Ustad Zakir Hussain (9 March 1951 – 15 December 2024) was an Indian tabla player, composer and percussionist, widely regarded as the greatest tabla player of his generation. The son of the tabla master Alla Rakha, he was a child prodigy who went on to accompany India’s finest classical musicians and to collaborate with jazz, rock and world musicians across the globe. He won four Grammy Awards and received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Zakir Hussain Allarakha Qureshi |
| Born | 9 March 1951, Bombay (now Mumbai), India |
| Died | 15 December 2024, San Francisco, United States (aged 73) |
| Instrument | Tabla |
| Father | Ustad Alla Rakha |
| Education | St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai |
| Spouse | Antonia Minnecola |
| Children | 2 (Anisa and Isabella) |
| Honours | Padma Shri (1988), Padma Bhushan (2002), Padma Vibhushan (2023) |
| Known for | Tabla solos, Shakti, Planet Drum |
Early Life
Zakir Hussain was born in Mumbai, the eldest son of Ustad Alla Rakha, the tabla player who accompanied Ravi Shankar for many years. His father began teaching him when he was a small child, waking him before dawn to practise. He gave his first public performances as a boy and was touring by the age of twelve. He studied at St. Michael’s High School in Mahim and St. Xavier’s College.
Career
By his late teens Hussain was accompanying leading classical artists, including Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Shivkumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia. His speed, clarity and playful stage presence helped turn the tabla from an accompanying instrument into one that could hold a concert on its own.
Hussain moved to the United States in 1970. In 1973 he formed the group Shakti with the English guitarist John McLaughlin, the violinist L. Shankar and the ghatam player T. H. “Vikku” Vinayakram, mixing Indian classical music with jazz. He worked with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead on Planet Drum (1991), an album that won the first Grammy Award for Best World Music Album, and later with artists such as George Harrison, Yo-Yo Ma, Béla Fleck and Charles Lloyd.
He composed music for films including In Custody (1993), Vanaprastham (1999) and Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), and acted in Heat and Dust (1983) and Saaz (1998). In India he was also known to millions from a 1980s tea advertisement with the line “Wah Taj!”.
At the 2024 Grammy Awards Hussain won three awards in one night, including Best Global Music Album for Shakti’s This Moment, the most ever won by an Indian musician at a single ceremony.
Personal Life and Death
Hussain married Antonia Minnecola, a Kathak dancer and his manager, and they had two daughters, Anisa and Isabella. He lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and taught at universities including Princeton and Stanford. He died in San Francisco on 15 December 2024 from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease. He was 73.
Awards and Honours
Legacy
Zakir Hussain made the tabla familiar to audiences who had never heard Indian classical music, and he inspired a generation of percussionists in India and abroad. His brothers Fazal Qureshi and Taufiq Qureshi are also noted percussionists.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Zakir Hussain born?
Zakir Hussain was born on 9 March 1951 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India.
When did Zakir Hussain die?
Died: 15 December 2024, San Francisco, United States (aged 73).
What is Zakir Hussain known for?
Known for: Tabla solos, Shakti, Planet Drum.
What honours has Zakir Hussain received?
Padma Shri (1988), Padma Bhushan (2002), Padma Vibhushan (2023).
Featured image: Ustad Zakir Hussain at the Jagjit Singh Music Festival, February 2016. Photo by Ashveta Budhrani, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
