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Zakir Hussain, one of the world’s greatest tabla players, has died at the age of 73.<\/p>\n
The Indian classical music icon died of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease, at a hospital in San Francisco, his family said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Hussain was a four-time Grammy award winner and has received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award.<\/p>\n
Through his performances, he transformed the tabla into a globally loved solo instrument that was the star of the show.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The tabla – a pair of drums used in Indian classical music – was historically viewed as an accompaniment to the main performance.<\/p>\n
As news of Hussain’s death broke, tributes have begun pouring in.<\/p>\n
Nayan Ghosh, who plays the sitar and tabla, called the news “devastating” and said that his association with Hussain went back 60 years to their childhood.<\/p>\n
“He was a pathbreaker, a game-changer, an icon who put tabla and Indian music on the world map by transcending the boundaries of genre and inspiring generations of artistes,” he told the BBC.<\/p>\n
English guitarist John McLaughlin – who performed with Hussain in the band Shakti – described him as “the King, in whose hands, rhythm became magic”. Grammy winning composer Ricky Kej called him “one of the greatest musicians and personalities India has ever produced”.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “a true genius who revolutionised the world of Indian classical music”. <\/p>\n
Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi said Hussain’s death was “a great loss for the music world”, while the US embassy in India said he was a “true maestro” and would be “forever in our hearts”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Born in Mumbai in 1951, Hussain began training under his father Ustad Allarakha Khan, a tabla maestro himself.<\/p>\n
Hussain described growing up in an “atmosphere of music 24 hours a day”. By age seven, he was performing in concerts alongside his father.<\/p>\n
“From the age of seven, I sat on the stage with Abba whilst he played with so many greats. It was a lived experience for me, and it allowed me to absorb all that I had heard over the years,” he told Nasreen Munni Kabir, his biographer, in 2018.<\/p>\n
As a teenager, he got an opportunity to perform with legendary Indian sitarist and composer Pandit Ravi Shankar. By 19, he was playing <\/a>more than 150 concerts a year<\/a>, <\/a>both in India and internationally.<\/p>\n As his footprint grew, he contributed to the soundtracks of several films, performed solo and collaborated with artists on the global stage. <\/p>\n His 1992 album Planet Drum with drummer Mickey Hart won a Grammy in the inaugural category of the “Best World Music Album”. He also performed with legendary artists like George Harrison of the Beatles, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Van Morrison.<\/p>\n Hussain went on to earn seven Grammy nominations, winning four of them.<\/p>\n Speaking to the BBC in 2016 about his global popularity, he said, “this is music’s appeal, not mine. I am a worshipper of music, who presents it in front of people.”<\/p>\n Biographer Nasreen Munni Kabir noted that in his later years he became “one of the most sought-after accompanists to the very best of Hindustani classical musicians and dancers”.<\/p>\n But in the last 20 years, he had stopped accompanying the big names, instead playing mostly with younger musicians, music writer Shailaja Khanna told the BBC.<\/p>\n He used his star status to push younger Indian musicians on to the global stage, she said. <\/p>\n “Because of him younger people were willing to pay 2,000 to 3,000 rupees ($23.59 to $35.38; \u00a318.62 to \u00a327.93) for a ticket which is very unusual for classical performances.”<\/p>\n Hussain had previously spoken of his own “good fortune” when it came to his musical career.<\/p>\n “I am one of those musicians who came at the cusp of a great change in the music world and I was carried on that wave,” he explained. <\/p>\n “I had the good fortune of establishing a very unhurried relationship with music, and at the same time, the wave took me places.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n