From all of us here at Grateful Web, we gather in heavy hush, the sound of distant thunder in our chests, to mourn and honor the passing of our dear brother Zakir Hussain. Like a star-spun traveler caught between midnight and morning’s glow, he drifted from this mortal coil on December 15, 2024, leaving behind a legacy of rhythms and echoes that will haunt our halls for ages.

Shakti, the recently reconvened global fusion trailblazers, have been nominated for 2024 GRAMMY™ Award for Best Global Music Album for This Moment – the group’s first new studio album in more than 45 years, released on June 30, 2023, on the Abstract Logix label. “After our most successful tour ever of three continents, Shakti gets a GRAMMY Nomination for our album This Moment…” reacted co-founding guitarist and composer John McLaughlin, “We are thrilled and delighted beyond words.”

When Shakti co-founders John McLaughlin (guitar) and Zakir Hussain (tabla) first directed their virtuosity towards exploring common ground between Eastern and Western musical traditions – starting in private sessions, then on their 1975 debut album – the notion of such a hybrid was so novel that fans, industry executives, and even the media expressed concerned bafflement.

SHAKTI, featuring British guitarist John McLaughlin and Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain alongside vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan, and percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram (son of original Shakti ghatam player T.H. “Vikku” Vinayakram) have launched their 50th Anniversary tour, their first in over sixteen years. This must-see tour includes stops in Nashville, Atlanta, Seattle, Chicago - eighteen cities in all, boasting five sold-out markets with others close behind.

Fifty years is a long time to participate in anything. So long, in fact, that gold is the appropriate anniversary gift. The multi-cultural, mixed genre Shakti brought their Fiftieth Anniversary Tour to the famed Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY on August 19, 2023. The band's unique mix of blues with North and South Indian rhythmic and melodic perspectives captivated the crowd and exemplified how exceptionally gifted these musicians are.

Released today, This Moment, a 50th Anniversary celebration album from the groundbreaking global fusion ensemble, SHAKTI. As a cornerstone of what is now called World Music, the vision and virtuosity of Shakti has inspired generations of musicians from around the world to explore sonic hybrids once thought impossible.

As a cornerstone of what is now called World Music, the vision and virtuosity of Shakti has inspired generations of musicians from around the world to explore sonic hybrids once thought impossible. Born of the musical and spiritual brotherhood shared by the revolutionary British guitarist and bandleader John McLaughlin and master Indian percussionist Zakir Hussain, Shakti’s soulful, organic intermingling of Eastern and Western musical traditions has proven transformative for both the band’s members and its listeners.

Following word of the Summer 2023 release of This Moment – their first new studio album in 46 years – revolutionary world music ensemble Shakti will continue to discover and explore the musical common ground bridging East and West on an extensive U.S. tour, beginning August 17 in Boston, current itinerary below with more dates TBA.

Almost a half-century ago, Shakti awakened the world.
 
An unprecedented, transcontinental collaboration, Shakti united eastern and western musicians, and in the process forged the template for what is now called “world music.” Their dynamic musical hybrid immediately enthralled audiences around the globe – and inspired generations of musicians, artists, and thinkers from all walks of life to embark on their own cross-cultural odysseys.  
 

Montreux Jazz Festival and BMG are set to release the next instalment in The Montreux Years series with “John McLaughlin: The Montreux Years,” OUT TOMORROW - Friday, March 4, 2022. Curated and compiled by John McLaughlin, the album is a collection of his finest performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival between 1978 and 2016.