Zakir Hussain‘s Legacy: from Tabla’s Second Class to World Music Star

Lord Krishna, the Hindu god of love and compassion, is often shown with a flute.This might relate to the story of how the tabla, a pair of small hand drums, came to be. Legend says Krishna created the tabla by splitting a large drum in half for rhythmic accompaniment. Melody was always considered more vital. In traditional Indian music,sitar players were the stars,while tabla players frequently enough traveled and were paid less.

Alla Rakha and his son, Zakir Hussain, changed that. Alla Rakha was the longtime tabla partner of Ravi Shankar, who made Indian raga music popular worldwide in the 1960s. Shankar influenced musicians like violinist Yehudi Menuhin, the Beatles, and Philip Glass. Zakir Hussain,also a master tabla player,broadened the tabla’s appeal,bringing it into jazz,pop music,film,and television. He was a key figure in the early world music movement, successfully blending the tabla with flamenco, African, Indonesian, Afro-Cuban, and many other drumming styles. Hussain and the warm, human sound of his tabla have become part of the world’s musical landscape.

Monday marks the frist anniversary of Hussain’s death at age 73 from a lung illness. his final project was a collaboration with Third Coast Percussion, who commissioned “Murmurs of Time” to celebrate their 20th anniversary. This was the only work by one of the world’s greatest percussionists specifically written for a percussion ensemble. Hussain recorded “Murmurs” with the group but didn’t live to hear the finished recording or perform it live.

The recording with Hussain, “Standard Stoppages,” along with other percussion pieces, is eligible for the 2026 Grammy Awards and is a strong contender in the chamber music/small ensemble performance category. Simultaneously occurring, Third coast Percussion is touring with “Murmurs,” featuring Salar Nader, a student of Hussain, as a soloist. Last weekend, Third Coast performed the program to a sold-out audience at the nimoy, as part of the CAP UCLA season.

Nader, born in Hamburg to Afghan refugees and raised in California, began studying with Hussain at age 7. He represents the next generation of tabla players, poised to further elevate the instrument. This raises the question: what’s next for the tabla?

Looking back, the journey of Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain demonstrates how dedication to a complex, demanding art form can lead to something new and widely appreciated.