A New EP From Third Coast Percussion and Zakir Hussain
Murmurs in Time represents the legendary tabla master’s only composition for a classical percussion group, though his career was filled with collaborations with percussionists of all kinds, and explorations of the special bond between “fellow rhythmists.” This two-movement work echoes with memories of his own personal history. His musical journey started when he was a very small child, with his father and guru, the famous tabla player Ustad Alla Rakha, singing rhythms for the young Zakir to sing back. These vocalizations of drum sounds (“bols”) are an important element of the Hindustani classical music tradition, and feature prominently in the first movement of Murmurs in Time. They can be a way to internalize rhythmic patterns independent of physical technique, and become virtuosic displays in their own right. A rhythmic cycle used in the second movement of this piece was a pattern that Zakir learned from his father when he was about 11 years old. This collaboration involved a balance of strictly composed material and opportunities for improvisation. Hussain treated the commission as an opportunity for mutual learning rather than a channel for imposing his will on the other performers. “It is important that respect is given to the artists that I’m working with, by allowing them to be able to find their own way in the piece that I’m presenting… I love to see how it comes back to me in a different costume.”
About Zakir Hussain
The pre-eminent classical tabla virtuoso of our time, Zakir Hussain is appreciated as one of the world’s most esteemed and influential musicians, one whose mastery of his percussion instrument took it to a new level, transcending cultures and national borders. A child prodigy who began his international touring career by the age of eighteen, Zakir was at the helm of many genre-defying collaborations including Shakti, Remember Shakti, Masters of Percussion, Planet Drum, Tabla Beat Science, and Sangam. In February, 2024, Zakir made history by receiving three GRAMMY Awards® in one GRAMMY Awards® Ceremony, the first musician from India to be thus honored. As a composer, he scored music for numerous feature films, and composed four concertos, which enjoyed premieres and acclaimed performances in India, Europe, and in the USA by the National Symphony Orchestra at Kennedy Center. He was the recipient of countless awards, including five GRAMMYs, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan,Padma Shri, Officier in France’s Order of Arts and Letters, and several honorary doctorates. Zakir was voted “Best Percussionist” by both the Downbeat Critics’ and Readers’ Polls and Modern Drummer’s Readers’ Poll over several years, including 2023, and he was honored with SFJazz’s Lifetime Achievement Award at their 2017 Gala for his “unparalleled contribution to the world of music.” In 2022, he was named the Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy. As an educator, he conducted many workshops and lectures each year both at prestigious universities and at yearly workshops that he led in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Murmurs in Time is now available from Cedille Records to stream on all platforms. Click here to listen to Murmurs In Time.
Performed by Third Coast Percussion featuring Zakir Hussain, tabla.
Murmurs in Time by Zakir Hussain was commissioned for Third Coast Percussion by Modlin Center for the Arts at University of Richmond, Carnegie Hall, Washington Performing Arts, and the Zell Family Foundation.
Photo Credit: Martine Severin