Tabla Maestro Zakir Hussain passed away on Sunday in California at 73. Over his six-decade career, he collaborated with many renowned artists. His 1973 project with John McLaughlin, L. Shankar, and T.H. 'Vikku' Vinayakram fused Indian classical music with jazz, creating an unprecedented blend. Let us pay tribute to him with a flashback video where Ustad Zakir Hussain explains the meaning of ‘Shakti.’
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00:00Zakir ji, remember Shakti, where the Jazz meets India, what does that mean?
00:29First of all, I would like to say that there are two types of music in the world.
00:36One approach is to improvise.
00:42That is, to create something new and spontaneous.
00:48There is a connection between Indian music and Jazz music.
00:52In a way, both types of music can be traditionally referred to as brothers or twins.
00:58This connection can be called an energy connection.
01:06Electricity, energy, vibration, strength.
01:11This gives us strength, comfort, peace.
01:18When we used to play this music, we used to feel as if we had eaten a lot of vitamins.
01:29Or we did yoga or meditation and suddenly felt refreshed.
01:33So it felt that the name of the music should also be Shakti.
01:38This is not an ad for bottled vitamins.
01:42When we play this music, we feel a kind of therapy.
01:50We feel really good.
01:52Shakti is a homage to India.
02:02The connection between Jazz, which is the West, and India, which is the East.
02:07The kind of energy it creates, that's what it is.
02:12Where is Mr. Palani?
02:14He's inside.
02:15In the green room.
02:23Taufiq, do you have a monitor?
02:28Put him in the monitor.
02:30Side, yeah.
02:31He won't fit in.
02:34That's true.
02:36We all have the same problem.
02:42Okay.
02:49Okay.
02:51Okay.
02:52A little softer.
02:53A little softer in the monitor.
03:02So for your mother and for you, right?
03:04Is that what you're saying?
03:07Sir, where are you going?
03:14Because this is improvised music, we haven't yet decided.
03:17We haven't made a decision yet.
03:19Because we always play chaar.
03:22But this time, a lot of new artists will join us.
03:25Like Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Shankar Mahadevan, Shiva Mani, Vinayak Ramji, Devasheesh Bhattacharya.
03:33A lot of musicians are coming.
03:35So I can't say what type of music we'll do.
03:38But whatever happens, it's going to be fun.
03:40It'll be fun.
03:42We'll enjoy each other's music.
03:45And just enjoy ourselves.
03:49But it'll be Indian, it'll be jazz, it'll be whatever you want to call it.
03:53But it'll be music.
04:05It'll be music.
04:35How do you feel being in Shakti?
04:49I feel very fortunate.
04:52I consider myself very fortunate.
04:54I was born at a time when I heard, saw, played and learned a lot of artists.
05:04So playing with Shiv Kumar gives you a different learning experience.
05:08Playing with Hari Prasad gives you a different experience.
05:10Similarly, with John McLaughlin, Srinivas, Vinayak Ramji, Shankar, L. Shankar, violinist.
05:17You get to learn a lot.
05:18So I feel I consider myself very fortunate.
05:21That I'm in a time where there's a group like Shakti.
05:25There's Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan.
05:28There was Ghulam Ali Khan.
05:29There was Ameer Khan.
05:31I heard, saw, learned and understood so many great artists.
05:35And I played with an artist like Ali Akbar Khan.
05:38So I'm very happy and lucky.
06:01Shakia is truly like a brother to me.
06:19Because we've known each other for over 30 years now.
06:26And though we've continued in our separate careers.
06:33And we've been always in touch with each other.
06:37And always continue to do different things, different concerts.
06:41We've done concerts with Hari Prasad Chaurasia in Italy.
06:45Nishat Khan, other places, recordings, television shows in France, in Europe generally.
06:54So we've always stayed in contact.
06:56So he's really a brother to me.
06:59I cannot really tell you my admiration for him.
07:04My love and affection for Shakia.
07:07He's great. He's just great.
07:10Thank you John.
07:11My pleasure.