Early life
Hussain was born in Mumbai, India to the legendary tabla player Ustad Alla Rakha[1]. He attended St. Michael's High School in Mahim, and graduated from St Xaviers, Mumbai.[2] His younger brothers are a noted percussionists, Taufiq Qureshi and Fazal Qureshi.
Musical career
As he was the elder son of famous musician Alla Rakha, Hussain was a child prodigy, and was touring by the age of twelve. He went to the United States in 1970, beginning his international career which includes more than 150 concert dates a year. [3].
A prolific composer, he has received widespread recognition.
Hussain is a founding member of Bill Laswell's 'World Music Supergroup' Tabla Beat Science.[4]
Hussain participates in the Silk Road collaborative musical project. [1] He teaches Tabla to advanced students in both San Francisco and Mumbai. Zakir participates in the Global Drum Project with percussionists from around the world.
In 1992, Hussain founded Moment! Records, which features original collaborations in the field of contemporary world music, as well as live concert performances by great masters of the classical music of India. The label presents his own world percussion ensemble, The Rhythm Experience, both North and South Indian classical recordings, Best of Shakti and the Masters of Percussion series. Moment Records’ 2006 release Golden Strings of the Sarode, with Aashish Khan and Zakir Hussain, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album category for that year.
John McLaughlin collaborations
Hussain worked with John McLaughlin on several Indo-Jazz projects, beginning with their collaboration in the band Shakti (band) on the albums Shakti (album) (1975 Columbia), A Handful of Beauty (1976 Columbia), and Natural Elements (1977 CBS). McLaughlin later appeared on Zakir's album Making Music. Twenty years later, they rejoined in the band Remember Shakti, recording the albums Remember Shakti (1999 Universal Records), The Believer (2000 Universal Records), Saturday Night in Bombay (2001 Universal Records), Live at 38th Montreux Jazz Festival (18 July, 2004), and Live at Miles Davis Hall (8 July, 2004). They also appeared in the DVD The Way of Beauty. Both bands performed live both in the U.S. and abroad as recently as 2008 [5].
Mickey Hart collaborations Hussain has collaborated with Mickey Hart on many projects, beginning with Hart's first solo album Rolling Thunder, and including Diga, At The Edge, Planet Drum, Mickey Hart's Mystery Box, Supralingua, Spirit into Sound, and Global Drum Project.
He has been part of several of his bands including the Diga Rhythm Band, Planet Drum, Bembe' Orishas, and the Global Drum Project. These projects have brought him together with such masters of world percussion and music as Sikiru Adepoju, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Babatunde Olatunji, and Giovanni Hidalgo.
The first Planet Drum album, released in 1991 on the Rykodisc label, went on to earn the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album. The Global Drum Project album and tour brought Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo together again in a reunion sparked by the 15th anniversary of the ground-breaking album Planet Drum. The album Global Drum Project has won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album at the 51st Grammy Awards Ceremony held on 8 February 2009.[6]
Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer collaborations
When Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer were asked to compose a triple concerto by the Nashville Symphony, they both named Hussain as their first choice for the third member. The piece, titled The Melody of Rhythm; Concerto premiered on September 9, 2006 with Leonard Slatkin conducting the Nashville Symphony. The trio composed several more songs together and included both the concerto and additional works on a CD released in 2009 entitled The Melody of Rhythm - Triple Concerto & Music for Trio (2009 E1 Music). On the recording, the orchestral parts are performed by the The Detroit Symphony Orchestra with Leonard Slatkin once again holding the baton. The liner notes indicate the trio has more projects in mind for the future. [7]
Film career
Hussain starred in the Merchant Ivory Film Heat and Dust in 1983, for which he also composed the score. He composed, performed and acted as Indian music advisor for the film Vanaprastham[8], a 1999 Cannes Film Festival entry which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival (AFI Fest) in 1999, and won awards at 2000 Istanbul International Film Festival (Turkey), 2000 Bombay International Film Festival (India), and 2000 National Film Awards (India). He has composed soundtracks for several movies, most notably In Custody and The Mystic Masseur by Ismail Merchant, and has played tabla on the soundtracks of Francis Coppola's Apocalypse Now, Bernardo Bertolucci's Little Buddha, and other films.[9]
He starred in several films specifically showcasing his musical performance both solo and with different bands, including the 1998 documentary "Zakir and His Friends"[10], and the documentary "The Speaking Hand: Zakir Hussain and the Art of the Indian Drum" (2003 Sumantra Ghosal)[11]. He also performs in the DVDs The Rhythm Devils Concert Experience (2008), and The Way of Beauty (2006) with the band Remember Shakti.
Personal life Zakir Hussain married Antonia Minnecola, a Kathak dancer and teacher, who is also his manager[12].
He was named an Old Dominion Fellow by the Humanities Council at Princeton University, where he resided for the 2005–2006 semester as full professor in the music department[13]. He was also a visiting professor at Stanford University[14].
Discography
Global Drum Project (2007) – Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, Giovanni Hidalgo - Shout Factory Soukha - V. Selvaganesh (with John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, Vikku, Shrinivas) - Naive
->Sangam (2006) - Jazz collaboration with bandleader Charles Lloyd. ->Maestro's Choice Series One - Alla Rakha & Zakir Hussain (2005) ->Punjabi Dhamar (2004) ->Raag Chandrakauns (2004) ->Live at 38th Montreux Jazz Festival (18 July, 2004) - Remember Shakti ->Live at Miles Davis Hall (8 July, 2004) - Remember Shakti ->The Best of Mickey Hart: Over the Edge and Back (2002) – Mickey Hart ->Selects (2002) ->Saturday Night in Bombay (2001) - Remember Shakti (Universal Records) ->Tala Matrix (2000) – Tabla Beat Science ->Spirit into Sound (2000) – Mickey Hart ->The Believer (2000) - Remember Shakti ->Remember Shakti (1999) - Remember Shakti ->And the Rhythm Experience (1998) ->Supralingua (1998) – Mickey Hart ->Essence of Rhythm (1998) ->Magical Moments of Rhythm (1997) ->Kirwani (1997) ->Mickey Hart's Mystery Box (1996) – Mickey Hart ->Raga Aberi (1995) - Shankar ->Jog And Rageshri (1994) ->Music of the Deserts (1993) ->Flights of Improvisation (1992) ->The One and Only (1992) ->Planet Drum (1991) – Mickey Hart ->At the Edge (1990) – Mickey Hart ->Tabla Duet (1988) ->Making Music (1987) ->Morning Ragas (1979) with Vasant Rai ->The Apocalypse Now Sessions - Rhythm Devils (1979) Rykodisc ->Natural Elements (1977) - Shakti with John McLaughlin ->A Handful of Beauty (1976) - Shakti with John McLaughlin ->Diga (1976) – Diga Rhythm Band ->Shakti (1975) - Shakti with John McLaughlin ->Rolling Thunder (1972) – Mickey Hart ->Shanti (1971) ->Evening Ragas" (1970) Vasant Rai
Filmography ->The Rhythm Devils Concert Experience (2008 – DVD) – The Rhythm Devils ->The Way of Beauty (2006 - DVD) - Remember Shakti ->The Speaking Hand: Zakir Hussain and the Art of the Indian Drum (2003) Sumantra Ghosal) ->Zakir and His Friends (1998) ->Heat and Dust (1983) Merchant Ivory Film
Soundtracks ->One Dollar Curry (2003) - Vijay Singh ->The Mystic Masseur (2001) - Ismail Merchant ->Vanaprastham (1999) - Shaji N. Karun ->Little Buddha (1993) - Bernardo Bertolucci ->In Custody (1993) - Ismail Merchant ->Apocalypse Now (1979) - Francis Coppola
Awards and accolades ->Awarded the titles of Padma Shri in 1988, and Padma Bhushan in 2002, becoming the youngest percussionist to be awarded these titles, given to civilians of merit by the Indian government. ->Awarded the Indo-American Award in 1990 in recognition for his outstanding cultural contribution to relations between the United States and India. ->Presented with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1991 by the President of India, making him one of the youngest musicians to receive this recognition from India's governing cultural institute. ->In 1992 Planet Drum, an album co-created and produced by Hussain and Mickey Hart, was awarded the first-ever Grammy for Best World Music Album, the Downbeat Critics’ Poll for Best World Beat Album and the NARM Indie Best Seller Award for a World Music Recording. ->Recipient of the 1999 National Heritage Fellowship, the United States’ most prestigious honor for a master in the traditional arts, presented by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at the United States Senate on September 28, 1999[15]. ->In 2005, he was named an Old Dominion Fellow by the Humanities Council at Princeton University, where he resided for the 2005–2006 semester as full professor in the music department, teaching a survey course in Indian classical music and dance. ->Recipient of the prestigious Kalidas Samman in 2006, an award for artists of exceptional achievement, from the government of Madhya Pradesh. ->Golden Strings of the Sarode (Moment! Records 2006) with Aashish Khan and Zakir Hussain was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional World Music Album category in 2006. ->In 2007, readers’ polls from both Modern Drummer and Drum! magazines named Zakir Hussain Best World Music and Best World Beat Drummer respectively. ->On 8 February, 2009 for 51st Grammy Awards, Zakir Hussain won the Grammy in the Contemporary World Music Album category for his collaborative album "Global Drum Project" along with Mickey Hart, Sikiru Adepoju & Giovanni Hidalgo.[16]
Interview ->Zakir Hussain Radio InterviewOFFBEAT with Karishmeh - 103.2 Dublin City FM, Ireland, Zakir Hussain in conversation with Karishmeh Felfeli (June 2009, Dublin City FM)
->Masters of Percussion: An Interview with Zakir Hussain - with Douglas Heselgrave (The Music Box, Friday September 12, 2008)
