a Grammy Award this year for the Best Global Music Album, was described by Ian Patterson of All About Jazz as “Splendid stuff it is too. Instantly recognisable as Shakti, yet with fresh sounds, as one might hope and expect from such a pioneering band — the band that, as many would have it, invented World Music before the term was born." The signature of Hussain’s mastery created several memorable moments in the work.
Hussain composed music for a few films, among them Shaji N Karun’s Vanaprastham (1999), Aparna Sen’s Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002) and Ismail Merchant’s In Custody (1993) and The Mystic Masseur (2001). He also appeared on the screen in acting roles, debuting with James Ivory’s Heat and Dust (1983). He was the face of Taj Mahal Tea’s widely popular 1980s advertising campaign with its unforgettable tagline: Wah Taj!
Music lovers will, however, remember him for the body of work he has left behind — and for transporting them to a zone of pure joy when they heard him play on the stage.
The writer, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature, cinema and pop culture. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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