Zakir Hussain with Masters Of Percussion
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
1037 S.W. Broadway
Tonight at 8 p.m. – $15-$35+ admission
Ages 3 and up (no joke)
It’s not very often that a living legend goes on tour with a whole crew who are legends in the making. If you missed Ravi Shankar’s farewell tour when he came to the Schnitzer last fall, Zakir Hussain’s performance with the Masters of Percussion tonight may help relieve the disappointment reeling in your stomach, at least a little bit. This incredible group of musicians expertly explores both North and South Indian styles, melodic (raga) and rhythmic (tala) developments, as well as traditional and contemporary elements with a grace that cannot be described.
Hussain is simply the most respected tabla player of his time, a maestro of both classical and more contemporary fusion styles. He is the most favored accompanist of India’s greatest musicians and dancers, but also plays with the likes of popular Western musicians Bill Laswell and Mickey Hart. He is widely recognized as one of the major players in bringing Indian music to the rest of the world, winning honors such as the “Padma Bhushan,” “Padma Shri,” the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the 1999 National Heritage Fellowship Award, the USA’s highest award for masters in the traditional arts.
His list of accomplishments are innumerable, but include composing film scores and even the opening music for the ’96 Olympic Games, winning a Grammy for his collaboration with Hart on 1991’s Planet Drum, and being nominated for one this year for his album Saturday Night In Bombay with his group Remember Shakti.
Most importantly, however, Hussain is simply a marvel to watch, as his dexterity and timing on the tabla (as well as other percussive instruments) is nearly unmatched by anyone and often supra-human in performance. His professional career started at just 12 years of age at the hands of his father, the legendary Ustad Allarakha.
Two other sons of Allarakha are included in this ensemble as well, Fazal and Taufiq Qureshi, on tabla and percussion, respectively. Fazal has performed both as a soloist and as an accompanist in prestigious “Sangeet Sammelans” in India as well as major festivals abroad. Taufiq is considered one of the most sought-after rhythm programmers and percussionists today, working with everyone from Sivamani to Jeremy Spencer of Fleetwood Mac to India’s biggest rock band, Indus Creed.
Special to this tour is Ustad Sultan Khan, one of the most respected players of the sarangi, a difficult stringed instrument that he commands with the utmost expertise and which he has played with Hussain for over 20 years. His solo performances of the sarangi, which sound remarkably like the human voice, has led him to tour and record all over the world, bringing popularity to the instrument.
Playing the pakhawaj, a two-faced, double-barreled percussion instrument, will be Bhavani Shankar, while Selva Ganesh, son of the great ghatam player T. H. Vinayakram, will be playing the kanjira, a tambourine-like instrument. On tavil, a double-headed barrel-shaped drum from the South, will be A. Saravanan, and Vijay Chauhan will be on the dholki, or nal, the premier folk instrument of Maharashtra and also popular in Indian film music.