Renowned tabla player Zakir Hussain died at a San Francisco hospital, his family said on Monday. The family said in a statement that Hussain died of complications from “idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.” He was 73 years old.
Hussain was hospitalized for the last two weeks. He was admitted to the ICU after his condition deteriorated. Zakir Hussain, son of famous tabla player Ustad Allah Rakha, was born on March 9, 1951.
He is considered among the greatest tabla players of his generation. He is survived by his wife Antonia Minnecola and his daughters Anisha Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi.
“He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy cherished by countless music lovers around the world, whose impact will last for generations to come,” the family said in a statement.
In his career spanning six decades, Hussain worked with many renowned international and Indian artists, but joined forces with guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L Shankar and percussionist TH ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram in 1973, combining elements of Indian classical music and Western jazz music. The fusion was greatly appreciated.
Hussain started playing the tabla at the age of seven and went on to work with almost all the eminent musical artists of India, including legends like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan and Shivkumar Sharma.
His groundbreaking collaborations with Western musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, Charles Lloyd, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Mickey Hart and George Harrison brought Indian classical music to an international audience.
Hussain has won five Grammy Awards in his career, three of which came at the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year. Hussain, one of India’s most renowned classical musicians, was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023. As soon as information about Hussain’s demise was received, celebrities expressed their condolences on social media.
