Ravinia 2023 Issue 6

“ Turn your tabla into a rock drum, into a jazz drum, into a Latin drum, into an African drum. Become so unique, so special, that everybody wants to work with you. ” –GEORGEHARRISON grew up learning that all of this was really just one thing, just different shades of thinking. That, I think, was a really fortunate way to grow up. It’s helped me tremendously to find my way in this world.” THROUGH A SINGULAR MIX of natural talent and incredible dedica- tion, Hussain began notching incredi- ble achievements very early in life. His father had a long collaboration with Ravi Shankar, the legendary composer and sitar player, which became the genesis of Hussain’s first trip to the States. Shankar and Alla Rakha had achieved an amazing level of success in the Western Hemisphere, rivet- ing audiences at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and Woodstock in ’69. But in early 1970, before a concert at Fillmore East, the elder tabla player fell ill—so Shankar summoned the junior Hussain to New York to fill in. With his 19th birthday still two weeks away, Hussain made his US profes- sional debut. Another life-changing encounter happened in early 1973, just a few months after Hussain and McLaugh- lin discovered their musical chemis- try. George Harrison was recording Living in the Material World , his third album in his artistically fecund post-Beatles era, and he recruited Hussain to perform on the title track. At some point during the recording, Harrison led him to an epiphany. “I wanted to be a rock and roll drummer. I wanted to wear those jackets and have that hair, you know, to play in a band and be a star,” Hussain reminisces. “We were in Trident Studios in London, and I told George Harrison that. George said to me, ‘Zakir, you’re sitting next to me because you have something unique to offer. You’re a tabla player who represents an ancient tradition, who also validates it in the modern world. If you want to be a drummer, I have 500 drummers waiting outside this studio. Why do you want to be number 501?’ ” Then Harrison made a suggestion: “Why don’t you transpose all these incredible rhythmic ideas onto your tabla? Turn your tabla into a rock drum, into a jazz drum, into a Latin drum, into an African drum. Become so unique, so special, that everybody wants to work with you.” “That one talk with him, it was like a bulb turned on in my head,” he con- tinues. “He really turned me around, and pushed me back to my roots. I re- alized for the first time how important Indian classical music was to me, and how I could take that and reinvent myself to wear all these different hats. That one lesson from George got me to a place where I could work with all these other musicians—Shakti, Van Morrison, Mickey Hart, Charles Lloyd, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer—and offer them what they wanted.” And what a path he’s forged since then. Hussain’s many honors include titles from the governments of India, the United States, and France; hon- orary degrees from universities from Mumbai to Princeton; accolades from private institutions from Kyoto to San Francisco; and, yes, a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album. “When you talk about music fra- ternity, it doesn’t matter where in the world you are. There are no boundar- ies or fences in that way,” he says. “Ed- gar Meyer or Mickey Hart, they are of Jewish background, but they’re dear friends and we play music together. Ravi Shankar was a Hindu and my father was a Muslim, and it didn’t matter. They were a team together for so many years, like brothers. I can go to Japan, to Sado Island, and work with taiko drummers, and their zen system will allow me to be a part of it. Religion doesn’t come into place. “It’s like a big symphony orchestra. Thousands of us are playing together, coming out with one big beautiful song.” Native Chicagoan Web Behrens has spent most of his journalism career covering arts and culture. His work has appeared in the pages of the Chicago Tribune , Time Out Chicago , Crain’s Chicago Business , and The Advocate and Chicago magazines. RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 81