Zakir Hussain is appreciated both in the field of percussion and in the music world at large as an international phenomenon and one of the greatest musicians of our time. A classical tabla virtuoso, he has elevated the status of his instrument both in India and around the world. His consistently brilliant and exciting performances have established him as a national treasure in India and one of his country’s foremost cultural ambassadors. Zakir’s playing is marked by uncanny intuition and masterful improvisational dexterity, founded in formidable knowledge and study. 

Widely considered a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement, Hussain’s many historic collaborations include Shakti, the fusion band he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar, Remember Shakti, Planet Drum with the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, and recordings and performances with artists as diverse as George Harrison, Yo-Yo Ma, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison and Pharoah Sanders, among many others. 

A child prodigy, Hussain was touring by the age of 12. In 1970, he performed his first U.S. concert at the Fillmore East in New York City with Pandit Ravi Shankar, embarking on an illustrious international career. In 1987, his first solo release, Making Music, was acclaimed as “one of the most inspired East-West fusion albums ever recorded.” In 1992, Planet Drum, an album co-created and produced by Hussain and Mickey Hart, became the first recording to win a Grammy in the Best World Music category.