Indian-born tabla player and composer, teacher, and advocate Zakir Hussain, son of Ustad Alla Rahka, isn’t just a virtuoso improviser - he is one of the world’s exceptional percussionists, working in many genres, and the world’s preeminent tabla master. He is a great communicator in many musical languages, including jazz, Afro-Cuban rhythms, Nigerian talking drums, or Indonesian gamelan; he is also a great listener and a bringer of joy (editor can’t help herself.) One of the most exciting ways that Zakir Hussain shares tabla specifically, and percussion more broadly is by way of the Masters of Percussion Tour – which is exactly as stunning and marvelous as a music fan (especially a drum nerd) might ever imagine.

Zakir has turned the tabla into a global instrument by way of his incredible collaborations, playing with everyone from George Harrison to Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, from John McLaughlin's Shakti and Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Project; he’s laid down beats for Scottish fiddlers Charlie McKerron (Capercaillie) and Patsy Reid (formerly of Breabach); played concertos with western orchestras, with and without banjo player Bela Fleck and bassist Edgar Meyer, and performed and recorded with scores of Indian classical musicians.

Zakir Hussain enthusiastically enjoys the different challenges that each new collaborator “will throw at him”. For this episode of New Sounds, Ustad Zakir Hussain joins Pandit Rahul Sharma, the son of illustrious santoor master Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, who established the pedigree of the santoor within Indian Classical Music. Pt. Rahul Sharma has since built on his father’s style, “taking the santoor to new corners of the world”, (Darbar.org). Rahul Sharma has also collaborated widely across genres, having released some 60 albums, split between classical Indian music and more experimental recordings. Rahul Sharma and Zakir Hussain play in-studio. - Caryn Havlik

Sharma explains the roots of the santoor, and gives a quick demonstration of its 94 strings which require precise tuning: 

Zakir Hussain also gives an intimidatingly fast explainer of some of the syllables of tabla, what the left and right hand might do, with unbelievable and impressive speed:

See their performances:

Program #4936, With Zakir Hussain and Rahul Sharma  (First aired 10/18/2024)

ARTIST: Zakir Hussain And The Rhythm Experience
WORK: Balinese Fantasy [1:39]
RECORDING: Zakir Hussain And The Rhythm Experience
SOURCE: Moment Records 1007
INFO: momentrecords.com

ARTIST: Zakir Hussain
WORK: Water Girl [3:47]
RECORDING:  Making Music
SOURCE: ECM Records
INFO: https://ecmrecords.com

ARTIST: Zakir Hussain and Rahul Sharma
WORK: Dhun: Misra Pahadi [16:00]
RECORDING: Live, at WNYC, Oct. 2024
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO: https://zakirhussain.com

ARTIST: Zakir Hussain and Rahul Sharma
WORK: Dhun Keharwa [8:32]
RECORDING: Live, at WNYC, Oct. 2024
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. 
INFO: https://zakirhussain.com

ARTIST: Shivkumar Sharma, with Zakir Hussain
WORK: Rag Rageshri [3:02]
RECORDING: Shivkumar Sharma - Santoor
SOURCE: Moment Records
INFO: https://momentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/shivkumar-sharma-santoor