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Tabla maestro and five-time Grammy Award winner Zakir Hussain passed away Sunday at a hospital in San Francisco, his family said. Hussain was hospitalised and subsequently succumbed to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
“Zakir Hussain, one of the world’s most transcendent musicians, passed away from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in San Francisco at the age of 73. He is survived by his wife, Antonia Minnecola; his daughters, Anisa Qureshi (her husband, Taylor Phillips, and their daughter, Zara) and Isabella Qureshi; his brothers, Taufiq Qureshi and Fazal Qureshi; and his sister, Khurshid Aulia.He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy cherished by countless music lovers around the globe, with an infl uence that will resonate for generations to come,” the family said in a statement Sunday, requesting privacy.
Hussain was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, Padma Bhushan in 2002, and Padma Vibhushan in 2023. “He was also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, India’s most prestigious honor for performing artists, and later the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, a lifetime honor awarded to only 40 artists at a time. In the United States, Zakir Hussain was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship in 1999 by the National Endowment for the Arts, the nation’s highest lifetime honor for traditional artists. In 2017, he was honored with SFJazz’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his ‘unparalleled contribution to the world of music.’ In 2022, he was awarded the Aga Khan Award for his “enduring contributions to the musical heritage of humanity, peerless musical mastery and sustained social impact,” the statement read.
The child prodigy — son of tabla master Ustad Allarakha also won the Grammy in the Contemporary World Music Album category in 2009. He is well-known for his collaborations with several Western musicians, including The Beatles.
At the 66th Grammy Awards this year, he became the first Indian to win three trophies in a single night.
Zakir Hussain, the son of legendary tabla master Ustad Allarakha, is widely regarded as the greatest Tabla player of this generation. Hussain collaborated with some of the greatest Indian performers of all time, including Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan and Shivkumar Sharma.
He also brought Indian classical music to an international audience through his collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Charles Lloyd, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Mickey Hart, George Harrison, and John McLaughlin.
His mastery of rhythm allowed him to cross borders freely and create authentic connections between different genres of music.
The tabla maestro was a prolific composer, creating concerts, scoring for films, and collaborating with dance companies such as Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet and The Mark Morris Dance Group.
“His prolific work as a teacher, mentor, and educator has left an indelible mark on countless musicians. He hoped to inspire the next generation to go further. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy as a cultural ambassador and one of the greatest musicians of all time,” the statement added.
