Ravinia 2023 Issue 6

JEREMY COWART (HUSSAIN) “ Selvaganesh has his fingers in technology … it’s a new layer to the present Shakti, playing with him—not only rhythmically and compositionally , but also sonically . ” WORLD-RENOWNED tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain remembers exact- ly when he first made music with guitar legend John McLaughlin. It was September 1972 in the Bay Area, and Hussain had been jaw-dropping- ly gobsmacked the night prior by McLaughlin, shredding up a storm in concert with his jazz-fusion band. The following day, they were hanging out at the home of maestro Ali Akbar Khan when McLaughlin asked Hus- sain, “Would you play with me?” The 30-year-old Englishman picked up his acoustic guitar; the 21-year-old Indian prodigy availed himself of Khan’s tabla (a pair of hand drums used for centuries in North Indian classical music). “It was like we’d been doing this for the past 50 years,” Hussain recalls during a lengthy but utterly engaging interview with Ravinia . “It was right,” he continues. “Our minds as one; our path, rhythmically, as one, starting and stopping together, knowing instinctively what the other person was about to do. It was about as close to perfect as one could imag- ine. John and I both knew we had to make music together.” Thus was a legend born: Shakti, the trailblazing improvisational band that to this day remains one of the greatest musical unions of East and West. The initial lineup comprised four musi- cians: McLaughlin, Hussain, violinist L. Shankar and another percussionist, Vikku Vinayakram. “We got together in New York and, after a one-hour rehearsal, we did our first concert,” Hussain says. The initial output was instrumental, but this long-lasting en- semble expanded and contracted over the decades, sometimes adding vocals, mandolin, flute, or other sounds. This flexibility means that the group never truly disbands. Shakti simply goes fallow, then reforms and rises anew. “We never felt that what we’re doing has an ending,” Hussain observes. “It keeps moving. It doesn’t matter if we don’t get together for three or four years. When we come together to play, we take up from where we left off, no hurdles, no hiccups. Over the years, we’ve done different projects away from each other, but we always gravitate back together, that much more enriched from our various relationships with other musicians.” Half a century after that first jam session, McLaughlin and Hussain have launched a golden-anniversary world tour. It kicked off in India in January before heading to Europe, and now winds through the United States. In a big surprise for their fans, Shakti—a band mostly known for its concerts and live recordings—also recently released This Moment , the first new studio album in 45 years. Another fun surprise: their Septem- ber 3 concert at Ravinia includes an appearance by banjo sorcerer Béla Fleck, with whom Hussain recently renewed a trio collaboration including bassist Edgar Meyer for the album and upcoming tour As We Speak . This latest Shakti incarnation, now a quintet, retains one-half of its origi- nal lineup, Hussain and McLaughlin. But there’s another special connection brought by the presence of a second percussionist, Selvaganesh Vinay- akram. He’s the son of original Shakti member Vikku, which further weaves together the varied strands from the band’s long history. “When Selvaganesh joined Shakti, from the very first point on, it was like I was playing with his father,” Hussain says. “He knew the patterns; he knew the looks. Vikku Vinayakram and I had a kind of chemistry. Selvaganesh grew up watching that. He can read my eyes exactly like Vikku did.” Not only a percussionist, Selvaga- nesh is also a composer and sound engineer in his own right. “He has his fingers in technology to enhance the sonic experience,” Hussain adds. “He will ask me, ‘Zakir, why don’t we try this? If we use this microphone and this reverb, your tabla is going to sound like so-and-so.’ Lo and behold, it’s a new experience playing with him—not only rhythmically and com- positionally, but also sonically. That adds a different layer to the present Shakti.” It’s natural that the group still finds ways to innovate, because that’s been RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 79