Zakir Hussain

Good morning.

Today we’re listening to Zakir Hussain, an Indian percussionist based in San Francisco. Hussain gained international renown for his virtuosity with the tabla, the primary percussion instrument of Hindustani classical music, which consists of two hand drums. Hussain played on George Harrison’s Living in the Material World and on albums by Pharaoh Sanders, Ravi Shankar, and Earth Wind & Fire. He released many of his own records, though not all are available on major streaming services. We’re playing two that are: 1987’s Making Music – on which his tabla is accompanied by acoustic guitar, saxophone, and flute – and 1995’s transfixing Essence of Rhythm.

Making Music - Zakir Hussain (50m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Tidal¹

Essence of Rhythm - Zakir Hussain (60m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Tidal

Have a great Thursday.

1. Substitution