The tabla player Zakir Hussain died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in San Francisco on 16 December at the age of 73. The son of tabla master Ustad Allarakha (Ravi Shankar’s longtime accompanist), he was widely regarded as the greatest tabla player of his generation and played a leading role in the adoption of the tabla in styles other than Indian classical music.
In the jazz world, Hussain played with artists including Charles Lloyd, Béla Fleck and John McLaughlin. He participated in Shakti, Remember Shakti and Making Music (all featuring guitarist McLaughlin) and in Sangam with saxophonist Lloyd and drummer Eric Harland. He also performed with Joe Henderson, Airto Moreira, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham and others. He recorded widely for the ECM label, appearing there with such as Jan Garbarek, Jon Christensen, Lloyd and McLaughlin.
Hussain was also a prolific composer, creating concertos, scoring for film and collaborating with dance companies. He earned numerous accolades, including three Grammy awards in March this year – one with John McLaughlin and the band Shakti, and two for his collaborations with Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Rakesh Chaurasia.
Zakir Hussain 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.