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Zakir Hussain (Musician) Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 21, 2026 • 3 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth9 March 1951

Age73 Years

BirthplaceMumbai, Maharashtra, India

ProfessionIndian Classical Musician (Tabla Maestro)

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseAntonia Minnecola

FamilyFather - Alla Rakha; Mother - Bavi Begum; Brothers - Taufiq Qureshi and Fazal Qureshi; Daughters - Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi

Zakir Hussain (Musician) Biography

Zakir Hussain Qureshi was an Indian tabla virtuoso known for his classical mastery and global collaborations. Son of Alla Rakha, he built an international

Early life and background
Zakir Hussain Qureshi was born on 9 March 1951 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He grew up in a musical family: his father was the renowned tabla player Alla Rakha and his mother was Bavi Begum. He attended St. Michael’s High School in Mahim and later studied at St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai. He pursued higher study in the United States at the University of Washington and earned a PhD in music.

Career
Zakir Hussain emerged as a leading tabla maestro whose career blended Indian classical music with wide-ranging international collaborations. Trained from a young age in percussion traditions, he performed with many of India’s leading classical musicians and was part of ensembles that expanded the tabla’s role beyond traditional accompanimental settings.

He co-founded the fusion group Shakti alongside violinist L. Shankar, guitarist John McLaughlin and other percussionists, a project that combined Indian rhythmic vocabulary with jazz and other traditions. Two decades after Shakti’s debut he helped launch Remember Shakti, a subsequent incarnation that included artists such as U. Srinivas, T.V. Selvaganesh and Shankar Mahadevan. Remember Shakti’s album This Moment won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024.

Hussain also worked with Western rock and world-music figures, collaborating with musicians linked to the Grateful Dead and participating in global percussion projects. He contributed to the Global Planet Drum Project led by Mickey Hart, an album released in 1991 that received the 1992 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. His soundtrack credits span films from the late 1970s through the early 2000s, including work on Apocalypse Now (1979), In Custody and Little Buddha (1993), Vanaprastham (1999) and Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002).

Throughout his career he was recognized with multiple honors: the Padma Shri in 1998, the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2023. Other accolades include the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kalidas Samman and a Grammy Award in 2009. He served in academic roles as a visiting professor at institutions including Stanford University, and in 2005 was named an Old Dominion Fellow by the Humanities Council at Princeton University.

Public profile
Hussain’s public profile combined concert performance, recordings and film appearances. He appeared in documentaries about Indian percussion, acted in the film Heat and Dust, and participated in high-profile events such as the 2016 All-Star Global Concert at the White House. He was noted for elevating the social standing of tabla players and for bringing Indian rhythmic traditions to global audiences.

Personal life
Hussain married Antonia Minnecola in 1978. The couple had two daughters, Anisa Qureshi and Isabella Qureshi. He spent long periods living and working internationally, including time based in the United States. Physically, the licensed information lists his height as approximately 170 cm (5 ft 7 in), weight around 70 kg (154 lbs), with black hair and black eyes.

Latest updates
In November 2024 he was admitted to hospital after reporting heart-related ailments and was moved to intensive care when his condition worsened. On 15 December 2024 initial reports of his death circulated but were refuted by his family and publicist. The family later announced his passing on 16 December 2024; the licensed information attributes the cause as complications from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. His age at the time of death is given as 73 years and the place of death is listed as San Francisco, California.

Legacy
Over decades, Zakir Hussain built a multifaceted career as a classical tabla player, collaborator and educator. His work with classical masters, fusion ensembles and international projects, together with academic appointments and awards from India and abroad, established him as a major figure in the global appreciation of Indian percussion.

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This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Zakir Hussain (Musician), send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Recent Work

This Moment (with Remember Shakti)

Album by Remember Shakti that won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024.

2024
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Career Highlights

  1. Co-founder of Shakti and later Remember Shakti
  2. Winner of multiple Indian civilian honors: Padma Shri (1998), Padma Bhushan (2002), Padma Vibhushan (2023)
  3. Grammy Awards: part of projects that won Grammys in 1992, 2009 and 2024
  4. Visiting professor at Stanford University and Old Dominion Fellow at Princeton (2005)
  5. Extensive soundtrack contributions and international collaborations
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Zakir Hussain (Musician) born?

Zakir Hussain (Musician) was born on 9 March 1951.

What is Zakir Hussain (Musician) known for?

Zakir Hussain (Musician) is known for indian Classical Musician (Tabla Maestro).

What is Zakir Hussain (Musician)’s marital status?

Zakir Hussain (Musician)'s marital status is listed as Married.

Who is Zakir Hussain (Musician) married to?

Zakir Hussain (Musician) is publicly listed as married to Antonia Minnecola.