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Global Ambassador Legendary Tabla Player Zakir Hussain

Zakir Allarakha Qureshi was born on 9 March 1951 in present-day Mumbai, Maharashtra, India to tabla master Allarakha Qureshi. Zakir Hussain Allarakha Shaheed was an Indian tabla player, composer, percussionist, music producer, and film actor. He was the eldest son of tabla player Alla Rakha and has won four Grammy Awards.

Husain was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the United States National Endowment for the Arts, the highest award given to traditional artists and musicians. He was also awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award of the Government of India in 1990, Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 2018, Ratna Member.

In 1999, Hussain received seven Grammy Award nominations with four wins, including three wins in 2024.

Renowned tabla player and ambassador of Indian classical music Zakir Hussain died on 16 December 2024 in San Francisco, California from complications arising from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 73. Leaving behind him a timeless rhythmic legacy that he established Was. The Indian classical music legend died at a San Francisco hospital due to the lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, his family said in a statement.

As a gifted child, he worked as an assistant to Indian classical artists such as Ali Akbar Khan and Shivkumar Sharma and global composers such as John McLaughlin and George Harrison. Sameed was born on March 9, 1951 in Mahim, Mumbai, He was the eldest son of Ustad Allarakha, one of the most distinguished players of the tabla – a traditional Indian hand drum – in the history of India.