Zakir Hussain death: Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain who had been hospitalised for the past two weeks died at a hospital in San Francisco, his family said on Monday. Hussain, 73, died due to complications arising out of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Zakir Hussain made significant contributions to Indian and world music and had started playing at the age of seven.
Hussain had received four Grammy awards in his career, including three at the 66th Grammy Awards earlier this year. The percussionist, India’s one of the most celebrated classical musicians, received the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002, and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023.
List of awards conferred to Tabla Maestro Zakir Hussain
With a career spanning over six decades, Zakir Hussain was one of India’s most celebrated classical musicians and has been acknowledged with numerous prestigious awards. Here’s a look at the impressive list of awards bestowed upon the tabla legend.
- In 1990, Hussain was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the President of India, making him one of the youngest musicians to receive this prestigious recognition from the Sangeet Natak Academy, India’s National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama.
- Hussain was awarded the titles of Padma Shri in 1988, Padma Bhushan in 2002, and Padma Vibhushan in 2023.
- He was awarded the Indo-American Award in 1990 in recognition of his outstanding cultural contribution to the relationship between the United States and India.
- In 1992, Planet Drum, an album co-created and produced by Hussain 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 a World Music Recording.
- In 1999, Hussain was conferred the United States National Endowment for the Arts’s National Heritage Fellowship, which is the highest honor given to traditional artists and musicians in the USA.
- In 2009, for the 51st Grammy Awards, Hussain won the Grammy in the Contemporary World Music Album category for his collaborative album Global Drum Project alongside Mickey Hart, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo
- Hussain made history at the 66th Grammy Awards in 2024, becoming the first Indian to win three trophies in a single night.
