The great tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain has been taken from our midst at the fag end of the year in which he became the first Indian to win three Grammy Awards.A family statement confirmed the death of the 73-year-old musician in a San Francisco hospital at 5:12 a.m. (IST) on Monday, citing complications from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis as the cause. He had been in hospital for the past two weeks and was shifted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Sunday after his condition had deteriorated.The family said in its statement, “He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy cherished by countless music lovers around the globe, with an influence that will resonate for generations to come.”Hussain’s sister Khurshid Aulia said he passed away “very peacefully.””He passed away very peacefully after the ventilation machine was switched off. This was 4 pm San Francisco time,” she told PTI.Zakir Hussain won Grammys for Best Global Music Performance for the song “Pashto”, Best Contemporary Instrumental Album and Best Global Music Album at the Premier Music Awards earlier this year making history history as the first Indian to win three Grammys in a single night.Born to the legendary musician Alla Rakha, Hussain was a child prodigy, giving his first concert at the age of seven and beginning to tour by the age of 12. After completing his education in Mumbai, he moved to the US in 1970, marking the beginning of his international career.In a career spanning six decades, Hussain collaborated with some of the most renowned international and Indian artists, leaving an enduring impact on global music.He worked with nearly all of India’s iconic performers, including Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, and Shivkumar Sharma. His collaborations with Western musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, Charles Lloyd, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Mickey Hart, George Harrison, and the pop group Earth, Wind & Fire brought tabla and Indian classical music to audiences worldwide, solidifying his reputation as a global cultural ambassador.In 1973, Hussain achieved global recognition for his groundbreaking work with English guitarist John McLaughlin, violinist L. Shankar, and percussionist T.H. ‘Vikku’ Vinayakram. Together, they formed Shakti, a band that fused Indian classical music with jazz in a revolutionary blend of styles.Shakti disbanded in the late 1970s but re-emerged two decades later as Remembering Shakti, with original members Hussain and McLaughlin joined by stalwarts such as the late Mandolin U. Srinivas, vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, percussionist V. Selvaganesh (son of Vinayakram), flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia, and violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan.In 2020, Shakti reformed with its current lineup of Hussain, McLaughlin, Selvaganesh, Mahadevan, and Rajagopalan. This version of the band won Shakti its recent Grammys.Over his career, Hussain received four Grammy Awards, including three at the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year.
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