After Asha Bhosle last year and Aoushka Shankar earlier this years, another legend Ustad Zakir Hussain performs forthe first time in Sydney, 

 

 

 

 

 

 in an exclusive concert celebrating North Indian music for one night only on Sunday 9 November, Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House.

Globally revered as a tabla virtuoso of the highest standard, Zakir Hussain’s

contribution to both classical Indian music and cross-cultural music is unrivalled,

having collaborated with luminaries from Ravi Shankar to John McLaughlin, and

recognized internationally with a Grammy Award in 1992.

In this exclusive Sydney concert, featuring the traditional repertoire of North Indian

drumming on tabla in solo and duet, as well as collaborations exploring the

frontier between traditional and contemporary, folk and classical, Zakir Hussain will

demonstrate the outstanding dexterity and inspired improvisational abilities that

never fail to leave audiences spellbound wherever he performs.

The carefully selected repertoire offers musical excursions into the melodic (raga)

and rhythmic (tala) forms alongside the dazzling and athletic prowess of the

dancing drummers of Manipur.

A not-to-be-missed performance by a true percussion genius.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS: ZAKIR HUSSAIN

Venue: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House

Date: Sunday 9th November, 2008

Time: 8pm Prices: $49 – $125

Bookings: 9250 7777 or sydneyoperahouse.com

Zakir Hussain is today appreciated both in the field of

percussion and in the music world at large as an international

phenomenon.

A classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order, his consistently brilliant and

exciting performances have not only established him as a national treasure

in his own country, India, but earned him worldwide fame. His playing is

marked by uncanny intuition and masterful improvisational dexterity,

founded in formidable knowledge and study. The favorite accompanist for

many of India’s greatest classical musicians and dancers, he has not let his

genius rest there.

Widely considered a chief architect of the contemporary world music

movement, Zakir’s contribution to world music has been unique, with many

historic collaborations including Shakti, which he founded with John

McLaughlin and L. Shankar in the early 1970’s, the Diga Rhythm Band,

Making Music, Planet Drum with Mickey Hart, Tabla Beat Science, Sangam

with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland and recordings and performances with

artists as diverse as George Harrison, Joe Henderson, Van Morrison, Airto

Moreira, Giovanni Hidalgo, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, Rennie Harris

and the Kodo drummers of Japan.

A child prodigy, Zakir was touring by the age of twelve, the gifted son of his

great father, tabla legend Ustad Allarakha. Zakir came to the United States

in 1970, embarking on an international career which includes no fewer than

150 concert dates a year. He has composed and recorded many albums

and soundtracks, and has received widespread recognition as a composer

for his many ensembles and collaborations. He has composed soundtracks

for the films In Custody and The Mystic Masseur directed by Ismail

Merchant, Bertolucci’s Little Buddha, for which Zakir composed, performed

and acted as Indian music advisor, Vanaprastham (The Last Dance),

chosen to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May, 1999, Saaz, and

Everybody Says I’m Fine.

Zakir received the distinct honor of co-composing the opening music for

the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 1996. He was commissioned to compose

music for Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, and to compose an original work for the

San Francisco Jazz Festival, both in 1998. He has received numerous grants

and awards, including participation in the Meet the Composer programs

funded by the Pew Memorial Trust and an Izzie (Isadora Duncan Award) for

his composition for Lines Ballet. In 2000, Zakir worked again with

choreographer Alonzo King, this time composing music for The Alvin Ailey

American Dance Theater. In 2002, his commissioned work for

choreographer Mark Morris’ “Kolam” premiered as part of Yo Yo Ma’s “Silk

Road Project” with Yo Yo and Zakir performing together live for the

performance. In September, 2006, Triple Concerto for Banjo, Bass and

Tabla, a piece co-composed by Zakir, Edgar Meyer and Bela Fleck, was

performed by the trio with the Nashville Symphony at the gala opening of

the Schermerhorn Symphony Hall in Nashville. Zakir reunited with

choreographer Alonzo King in 2007 for Lines Ballet’s 25th anniversary

celebration, creating acclaimed music for King’s new work, Rasa. Also in

2007, the government of India chose Zakir to compose an anthem to

celebrate India’s 60th year of independence. The song, “Jai Hind”, has

been recorded by an array of India’s finest classical vocalists and pop

singers.

The recipient of countless honors, Zakir has received the titles of Padma

Bhushan, in 2002, and Padma Shri, in 1988, becoming the youngest

Percussionist to be awarded these, given to civilians of merit, by the Indian

Government. In 1990, he was awarded the Indo-American Award in

recognition for his outstanding cultural contribution to relations between

the United States and India. In April, 1991, he was presented with the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the President of India, making him one

of the youngest musicians to receive this recognition from India’s governing

cultural institute. In 2006, he was the recipient of the prestigious Kalidas

Samman, an award for artists of exceptional achievement, from the

government of Madhya Pradesh. In 2007, readers’ polls from both Modern

Drummer and Drum! magazines named him Best World Music and Best

Worldbeat Drummer respectively.

In 1987, his first solo release, Making Music, was acclaimed as “one of the

most inspired East-West fusion albums ever recorded.” In 1992, Planet Drum,

an album co-created and produced by Zakir and Mickey Hart, was

awarded the first-ever Grammy® for Best World Music Album, the

Downbeat Critics’ Poll for Best World Beat Album and the NARM Indie Best

Seller Award for World Music Recording. Planet Drum, with Zakir as music

director, toured nationally in 1996 and 1997. The band has re-emerged as

Global Drum Project, touring extensively in 2007 and 2008.

In 1992, Zakir founded Moment! Records, which features original

collaborations in the field of contemporary world music, as well as live

concert performances by great masters of the classical music of India. The

label presents Zakir’s own world percussion ensemble, The Rhythm

Experience, both North and South Indian classical recordings, Best of Shakti

and a Masters of Percussion series. Moment Records’ 2006 release Golden

Strings of the Sarode with Aashish Khan and Zakir Hussain was nominated

for a Grammy® in the Best Traditional World Music category for that year.

Zakir is the recipient of the 1999 National Heritage Fellowship, the United

States’ most prestigious honor for a master in the traditional arts, presented

by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at the United States Senate on

September 28, 1999. In 2005, he was named an Old Dominion Fellow by the

Humanities Council at Princeton University, where he resided for the 2005-

2006 semester as full professor in the music department, teaching a survey

course in Indian classical music and dance. In the spring of 2007, this course

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