Shankar Mahadevan celebrates friend Zakir Hussain's legacy on his birthday
Shankar Mahadevan recently celebrated the 75th birthday of his longtime friend and music partner, Zakir Hussain. The two shared over 20 years of friendship, filled with jam sessions, tours, and plenty of learning.
Born in Mumbai in 1951 as the son of tabla great Ustad Alla Rakha, Hussain was already performing on stage at age seven.
As of December 2024, he has left a huge mark on the music world.
His career in numbers
Hussain helped start the iconic fusion band Shakti back in 1973 and welcomed Mahadevan into the group decades later.
Over his career, he picked up four Grammys (from nine nominations), India's Padma Vibhushan honor, and even a US National Heritage Fellowship, basically a hall of fame for artists.
His work with band 'Shakti' and other projects
From a young age, Hussain was immersed in rhythm; he began formal tabla training at age seven and was performing in concerts by seven.
With Shakti, he mixed Indian classical beats with global sounds and played around with wild time signatures that kept even fellow musicians on their toes.
His projects with Mahadevan and John McLaughlin (like "Is That So?") showed just how far he could stretch tradition while keeping it fresh.