Zakir Hussain

Biography

Zakir Hussain Qureshi (9 March 1951 – 15 December 2024) was an Indian tabla player, composer, arranger, percussionist, music producer and film actor. The eldest son of esteemed tabla player Alla Rakha, Zakir Hussain was widely regarded as the greatest tabla player of his generation and one of its finest percussionists. He produced music across multiple genres and contributed to popularizing Indian classical music to a global audience.

Often prefixed by the honorific title of 'Ustad', Hussain was awarded the United States National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship, the highest award given to traditional artists and musicians. He was also given the Government of India's Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, Ratna Sadsya, in 2018.

Hussain received seven Grammy Award nominations, winning four times, including three in 2024. He was described as the most recognizable exponent of the tabla by The Guardian. The New York Times marveled that the "blur of his fingers rivals the beat of a hummingbird's wings."

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Known For

Monkey Man

Tabla Maestro

Tabla Beat Science: Talamanam Sound Clash

Saaz

Chaalis Chauraasi

Toby

Way of Beauty - Shakti Timeless

self

Heat and Dust

Inder Lal, Anne's landlord

A Tribute To Ismail Merchant

Self (archive footage)

Zakir Hussain: The SFJazz Sessions

Zakir Hussain

Filmography

• Movies
• TV Shows