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.

Zakir Hussain, one of the world’s most transcendent musicians, passed away from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in San Francisco at the age of 73. He is survived by his wife, Antonia Minnecola; his daughters, Anisa Qureshi (her husband, Taylor Phillips, and their daughter, Zara) and Isabella Qureshi; his brothers, Taufiq Qureshi and Fazal Qureshi; and his sister, Khurshid Aulia. He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy cherished by countless music lovers around the globe, with an influence that will resonate for generations to come.
 

Saturday night, Fort Collins was the site of the penultimate tour stop of the world music celebration of the Grammy-award-winning "As We Speak," created and performed by masters of music Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Zakir Hussain, and Rakesh Chaurasia.

In the vast expanse of sound and spirit, floating through the realms of musical infinity, there drifts a vessel helmed by the illustrious Zakir Hussain, the tabla virtuoso whose fingers mold rhythm and melody out of thin air. Today, March 9th, 2024, we at Grateful Web journey across the cosmic waves to pay homage to this legendary figure, a beacon in the world of music, on his birthday.

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.

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.”

The UCLA Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA) is thrilled to announce an evening of transcultural musical brilliance featuring the collaborative genius of four global music icons: Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer, and Rakesh Chaurasia. This prestigious event will take place at the historic Royce Hall on Saturday, November 18, 2023, at 8 pm.

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.