Percussionist

In a poignant tribute to the late tabla master and longtime Cal Performances friend Zakir Hussain, Chicago’s Third Coast Percussion continues a collaboration initiated with the music legend before his passing.

Third Coast Percussion & Salar Nader, tabla

Cal Performances

LINES Ballet’s 2025 Spring Season features choreographer Alonzo King’s first-ever collaboration with American jazz trumpeter/composer Ambrose Akinmusire—a spiritual seeker in the grand tradition of musical aspirationalists. Audiences will also have the opportunity to see King’s timeless work Scheherazade, which returns in full to the stage after over a decade.

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LINES Ballet Spring Season

Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA

Experience unmatched rhythm and cultural fusion with the virtuoso tabla star, Zakir Hussain, hailed for his “virtuosity that is barely to be believed” (The Washington Post). Hussain returns to McCarter with his electrifying Masters of Percussion program.

Zakir Hussain’s Masters of Percussion

McCarter Theatre Center

As a composer, he has scored music for numerous feature films, and has composed four concertos, enjoying premieres and acclaimed performances in India, Europe and in the USA by the National Symphony Orchestra at Kennedy Center. He is the recipient of countless awards, including 5 Grammys, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Officier in France’s Order of Arts and Letters, and several honorary doctorates. Voted “Best Percussionist” by both the Downbeat Critics’ and Readers’ Polls and Modern Drummer’s Reader’s Poll over several years, including 2023, Zakir was honored with SFJazz’s Lifetime Achievement Award at their 2017 Gala for his “unparalleled contribution to the world of music”. In 2022, he was named the Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy.

Zakir Hussain – Masters Of Percussion

Massey Hall

The pre-eminent classical tabla virtuoso of our time, Zakir Hussain is appreciated both in the field of percussion and in the music world at large as an international phenomenon and one of the world’s most esteemed and influential musicians. The foremost disciple of his father, the legendary Ustad Allarakha, Zakir was a child prodigy who began his professional career at the age of twelve, accompanying India’s greatest classical musicians and dancers and touring internationally with great success by the age of eighteen. His brilliant accompaniment, solo performance and genre-defying collaborations, including his pioneering work to develop a dialogue between North and South Indian musicians, have elevated the status of his instrument both in India and globally, bringing the tabla into a new dimension of renown and appreciation.

Zakir Hussain

Moore Theatre

Due to the passing of Zakir Hussain, his scheduled performance at Soka Performing Arts Center has been canceled.

The undisputed tabla star of his generation, Zakir Hussain possesses a “virtuosity that is barely to be believed” (The Washington Post). For his legion of Cal Performances fans, Hussain returns with his dazzling Masters of Percussion program, a gathering of fellow musical heavyweights representing a myriad of cultures and traditions, from Indian classical music to jazz. The spirit of collaboration and exchange runs in Hussain’s veins—he began touring more than two decades ago in a duo with his late father and mentor, the legendary Ustad Allarakha, and today keeps that artist’s memory alive through these spirited concerts featuring the world’s finest percussionists. This year’s Masters of Percussion group features Hussain joined by Indian sarangi player (and son of legendary sarangi player Ustad Sultan Khan) Sabir Khan; Colombian-born jazz master Tupac Mantilla;  balafon, barra, djembe, and conga player Melissa Hié, and master of the dholak and tabla student of Hussain’s father Ustad Allarakha, Navin Sharma.

Cancelled: Zakir Hussain's Masters Of Percussion

Soka Performing Arts Center

Imagine...an intoxicating combination of Eastern and Western traditions creates musical magic, conjured by Indian musical royalty

Stravinsky's The Firebird in Aberdeen

Music Hall

When different musical cultures meet, a new kind of harmony is born. “Mesmerising” was how one critic described the new Triple Concerto by Zakir Hussain when Alpesh Chauhan conducted its first British performances in 2023, and today the composer himself is among the soloists in a piece which, he says, tells a tale of love, tradition and the transforming power of art. It’s perfect for Chauhan, a conductor with a real flair for finding the heart and soul of a piece of music, and he follows it with two dark fairytales from Romantic Russia – Rachmaninov’s surprisingly passionate journey into night, and Stravinsky’s exhilarating Firebird. Those glowing melodies, those dazzling cascades of colour…they’ll burn even more brightly tonight.

Zakir Hussain's Triple Concerto

Glasgow City Hall

Third Coast Percussion has commissioned Zakir Hussain to compose a major new work that blends the sounds of tabla with a classically trained percussion ensemble. A shared spirit of collaboration and curiosity reverberates among the five artists who will share the stage for the first time as part of a special double bill concert presentation.

Zakir Hussain & Third Coast Percussion

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

The Grammy Award–winning Third Coast Percussion performs an entire concert of New York premieres by four singular composers. Featured among them is a work by tabla master and global icon Zakir Hussain, who performs alongside the group in a must-hear moment for percussion fans. The program also features new music by Jlin, a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist for her previous collaboration with Third Coast Percussion (co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall); Armenian jazz pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan; and New York City’s own Jessie Montgomery, whose music is acclaimed as “turbulent, wildly colorful, and exploding with life” (The Washington Post).

Third Coast Percussion

Carnegie Hall

Classical tabla virtuoso, Zakir Hussain, and premier santoor maestro, Rahul Sharma, join in remembrance of the legendary Hindustani musician, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Widely acclaimed and highly esteemed, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma brought his Kashmiri folk music instrument, the santoor, to the classical concert stage. His concerts with Zakir Hussain were considered among the greatest musical feasts of our time. After five decades of accompanying this great artist, Zakir is bringing their relationship forward in duet with his son and worthy successor, the brilliant Rahul Sharma, who has established himself as the premier santoor maestro of his generation.

Zakir Hussain With Rahul Sharma

Ridgefield Playhouse

As We Speak: Banjo legend Béla Fleck, tabla master Zakir Hussain, double bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer, and Indian bamboo flute (bansuri) player Rakesh Chaurasia join forces for As We Speak, an album and live project  that not only showcases the group’s breathtaking abilities as instrumentalists but underscores the wide range of musical influences at their command. Across a dozen tracks, the group glides easily between the cerebral complexity of Indian rhythm and the gut-level groove of a funky bass line, sounding equally at home with the rigors of raga.

Zakir Hussain, Bela Fleck, Rakesh Chaurasia, Edgar Meyer. Special Guest Arooj Aftab

South Asia Institute

Prepare to be mesmerized when four virtuosi present a concert based on their latest album As We Speak. Tabla player Zakir Hussain explains “When we are performing on stage, in composing mode or creating mode, we are basically having a conversation. So the music emerges as we speak.”

Special Event As We Speak with Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer bass, Zakir Hussain tabla, and Rakesh Chaurasia bansuri

Aspen Meadows Resort

The first time banjo legend Béla Fleck, tabla master Zakir Hussain, and double bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer got together to make an album, it was to write, not to play.  When Fleck and Meyer were looking for a third partner for a triple concerto they had been commissioned to write to mark the opening of Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, they thought of Hussain, who was quite interested in orchestral writing. “We thought we could learn a whole lot from this guy!” says Béla. The result was The Melody of Rhythm (2009), recorded with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin.

As We Speak: Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, featuring Rakesh Chaurasia

Groton Hill Music Center

First assembled for an SFJAZZ performance during the 2017-18 Season, this historic convergence of instrumental giants returns for night four of Dave Holland’s residency, showcasing the singular telepathy they’ve forged over the last seven years and memorialized on their 2019 Edition Records debut Good Hope.

“One of the most studied (and copied) saxophonists on the planet,” (DownBeat) Chris Potter is a standard bearer of modern jazz, a restless bandleader, SFJAZZ Collective musical director, and collaborator with Pat Metheny, Paul Motian, Herbie Hancock, Jim Hall, and the Mingus Big Band.

Since arriving in the Bay Area as a celebrated teenage prodigy trained by his legendary father Alla Rakha, Zakir Hussain has brought the rhythmic sophistication of North Indian classical music into a diverse array of settings from Shakti to Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum, blazing a mind-boggling array of musical trails.

Dave Holland W/ Chris Potter, & Zakir Hussain

SFJAZZ Center

The London Telegraph calls him “the presiding genius and global ambassador for North Indian classical music.” GRAMMY® winning tabla drummer Zakir Hussain first entered the western world’s consciousness in the ‘70s with his collaborations with George Harrison, John Handy, Van Morrison and Earth, Wind & Fire. He’s lauded for his group Shakti, which he founded with John McLaughlin and L. Shankar, and for Planet Drum with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead.

TISRA Zakir Hussain with Debopriya Chatterjee and Sabir Khan

New Jersey Performing Arts Center

A classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order, Zakir Hussain is a national treasure in his home country of India, a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement. A consistently brilliant and exciting performer, Hussain has become one of India’s reigning cultural ambassadors, working with the likes of George Harrison, YoYo Ma, Van Morrison, Pharoah Sanders, and many, many more. Here, he performs with eight-generation sarangi master Sabir Khan, who draws from both the hypnotic loops of Sufi music and the rhythms of Indian classical dance, and Debopriya Chatterjee, the Indian Hindustani bansuri player trained in both Indian and Western classical music, and best known for being one of the illustrious “Flute Sisters” with her sibling Suchismita.

Zakir Hussain (tabla) with Sabir Khan (sarangi) and Debopriya Chatterjee (bansuri)

Tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain is proud to present TISRA (three) with two of India’s finest young musicians: Sabir Khan and Debopriya Chatterjee. This trio includes tabla (drum), sarangi (strings), and bansuri (bamboo flute), a combination not often heard on the classical stage. Sarangi and bansuri, both folk instruments, have roots in ancient India and its mythology. TISRA showcases rich folk and classical traditions: the musical influence of Rajasthani nomads has been heard far beyond the borders of India, and Uttar Pradesh incorporated folk music forms of Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet into its music. This colorful mix, combined with Indian classical music and the rich rhythm repertoire of Punjab, makes for a compelling and unique ensemble.

Tisra: Zakir Hussain Trio with Debopriya Chatterjee and Sabir Khan

Trustees Theater

World-famous tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain(Opens in a new window), renowned bansuri player Debopriya Chatterjee, and master sarangi player Sabir Khan perform a brilliant evening of traditional Indian classical music.

TISRA: Zakir Hussain with Debopriya Chatterjee and Sabir Khan

Berklee College of Music

Red Baraat is a pioneering band from Brooklyn, New York. Conceived by dhol player Sunny Jain, the group has drawn worldwide praise for its singular sound, a merging of hard driving North Indian bhangra with elements of hip-hop, jazz and raw punk energy. Created with no less a purposeful agenda than manifesting joy and unity in all people, Red Baraat’s spirit is worn brightly on its sweaty and hard-worked sleeve.

Red Baraat

University of California San Diego

These genre-defying virtuosos move with ease among classical, bluegrass, and North Indian music, creating a fusion uniquely their own. With 20 GRAMMY© Awards among them, these three artists are at the height of their powers, crossing sonic borders.

Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, and Edgar Meyer with Rakesh Chaurasia

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

A harmonic convergence of virtuosity, the trio of tabla master Hussain, banjoist Fleck, and bassist Meyer reunite on the Miner stage to revisit their magical chemistry 14 years after the release of their GRAMMY-nominated 2009 album The Melody of Rhythm to celebrate the release of their new album As We Speak. They are joined for this evening by bansuri flute maestro Rakesh Chaurasia.



Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer with Rakesh Chaurasia

The first-time banjo legend Béla Fleck, tabla master Zakir Hussain, and double bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer got together to make an album, it was to write, not to play.

When Fleck and Meyer were looking for a third partner for a triple concerto, they had been commissioned to write to mark the opening of Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, they thought of Hussain, who was quite interested in orchestral writing. “We thought we could learn a whole lot from this guy!” says Béla. The result was The Melody of Rhythm (2009), recorded with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin.

As We Speak: Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, Feat. Rakesh Chaurasia

This amazing World Music gig is a confluence of Indian classical, Western classical, jazz, and bluegrass. The artists have collectively won 22 Grammys!

Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, Rakesh Chaurasia - Live in Concert ·

Wortham Theater Center

The collaboration of instrumental legends John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain that defined the idea of “global fusion” in the mid-1970s celebrates 50 years and the new album This Moment with this historic performance at Davies Symphony Hall.

With a name translated from Hindi as “power,” Shakti came together after the dissolution of the first iteration of guitarist and Miles Davis alumnus McLaughlin’s trailblazing jazz fusion collective Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1973, with the concept to explore the intersection of jazz improvisation and Indian classical music.

Shakti

Davies Symphony Hall

Shakti: 50th Anniversary Tour with John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain & Béla Fleck

Keswick Theatre

Three masterful genre-benders—Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, and Edgar Meyer—come together once again to blur geographic borders and musical boundaries for an exuberantly virtuosic and exciting evening of music.

Bluegrass, classical, global music, jazz, and more come together and recombine in unheard-of ways. Their joy is palpable, and the audience will share the excitement and enthusiasm. 

Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, and Zakir Hussain

“When we are performing on stage, in composing mode or creating mode, we are basically having a conversation,” says renowned tabla player, Zakir Hussain, of his bandmates, banjo legend Béla Fleck, the great double bassist Edgar Meyer, and bansuri player Rakesh Chaurasia. “So the music emerges as we speak.”

As We Speak: Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer & Zakir Hussain

Curator, conductor, and producer Zakir Hussain brings the best Indian music and world percussion for this unforgettable and extraordinary concert experience.

Zakir Hussain & Masters of Percussion

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

Every other year for the past thirty years, Zakir Hussain has served as curator, conductor, and producer for his series, Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion, which brings the very cream of Indian music and world percussion to tour America and Europe.
Growing out of his renowned international tabla duet tours with his father, the legendary Ustad Allarakha, Masters of Percussion began as a platform for both popular and rarely heard rhythm traditions from India. While performing and collaborating in India for a few months every year, Zakir has sought and unearthed lesser-known folk and classical traditions which feed into the greater stream of Indian music, playing an educational role in affording them greater visibility, as well as introducing them to audiences in the West. Over time, the constantly changing ensemble has expanded to include great drummers and percussionists from many world traditions, including jazz and Latin music.
All of it creates a truly beautiful field from which he can bring Masters of Percussion to the West. The 2023 version will be no exception, presenting American audiences with extraordinary, exciting, and spontaneous combinations of percussive as well as melodic performances.

Balboa Theatre

Known for his masterful improvisations and brilliant live performances, tabla virtuoso and Indian national treasure, Zakir Hussain is an international phenomenon and one of the world’s most esteemed and influential musicians. Widely considered the father of the contemporary world music movement, Zakir founded the historic band Shakti and has collaborated with artists as diverse as George Harrison and Herbie Hancock, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Zakir Hussain: Masters of Percussion

Irvine Barclay Theatre

The undisputed tabla virtuoso of his generation, Zakir Hussain possesses a “virtuosity that is barely to be believed” (The Washington Post). For his legion of Cal Performances fans, Hussain returns with his dazzling Masters of Percussion program, a gathering of fellow musical heavyweights representing a myriad of cultures and traditions, from Indian classical music to jazz. The spirit of collaboration and exchange runs in Hussain’s veins—he began touring more than two decades ago in a duo with his late father and mentor, the legendary Ustad Allarakha, and today keeps that artist’s memory alive through these spirited concerts featuring the world’s finest percussionists.

Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion

University of California, Berkeley

Zakir Hussain is the preeminent classical tabla virtuoso of our time and is appreciated in the music world at large as an international phenomenon. A national treasure in his native India, he is one of the world’s most esteemed and influential musicians, renowned for his genre-defying collaborations, including Shakti (with John McLaughlin), the Diga Rhythm Band and Planet Drum (both with the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart), Tabla Beat Science, Celtic Connection, Sangam with Charles Lloyd and Eric Harland, in trio with Béla Fleck and Edgar Meyer and, most recently, with Herbie Hancock. The foremost disciple of his father, the legendary Ustad Alla Rakha, Zakir was a child prodigy who began his professional career at the age of 12, accompanying India’s greatest classical musicians and dancers, and touring internationally with great success by the age of eighteen.

Percussionist

Zakir Hussain

Events

Past events

Nov 1, 2025

Third Coast Percussion & Salar Nader, tabla · Cal Performances

10 - 18 May, 2025

LINES Ballet Spring Season · Alonzo King Lines Ballet

Future and recently performed repertoire

Tabla in Scheherazade by King

Alonzo King Lines Ballet

About

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