Musical maestros
Zakir Hussain Allaraka Qureshi was born March 9, 1951, in Bombay, India. He is the son of
Ustad Allah Rakha Khan, a well-known Indian tabla player. Zakir started playing the tabla as
soon as he could reach across the drums. His study with his father was intensive: "You grow up
in the atmosphere of music 24 hours a day," he said, "and you don't have to do anything else."
Hussain began playing concerts by age seven and started touring at 12.
The tabla was developed in the fourteenth century to accompany vocal, instrumental, and dance
music and is composed of two drums. One is called dayan (right), madeen (female), or tabla; the
other is called bayan (left), duggi (male), or dhama. To play the tabla, the musician rests the
instrument on the floor and sits behind it in a straight or bent position. He plays the left drum
with his left hand and the right drum with the right hand. The left drum is made of wood, clay, or
copper hollowed out from the inside. Its shell is bored out of a single block of wood. The right
drum is usually hollowed out of black wood. The bottom is broader than the top. Both are
covered with skin fastened to leather straps, which are stretched over the body of drums by
leather braces. These straps can be pulled to raise or lower the pitch
The tabla is deeply rooted in Indian tradition. Hussain is known as an innovator but sees a need
to balance innovation with continuity: "You have to stay very close to your tradition, but also be
able to inject some of what the world has to offer. It is time for Indian music to look outside
rather than just to have the outside world borrow from Indian music."
Hussain made his American debut performing with Ravi Shankar at the Fillmore East in New
York City. While in New York, he met guitarist John McLaughlin, and their friendship led to the
formation of Shakti, a musical group that also included Indian violinist L. Shankar. Over the
years, Hussain has accompanied some of the greatest Indian musicians and collaborated with
such diverse performers as the London String Quartet and Van Morrison.
His 1992 album with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, Planet Drum, earned a Grammy
Award and the Downbeat Critics Poll for best world beat album. He has contributed to the
soundtracks of several films. He starred in the film Heat and Dust as well as playing music for it
and was nominated for an award at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival for his musical contributions
to that film. A year later, he started his own percussion ensemble, the Zakir Hussain Rhythm
Experience. In 1991, he was awarded the Sangeer Natak Akademi by India's preeminent cultural
institute, and in 1996 he was involved in composing music for the opening ceremonies of the
Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
