About Zakir Hussain
Ustad Zakir Hussain is an Indian tabla player, composer, percussionist, music producer and film actor. He is the eldest son of tabla player Alla Rakha. He is widely considered as one of the greatest tabla players of all time.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023, by the Government of India. On 8 February 2009 for 51st Grammy Awards, Hussain won the Grammy in the Contemporary World Music Album category for his collaborative album Global Drum Project with Mickey Hart, & Giovanni Hidalgo.
He was also awarded the Govt of India's Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1990, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, Ratna Sadsya in 2018. In 1999, he was awarded the United States National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship, the highest award given to traditional artists and musicians. Hussain has received seven Grammy Award nominations, with four wins. He received three Grammys in February 2024.
Zakir Hussain Allaraka Qureshi was born on 9 March 1951 in Mumbai , India. He attended St. Michael's High School in Mahim, and graduated from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.
Hussain played on George Harrison's 1973 album Living in the Material World and John Handy's 1973 album Hard Work. He also performed on Van Morrison's 1979 album Into the Music and Earth, Wind & Fire's 1983 album Powerlight.
Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, who had known Hussain since the 1960s, invited him to create the special album Planet Drum, featuring drummers from different parts of the world. Featured along with Hussain, from India, was Vikku Vinayakram, with whom Hussain had collaborated in Shakti. The first Planet Drum album, released in 1991 on the Rykodisc label, went on to earn the 1992 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album, the first Grammy ever awarded in this category. The Global Drum Project album and tour brought Mickey Hart, Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo together again in a reunion sparked by the 15th anniversary of the Planet Drum album. The album Global Drum Project won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album at the 51st Grammy Awards Ceremony held on 8 February 2009.
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