Live is Better!

Interview with Zakir Hussain

Ustad Zakir Hussain will be on tour for the next month on the Masters of Percussion tour. He was very kind to spend some time talking to us about the forthcoming series, his collaborations and reminiscing about old times. Below is Live is better’s interview with Zakirji

LiB: Hello Zakirji, How are you?
ZH: I’m doing very well, Thank you.

LiB: How’s Mumbai? Are you there for a concert series or just visiting?
ZH: Usually in India the music season begins around Mid November and continues till the end of February. so this is the time when all the Indian musicians gather in India, back from their world tours, to learn from each other, tell stories, share new experiences, practice and jam. Basically, back in India its when concerts are galore. There are almost 15-20 concerts in every major city!

Artists come together just to plug in , relax and rejuvenate, connect with their musical peers and gurus, etc. and then go back after April-May for their concert season. I personally have concerts everyday till the tail end of February and after that, I fly out to Seattle for Masters of Percussion starting on March 3rd.

LiB: Speaking of Masters of percussion, we’ve read that you believe ‘Masters of Percussion’ is a unique and different experience. What is unique about this series/group?
ZH: Masters of Percussion was initiated with the idea that there are over 200 different percussion instruments spread all over India with a number of Indian legends who are great exponents of the same. People outside of India rarely get a chance to hear much of that. So in 1999, we started this bi-annual series bringing in different drum traditions from remote corners of India and giving them a chance to be heard and thus giving the audience a fresh sound every time. So that’s what makes it unique. The different combinations of rhythms and a varied lineup in this kind of a setting. Some of these artists have never interacted with each other before and in fact, some them haven’t even left their village and so its interesting to bring them out here and have an extempore on stage and showcase their talent. So in that sense, it’s very unique.

Also, it isn’t about Zakir Hussain with Shiv Kumar Sharma or Amjad Ali Khan. This is a whole different ball game. I’m a small part of this concert, that’s all. Each musician in this series is a master in his own right and they each deserve a concert series of their own. I’m thankful that they have consented to perform and I get a chance to sit back and enjoy their performance and learn something more about drumming, expand my repertoire and get inspired.

LiB: Yes I agree that there’s loads of talent on that stage. From Sridhar Parthasarthy to Taufiq Qureshi and Sabir Khan – all wonderful percussionists…
ZH: I have to mention that we have great melody players along with our percussionists too. Sabir khan is one of two best young Sarangi players we have from India and what he brings to the table is not only his training in traditional music but also a flavor of Rajasthani folk music. It just amazing to tackle that music and those rhythms and bring those sounds out. Kumaresh and Ganesh are great violinist from south India. They provide south Indian melodic structures and also some contemporary styles to work with.
So we as drummers get so much inspiration and support from the best Indian musicians around. This helps us to give the audience, especially the western audience, a bird’s eye view of what India and its core music is all about

LiB: Recently you toured with Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyers? What distinguishes Indian from international artists? What is it that you do or think different to adapt?
ZH: First of all Vinay, I forget that there is something different. We have the same melody notes in India as they have abroad. They have Do re me fa and we have Sa re ga ma. Similarly we have rhythms, whether it is 4/4’s or 6/8’s which are common and universal.

The musical instruments across the globe play the same notes and so in the basic core sense, there is no difference. If anything at all, the difference may come through in how we package it. When we’re working with musicians who are not from India, the main thing is to understand their way of life, more importantly their culture, their social scene and how they interact with each other. Similarly they have to understand what it means when I get on stage and bow to my drums and what it means when I touch my Guru’s feet. Once we understand the social backgrounds, it becomes clear the kind of reverence being put forth towards the art form, the respect and honor one bestows to their elders, etc and this is what reflects in our music. For instance, in an orchestra, I need to know that the only person who is called maestro is the conductor and so when I know that I know how to interact with him.

When this understanding is in place, hearts meet, minds meet and there’s no question of egos or anything else and so this gives way to beautiful music. Forgetting any differences, we need to relate at different levels and this makes the music very multidimensional.

LiB: Anybody in particular you’ve wanted to collaborate with? What can we see in the future with respect to collaborations?
ZH: Well Vinay, I’ve been lucky that I’ve somehow ended up in situations where I’ve gotten the opportunity to work with the big names around and people who I’ve always wanted to work with. I’ve been at the right place at the right time.

For instance, When John McLaughlin was looking for a Tabla player, I just happened to be there. When Mickey Hart wanted to learn Indian rhythms, experiment and showcase this on stage, I just happened to be there around available to work with. Of course, it finally comes to the point where one needs to deliver when given the chance but when all these interactive elements begin to work for you; something special is definitely to come about.

It really all began in the bay area in California where all the world musicians were hanging out there and they were wondering ‘Okay, so what’s next’. That brought about the fusion revolutions and I just happened to be there. I got a chance to perform with Santana, Miles Davis, Mickey Hart, John McLaughlin, Jefferson Airplane and many more.

A quick anecdote if I may – I was playing once at a Jazz fest in South of France and a friend, Chris Jagger swings by and invites me to his brother Mick’s birthday party. I reach the house and there he was – the birthday boy Mick Jagger. There were a lot of stars and musicians there that evening. Slowly and surely, they all wanted to jam and play some music. Coincidentally, I was the only drummer there and that was my chance to jam with Mick and many other musicians.

All in all, I can’t complain about any artist in particular who’ve I’ve always wanted to collaborate with. I’m just thankful to god for the chances I’ve been blessed with.

LiB: Any Shakti reunions we can look forward to?
ZH: In fact, I just spent time with John McLaughlin in Monte Carlo some months ago. I was invited to write music for the 100th year celebration of the Ballet of Russia and they were housed in Monte Carlo and it was premiered there. This is when I got a chance to hang out with John there.

I keep meeting and playing with Vikkuji (“Vikku” Vinayakram) and L Shankar so it’s not like we’re over or anything of that sorts but just that we make smaller and coupled performances.

As Shakti, we might come together in 2011 as John has commitments till 2010 after which we prepare for it in 2011. Just the other night we have having dinner and just reminiscing about the music movement that took place during the 60’s and 70’s. Now that just gets us all excited about Shakti!

LiB: And what about Tabla Beat Science (TBS)?
ZH: It’s around. It’s around (laughs). TBS played in India not too long ago and it was a fun time. Karsh Kale has a lot of projects going on now and Bill Laswell has been producing some Jazz music and he’s busy with that. We’re hoping Sabir Khan can contribute and fill his father, Ustad Sultan Khan’s shoes. Ustad Sultan Khan’s is currently not well these days.

Incidentally, Shakti actually sparked this idea of world music and the coming together of these artists to form TBS and I was just lucky that they made me a part of it.

LiB: The ever modest Zakir Hussain…
ZH: No way. There were a lot of great artists around at that time when this was all came together. L Shankar, John, Vikkuji, Ravi Shankar, only to name a few. So there were a lot of great names behind any success that I’ve had.

LiB: Three Indian representations for Grammy nominations this year is incredible and something that has never happened before. You’ve yourself won in 1991 and 2009 and now A R Rahman in 2010. Is the world finally standing up and recognizing Indian art? How do you see the future of world music?
ZH: It’s a natural flow of things and it had to happen eventually. India has been one of the premiere forms of music in the world in the last 20 years and it was important that the western world needed to recognize that there was something significant there. And well its happening now and it’s only going to get bigger. It’s important for the western world to understand India and for that matter Asian influences because this will give the western audience exposure to a whole new dimension in music and culture and this will only do a world of good for both worlds.

See how ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’ became famous thus recognizing artists like Ang Lee. Similarly Hollywood has accepted so many artists from China like John woo and Chow Yun-Fat which helped them gain a whole spectrum of Asian viewership.

Rahman being nominated last year and winning will only boost the western worlds viewership amongst the Indians. This is tremendous and they’re starting to see that Asia (especially South East Asia) cannot be ignored

LiB: We believe in encouraging people to go out to concerts, encourage the artists and have a good time. What do you think of our initiative? Advice and direction?
ZH: I think it’s important to have this one stop shop for concerts. Supermarkets do very well in the Western world and so it’s great that your taking this approach. The growth of non western music in the western world is key and it’s good that now people can go online and actually see’s who and what’s out there from Asia

This is only going to help promote Asian culture and Art form.

LiB:Thank you very much Zakirji for your time. It was a pleasure and an honor talking to you.
ZH: The pleasure was all mine Vinay. Now get a beer and take it easy! (laughs)