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 Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
'Now, people want to know who plays the tabla' Last updated on: March 11, 2010
One of the hottest tickets in New York this week is for Ustad Zakir Hussain's Masters of Percussion. On March 12 and 13, the tabla maestro will get together with some of the best in Indian classical and folk music to drum up a storm. Hussain will be joined by percussionists Taufiq Qureshi, Navin Sharma, Sridar Parthasarathy, the Motilal Dhakis from Bengal, sarangi player Sabir Khan and the violin duo of Ganesh and Kumaresh at the event organised by World Music Institute The ustad speaks to Arthur J Pais... You have been touring with percussionists from all over India for many years. How did this idea come to you? This project was started with my father Ustad Allah Rakha Khan's blessings in 1996. He felt that the many kinds of percussionists across the country needed to be made known to music lovers across India, and if possible, across the world. Most people only know of the popular Indian percussion instruments like the tabla and dholak. But many Indian states have a wonderful tradition of music, using a variety of instruments.
Image: Zakir Hussain
Photographs: Jewella Miranda
____________ "I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.
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#121 17 Mar 2010 07:37
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
'I spend a considerable amount of time in India'
Last updated on: March 11, 2010 How do find these musicians? I spend a considerable amount of time in India. And since I have been doing this for many years, I get to hear of brilliant musicians. How do you prepare them for a world tour? I get them to perform with me in various Indian cities, and when they are comfortable with performing before a large audience, I bring them to America. We travel to over a dozen cities. You have brought some interesting musicians on this tour too? Yes. For instance, the Dhakis from Bengal. They are famous for their performances during Durga puja in Bengal. They tie the colourful drums to their bodies and perform while dancing.
Image: Zakir Hussain
Photographs: Sahil Salvi
____________ "I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.
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#122 17 Mar 2010 07:41
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sur
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
'Now percussionists get quite a bit of attention and good Last updated on: March 11, 2010 You had once brought Manipuri percussionists who perform in a similar fashion... Yes, they too tie the drum to their bodies and leap into the air now and then when they perform. But the dhakis are like polished diamonds and the Manipuri dancers the rough diamonds. You have said that in the last two decades or so, percussionists have been getting due recognition from organisers and the public in India. True. When I was starting out, percussionists mostly traveled by train, while the singers and instrumentalists were given air tickets. But now we get quite a bit of attention and good treatment. Even then, there are many unsung percussionists around me. In fact, that is one of the reasons why I took my father's suggestion seriously. Which development, do you think, conveys the best picture of this changing scenario for percussionists? Now when people go to a concert featuring someone like Pt Ravi Shankarji, they also want to know who is playing the tabla. The singers and vocalists are also giving us due respect.
Image: Zakir Hussain, Pandit Ravi Shankar and Anoushka Shankar
Photographs: Sahil Salvi
____________ "I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.
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#123 17 Mar 2010 07:45
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sur
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
'There is a lot of joy and satisfaction in grooming people'Last updated on: March 11, 2010 In many ways it was your father who brought about a change in the way percussionists were viewed. True, but Allah Rakha alone cannot bring about a profound change. There have been many other percussionists who have worked very hard to make their work known and appreciated. On the subject of your father, anyone who has seen his picture or seen him perform knows how much he enjoyed performing. It showed on his face. The same seems true for you. Are we right in believing that? [Chuckles]. Life is full of miseries. There are always personal and professional problems. If I truly don't enjoy something, how can I do justice to my work? You have worked and performed with a number of inspiring musicians from across the globe. Yet you make time to encourage new talent. There is a lot of joy and satisfaction in grooming people. In the upcoming concert, I am playing with Sabir Khan. Usually, sarangi maestro Ustad Sultan Khan would be playing with me, but he is not well. He asked me to take his son, instead. Image: Zakir Hussain with brother Fasal Qureshi Photographs: Jewella Miranda ____________ "I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.
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#124 17 Mar 2010 07:47
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sur
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
I learned the importance of loving my work and humility from my fatherLast updated on: March 11, 2010 You never fail to pay respect to your father in your interviews. What is the best life lesson that you have taken from him? Whatever I am today, it is due to the encouragement, inspiration and life lessons I learnt from my father. I learned the importance of loving my work and humility from him. He had said, 'Don't try to be a leader, be a good student.' And that means? Every time I step out of the door, I learn something new. Every time I listen to a recording, I learn something. Life continues to be an unending learning process. Image: Zakir Hussain Photographs: Sahil Salvi ____________ "I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.
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#125 17 Mar 2010 07:50
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sur
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
Celebrating the music of Abbaji Fazal Qureshi will come together with several renowned musicians to celebrate the life of Ustad Alla Rakha Khan, on his 91st birth anniversary Abbaji experi- mented with rhythmic cycles, and eliminated the boundaries of the `gharanas' February 2010 marked the 10th death anniversary of the legendary tabla maestro, Ustad All Rakha Khan, fondly called `Abbaji'. Even as memories of the homage con- cert by his sons, iconic per- cussionists Ustad Zakir Hussain and Taufiq Qureshi, remain fresh, on April 28 - Abbaji's third son, Fazal Qureshi will celebrate his life and times, in a concert titled `The Journey Continues...', which marks the 91st birth anniversary of the maestro. Organised by the Ustad Alla Rakha Institute of Music (UAIM), the concert will fea- ture the coming together of some of the country's top- most musicians Fazal Qureshi, Louiz Banks, Roop Kumar Rathod, Bala Bhaskar, Ravi Chary, Karl Peters, Gino Banks and Sridhar Parthasarthy. Says Qureshi, “While we paid a homage to Abbaji on his death anniversary, we want to highlight his achieve- ments on his birth anniver- sary. We want to show how the tabla evolved because of my father's contribution to it through the concert.“ At the beginning of the concert, Qureshi will show- case the recordings of Ustad Alla Rakha Khan, from his performances in the '60s.
Then, Qureshi will come together with the students of the UAIM, in a segment called `Expressions of the tabla', which will musically explain the percussion instru- ment's evolution.
Tabla maestro “The tabla was just an accom- panying instrument in the old days.“ says Qureshi, “You didn't ever relate `expressions' to the tabla, since it was just a per- cussion instru- ment. But even though my father was soaked in traditions, he was way beyond his time in his thinking, and his experi- ments made the tabla what it is.“
Further explaining the evo- lution of the tabla, Qureshi says, “In my father's time, the tabla was just played in a straightforward manner, in a particular structure, with no rhythmic improvisation. But my father experimented with rhythmic cycles, and elimi- nated the boundaries of the `gharanas'. “That's a good thing because the `gharanas' were very rigid,“ he continues. “At the same time, because there are no boundaries, everyone plays an amalgamation of dif- ferent styles and sometimes, lose their individuality to an extent.“ Ask him how difficult it was for him to maintain his individuality in a family of two of the greatest tabla play- ers ever, and he breaks into a smile. “Even now, people come up to me sometimes and say that I play like my father,“ he says.
“The point of view from which I play the tabla is influ- enced by my father and my brother, Zakir's style, but at the same time, I have a certain way of looking at a taal or a beat, which is different from the way they would.“ The tribute The fusion and jam concert on the 28th will showcase Qureshi's distinct percussion style, which he has best realised through playing for his Swedish-Indian band, Mynta, since 23 years now. In fact, Qureshi's just come back from a tour of Sweden, Scandanavia and Norway in March, with his band. “When we started this band in the '80s, it was the unique combination of Swedish and Indian music that was our selling point,“ he recalls. “In fact, when the band first came down to India in '95, we publicized it through the collaboration of three Indians, from my other band, Surya, and three Swedish musicians, from Mynta. But after all these years, people know and enjoy our distinct sound.“ In its first few years, Mynta had Nandkishore Mulay on the santoor, and subse- quently, had Shankar Mahadevan on vocals. But now, Qureshi is the only Indian in the band that con- sists of three Swedish musi- cians, a Cuban violinist and an American saxophonist. “We tour with the band every March,“ Qureshi says.
“Even though big cities like Stockholm know of us now, there are several small cities in Sweden that we may be visiting after 10 years, so it's always great fun.“
Qureshi reveals that the Swedish people are fascinat- ed by the `Indianness' of the band, since quite a few of them, in the small towns, haven't even seen Indians before! “I always begin the concerts by giving a small lec- ture and demonstration on Indian music, which the Swedish people enjoy. But even there, the Indians are more into Bollywood,“ he laughs. ____________ "I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.
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#126 01 May 2010 01:39
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sur
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
Mozart show draws multigenre crowd
By: JAMES D. WATTS World Scene Writer
Friday, June 18, 2010
6/18/2010 2:41:57 PM
NPR’s “Performance Today” host Fred Child conducted an impromptu poll of the audience at Thursday’s OK Mozart performance by Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain.
Child asked how many in the audience were fans of certain types of music — classical, bluegrass, jazz, Indian classical music, world music in general. It was a way to illustrate, Child said, the sort of wide-ranging, eclectic audiences these three musicians attract.
“Look around you,” he said. “You’re likely sitting next to people with whom you may never attend another concert.”
Until, of course, the trio of Fleck, Meyer and Hussain pay another visit.
About those styles and genres of music Child listed: If some at the Bartlesville Community Center Thursday night were expecting to hear a classical piece, then a jazz work, followed by a bluegrass tune, then an Indian raga — each style presented briefly and distinctly, preferably in the guise of music they had heard before — they were soon to be disappointed.
Oh, all those different types of music were present in what the trio performed. They just were employed simultaneously.
You could pick out elements that evoke jazz, blues, folk, bluegrass, classical, Indian music, even pop songs in every piece they performed. But these seemingly familiar musical threads never get woven together in ways you expect.
And for all the intense complexity of the music they created on stage, the overall feeling one got watching Fleck, Meyer and Hussain perform was that of three good friends playing in every sense of the word.
Meyer, for example, mentioned that one piece was a canon, “which is a little like a round.” He paused, then said, “Actually, it’s exactly like a round,” and Fleck held his banjo, pointing to the instrument’s circular body to illustrate.
This piece, Meyer said, required Fleck to play exactly the same thing he would play. “We’ve learned from experience,” he added, “to let Zakir do whatever he wants.”
Much of the music performed came from the trio’s recent album, “The Melody of Rhythm.”
The title piece is a jointly-written concerto, from which several works were excerpted.
Other music, such as Meyer’s “Then Again,” Fleck’s “Bubbles” and Hussain’s “Bahar,” were written specifically for the trio.
Each man is considered the pre-eminent virtuoso for his instrument. Meyer can make a double bass sing, with an attack, either with bow or fingers, that is fluid and effortless. Fleck’s banjo playing has an eloquence that is breathtaking.
And Hussain draws a dazzling variety of musical sounds and complex rhythms in how he uses the fingers, palms and heels of his hands on his array of tabla drums.
Even if one watches Hussain closely, it’s still difficult to figure out — as in his extended solo in the second half of the show — how he’s able to sound chime-like accents while tapping out rapid-fire patterns.
And when some in the crowd started to applaud when they thought the solo was over, Hussain gently but firmly shushed them to silence.
Not everyone was willing to make this musical journey with Fleck, Meyer and Hussain. A group sitting behind me rather loudly expressed their dislike of the music — “It’s too modern for me,” one said — and left at intermission.
Fleck even joked, when the group took their places after the interval, that “you’re the first group that came back for the second half.”
But those who appreciate music that challenges as much as it delights would not have missed a note of what these three men played.
____________ "I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.
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#127 19 Jun 2010 23:40
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
Edinburgh, August 02, 2010 First Published: 10:00 IST(3/8/2010) Indian tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain's beats set to dance by famous choreographer Alonzo King in their joint creation Rasa promises to mesmerise crowds at the Edinburgh International Festival this month. The hour-long creation is King's third collaboration with Grammy Award-winning Hussain, who will perform live on stage at the festival with singer and violinist Kala Ramnath. Considering the popularity of Rasa, the organisers have scheduled it for four consecutive days at one of the festival's popular theatre sites, The Hub, from August 26-29. Rasa is described as the "ultimate tandem" of music and dance with "each mesmerising and melodic drum beat inspiring a unique human movement". It was originally scored for the 25th anniversary of King's San Francisco-based company Lines Ballet in 2007 and has since toured nearly all the big festivals across the globe. The Edinburgh International Festival, beginning Aug 13, is the biggest of many that Scotland's festival city annually hosts between summer and yearend. The others include Mela festival during Aug 6-8, arts festival Fringe Aug 6-30, the royal Edinburgh military tattoo Aug 6-28. This will be followed by the international book festival Aug 14-30 and the international storytelling festival Oct 22-31. The yearend festivities will begin with Edinburgh's Hogmanay from Dec 29 to Jan 2 next year, considered the largest New Year event in the world with five days of celebrations culminating with a massive New Year's Eve street party. Alongside Rasa, two other creations are expected to be runaway successes this year. One is Quimeras, a dance tale about the journeys of migrants and refugees in Spain, conducted by the unrivalled master of flamenco style and virtuoso guitarist Paco Pena. The show will have its international premiere at the festival. The other is the world premiere of The Sun Also Rises, based on Ernest Hemingway's first major novel about a group of weary, aimless and frequently inebriated American expatriates searching for identity, redemption and diversion in Europe. It is being staged by the acclaimed New York ensemble, Elevator Repair Service. Also standing out among a number of plays, dramas, soprano acts and orchestras will be Russian violin virtuoso Vadim Repin. The festival will hear composer Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto as an interplay between a solo by Repin and orchestra by the Russian National Orchestra. Other musical and theatre greats appearing at the festival include John Collins and his company, specialists in adapting 20th century American literature for the stage, Pulitzer Prize winning composer Gunther Schuller who will share his experiences from a most remarkable and fascinating musical career that ranges from the orchestral platform to the jazz club, Sir Charles Mackerras who will lead the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus in a concert performance of the Mozart masterpiece, Idomeneo. ____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
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#128 03 Aug 2010 23:06
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
| Working on Indian films becomes a task: Zakir Hussain | | IANS Saturday, 07 August , 2010 |
 Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, who has returned to music composition after eight years with the crossover movie For Real, says he doesn't work on many films because it becomes a task. He is also impressed with the new crop of talent on the Indian music scene.
For Real is the third film that I have done music for. I am not in India most of the time; so working on Indian films becomes a task,"sais Hussain. "Also, I don't go looking for music direction assignments. If something great comes up and I find it appealing, I do it," he added. In the past, the Grammy winner, who tours around the world and usually stays in the US, has composed soul-stirring music for Sai Paranjape's Saaz in 1998 and Aparna Sen's Mr And Mrs Iyer in 2002. When asked what interested him in For Real"When she came to me and spoke about the film, I liked the concept. I could see my daughter in Sona. She spoke to me with great confidence," he said. "As soon as I got accustomed to the script and realised what kind of music the script and characters need, I started composing it," he added. Directed, written and produced by Jain, For Real is the story of a six-year-old girl who witnesses a moment of discord within her family. The ensuing depression evident in her parents causes a reaction in the child's mind, making her withdraw into a fantasy world where she believes her mother has been sent to the Orion Galaxy and the one at home is an alien. The film is slated to release in India on September 17. It stars Sarita Choudhury, a British actress of Indian descent. The soundtrack of the film comprises five tracks and tabla is not the only instrument that is predominant in the compositions. "The songs in the film are very situational and each song is written keeping in mind the scene and the characters," the 59-year-old musician revealed. "The film demanded different types of instruments; so no one instrument is predominant. The music has to be in sync with the scene," he added. So did he get stuck while composing the music of the film or face any difficulty? "There is a feeling of achievement when one finishes a piece of music, but when I listen to the same a day later I realise it can get better. So I keep innovating and making changes to get better. I wouldn't call it difficulty though," Hussain said. The internationally-known musician also feels the music scene in India is really evolving. "The music scene in India is evolving. The amount of talent that I see in the current musicians is phenomenal. The raw talent our country has will definitely make us proud and create waves around the world," he said. Apart from this film, Hussain has his hands full with other projects. "I am travelling a lot and have a couple of international projects lined up. You'll get to hear about them as and when they happen," said the maestro, who will be performing at the Edinburgh International Festival August 26 to 29.
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
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#129 08 Aug 2010 11:25
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
 | | Zakir Hussain, Niladri Kumar to open Chicago World Music Festival |
MUMBAI: Indian music lovers can look forward to a musical treat as the 12th annual Chicago World Music Festival to be held from 21-30 September has announced a three day event titled India Calling!. The show opens with a free concert featuring Zakir Hussain and special guest sitarist Niladri Kumar. The festival is one of the largest and longest running festival of International music in the United States and it returns this year with over 80 artists at 30 venues throughout Chicago. Talking to Radioandmusic.com about the festival and his performance Niladri Kumar said, "It's a learning experience to be on the same stage as Ustad Zakir Hussain who is undoubtedly one of the greatest musicians. Whether it is a small festival or a major one like this, his presence is enough to delight the music fans." Presented by Incredible India and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the three-day India Calling! festival will feature free music concerts, arts exhibitions, cooking demonstrations, dance performances, yoga and meditation classes and a handicrafts village. As a part of the Indian extravaganza, the event will also see Ronu Majumdar and Vidwan Mysore Manjunath with Ramdas Palsule and Vidwan Arjun Kumar performing. India Classical Music Society Chicago will also bring Aashish Khan (India) and Alam Khan (India) with Swapan Chaudhuri (India) who will pay "A Tribute to Ustad Ali Akbar & Baba Allaudin Khan" at the Chicago Cultural Center on 24 September. The other performances this year will include performances by Khaïra Arby (Sarahan desert rhythms from Mali), Mahala Rai Banda (high energy gypsy sounds from Romania), Razia Said (a blend of African music and contemporary R&B from Madagascar), Pansori Brecht (a Korean narrative musical inspired by the work of Bertolt Brecht), Rajeev Taranath & Nayan Ghosh (top Indian classical musicians), Oreka TX (Basque masters of percussion instrument chalaparta) among many others. The city-wide, multi-venue, week-long festival has attracted over a half million concertgoers and has presented more than 500 artists and ensembles from over 75 countries since it began in 1999. This 2010 festival includes nearly twice as many artists as previous editions. MUMBAI: Indian music lovers can look forward to a musical treat as the 12th annual Chicago World Music Festival to be held from 21-30 September has announced a three day event titled India Calling!. The show opens with a free concert featuring Zakir Hussain and special guest sitarist Niladri Kumar. The festival is one of the largest and longest running festival of International music in the United States and it returns this year with over 80 artists at 30 venues throughout Chicago. Talking to Radioandmusic.com about the festival and his performance Niladri Kumar said, "It's a learning experience to be on the same stage as Ustad Zakir Hussain who is undoubtedly one of the greatest musicians. Whether it is a small festival or a major one like this, his presence is enough to delight the music fans." Presented by Incredible India and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the three-day India Calling! festival will feature free music concerts, arts exhibitions, cooking demonstrations, dance performances, yoga and meditation classes and a handicrafts village. As a part of the Indian extravaganza, the event will also see Ronu Majumdar and Vidwan Mysore Manjunath with Ramdas Palsule and Vidwan Arjun Kumar performing. India Classical Music Society Chicago will also bring Aashish Khan (India) and Alam Khan (India) with Swapan Chaudhuri (India) who will pay "A Tribute to Ustad Ali Akbar & Baba Allaudin Khan" at the Chicago Cultural Center on 24 September. The other performances this year will include performances by Khaïra Arby (Sarahan desert rhythms from Mali), Mahala Rai Banda (high energy gypsy sounds from Romania), Razia Said (a blend of African music and contemporary R&B from Madagascar), Pansori Brecht (a Korean narrative musical inspired by the work of Bertolt Brecht), Rajeev Taranath & Nayan Ghosh (top Indian classical musicians), Oreka TX (Basque masters of percussion instrument chalaparta) among many others. The city-wide, multi-venue, week-long festival has attracted over a half million concertgoers and has presented more than 500 artists and ensembles from over 75 countries since it began in 1999. This 2010 festival includes nearly twice as many artists as previous editions. ____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
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#130 24 Aug 2010 23:59
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
Suanshu Khurana Tags : talk, Chicago World Music Festival Posted: Mon Aug 30 2010, 03:48 hrs 
Indian classical music and dance will be in focus at this year’s Chicago Music Festival At the 12 th annual Chicago World Music Festival, one of the largest running music festivals in the United States, Indian music aficionados will have some reason to cheer. The week-long festival opens with a four-day India Calling series on September 21, that will have tabla maestro and Grammy winner Zakir Hussain and sitarist Niladari Kumar perform together on the first day. “I have never played in this festival before and it is an honour to play alongside a splendid artist like Zakir sahab. It is always a learning experience with him, both on and off the stage. I have been told that the audience in Chicago is very receptive to Indian classical music. I am sure they will enjoy our jugalbandi,” says Kumar who is already in the US. The popular festival has attracted over half a million concertgoers and has presented more than 500 artists and ensembles from over 75 countries since it began in 1999. The festival returns this year with over 80 artistes who will be performing at 30 venues across Chicago.
____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
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#131 30 Aug 2010 08:37
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’ ____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
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#132 13 Dec 2010 19:36
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
Interview: Zakir Hussain, tabla maestro opening Celtic Connections Published Date: 12 January 2011 By Sue Wilson Celtic Connections starts tomorrow night with an Indian artist who has always been fascinated by the links of his native country's music to Scotland
• Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain will be performing at the opening gala of Celtic Connections
FOR Indian tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, the Celtic connections he's forging this week, ahead of tomorrow night's festival opening gala, have been nearly 40 years in the making – if not far longer. "I've had an interest in working with Scottish musicians ever since I started playing with John McLaughlin in 1974," he says, referring to his long-time guitarist collaborator (Yorkshire-born, but of Scottish descent), with whom he co-founded the seminal Indo-jazz outfit Shakti.
"His understanding of my traditions led me to believe that musicians here would have a more open view of what Indian music was all about."
Similarly, just as McLaughlin cites childhood exposure to Scottish pipe bands – after his family moved to Northumberland – as a key early influence, so Hussain sees our best-known national instrument as a key link between seemingly disparate musical worlds.
"Bagpipe scales and tonalities are also really common in Indian music," he says, during a break from rehearsals in Glasgow. "I've always been fascinated with this connection. Maybe it comes from the time of the British Raj, all the military pipers who were there at that time. It's there in the drumming, too, the combination of snare and bass – we have that in drum traditions all over India as well."
He also points to similarities between Gaelic puirt-a-beul, or mouth music, and the quickfire South Indian vocal technique called konnakol, as well as the oral rhythmic system of bols, by which tabla is taught – in turn not a million miles from the canntaireachd vocables traditionally used in bagpipe instruction.
Hussain's Celtic cohorts this week – fiddlers Charlie McKerron and Patsy Reid, pipers/whistle players Michael McGoldrick and Ross Ainslie, bodhran ace John Joe Kelly, guitarist Matheu Watson, Gaelic singer Jenna Cumming and the Boghall and Bathgate Pipe Band drum corps – find themselves in singularly august company. The percussionist is son and heir to the late, hugely venerated Ustad Alla Rakha Qureshi, Ravi Shankar's favourite tabla accompanist, and a fellow linchpin in the Western popularisation of Indian music.
Hussain, born in Mumbai in 1951, first went to the US – where he still lives – as an 18-year-old with his father, Alla Rakha, staying at the California ranch owned by Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart while Alla Rakha was on tour. (An unusual choice of in loco parentis, perhaps, but it doesn't seem to have done Hussain any harm). Following this deep-end immersion into 1960s musical counterculture, including days-long jam sessions with the likes of David Crosby, Steven Stills, Grace Slick and Jerry Garcia, he swiftly emerged as a supremely gifted and inspirational pioneer of what would come to be called world music.
Among myriad other awards and accolades during his career, in both India and the US, his 1991 recording with Hart, Planet Drum, won the first-ever Grammy for Best World Music Album. At the same time, Hussain's work has always resisted categorisation. Besides McLaughlin and Hart, his list of previous collaborators includes George Harrison, Van Morrison, Pharoah Sanders, Billy Cobham, Yo Yo Ma, Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and the Kodo Drummers of Japan. He's created music for films (including Apocalypse Now and Heat and Dust), ballet productions, the Olympic Games and the 60th anniversary of Indian independence.
Long before all that, though, Hussain was initially, and deeply, steeped in his native classical traditions: he's said that Alla Rakha began singing rhythms in his ear when he was just two days old. He remains equally at home amidst the ancient, exacting disciplines of the raga form, and its rhythmic complement the tala, as he does on his genre-spanning adventures, and points to the timing of his musical education as having formed a natural bridge between the two.
"Indian classical music was originally confined to the royal courts and temples," he explains. "After independence in 1947, though, the courts were dissolved, and the musicians were left without a job. They had to figure out how to make a living playing for ordinary people, who weren't familiar with the music's traditions or rituals; how to present it to that audience in a wider public context. As a form of stage entertainment, therefore, Indian music is only 70 or 80 years old. My father was of that generation, and it was after this change that the tabla came more to the fore, developed a greater interaction with the singer or other instruments. Before that, the tabla player was very much the second-class citizen among musicians – just as drummers tend to be regarded in any style of music – and so the role of the tabla as I know it only goes back 30 or 40 years: it's a tradition that's developed greatly even in my lifetime."
Another factor in his openness to wider musical influences, Hussain says, was his early apprenticeship playing in Bollywood orchestras, with their distinctive mix of Indian and Western instruments and musicians, as well as the strongly improvisational nature of Indian classical music, which underpinned his early involvement with jazz and psychedelic artists. Even before he moved to the US, too, he had a direct line to the latest music there through his father. "I had the first boom-box in Mumbai," he recalls. "I'd walk down the street with it on my shoulder, blasting out Come on Baby Light My Fire. My father brought back albums by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Jefferson Starship, the Grateful Dead – so that when I arrived in California, musically it didn't seem like a culture shock at all, it really felt quite seamless." As to how he approaches previously unfamiliar musical territories, including this latest project for Celtic Connections, Hussain quotes renowned Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira, another member of the Planet Drum line-up: "He said listening to each other is the first and last rule of collaboration.
"And before we even pick up our instruments, that means communicating as human beings. For our first 'rehearsal' on Monday, we hugged each other, had a cup of coffee, chatted, told jokes – because if you connect on that personal level, that then extends naturally into the music. When we're playing together, it's as if each musician has their own small corner within a single shape, or like a clock ticking round: you listen to each other and wait for your space. If everyone's doing their thing all at once it sounds like mud, but if you allow that time and space then each element retains its identity, while discovering new connections between them."
l Celtic Connections' opening concert, The Pulse of the World featuring Zakir Hussain, is at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall tomorrow night at 7:30pm. The festival continues until 30 January. www.celticconnections.com<!---
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____________ Music forms a part of me again It gives Shape to my faceless Expressions...To my Thoughts. {Alochana}
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#133 12 Jan 2011 00:54
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sur
Joined: November 2006
Posts: 10617
Location: Virginia
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
 Zakir Hussain, Pandit Chaurasia combine to create magic at SurotsavTNN, Feb 1, 2011,
SURAT: Two legends of Indian classical music spread divine melody in the atmosphere during a show here on Sunday night. Thousands had waited patiently to listen to the tabla of Ustad Zakir Hussain and flute of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, but not all were lucky. The gates of Chawpaty Garden had been closed nearly 45 minutes before the show had begun, but yet the music of 'Vaishanav Jan to Tene Kahiya' travelled outside and made the atmosphere serene even there.
Listeners were engrossed in the music for over 2.5 hours. The raag yaman and raag jhala on the flute and the tihai with thap on the tabla captivated the hearts of the music lovers in the city. The jugalbandi by the maestros at the Surotasv topped the programmes organised by Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) to celebrate Republic Day and golden jubilee of Gujarat's statehood.
Raag jog and pahadi with trital and takdhin are rarely witnessed in live shows. But people were lucky and it was an experience of a lifetime for them.
"Despite the interruptions due to a bad sound system, it was a divine experience," said Prashant Vyas, who initially could not get to the venue. tnn
"I think the SMC should organise more such programmes," a housewife Yamini Shukla said.
____________ "I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.
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#134 01 Feb 2011 21:40
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sur
Joined: November 2006
Posts: 10617
Location: Virginia
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Re: Ustad Zakir Hussain -- ’WAH TAJ’
| Zakir and friends in concert | MeghaMahindru megha.mahindru@hindustantimes.com |
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____________ "I am a dreamer,I collect all the smiles from My yesterday,
Neatly pack them into words and hide them in my heart,
I call them "MEMORIES" Music has no boundary.
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#135 02 Feb 2011 23:49
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