Zakir Hussain

Incredible, amazing, virtuoistic and downright Fun! This band of some of the most fantastic jazz musicians you'll ever hear in one place, tore it up! The tablas, courtesy of Mr. Zakar Hussain were world class, the sax playing by Chris Potter (impossible runs on alto and tenor), the solid and dizzying drums and piano playing by Father/Son Louiz and Gino Banks, Shankar Mahadevan's ethereal singing, Sanjay Divecha's understated guitar and of course, the great Dave Holland on Stand Up Bass were stellar. Words cannot do this concert justice. It was other worldly, combining the best of jazz improvisation with the many time changes and modalities of Indian (South and North) music that reverberated and moved you from laughter to tears. 2 1/2 hours of Bliss. See them if you can..

This is a collaboration of the highest level of jazz musicians and the highest level of Indian musicians, in which every one of them plays their ass off!! I'm a guitarist and plays tabla as well. I'm from Taiwan to visit the city mainly for the music, and I'm really excited to see such great performance in person. The only drawback is that the bass is not always clearly heard due to the presence of the drums, which is a typical issue of the concert hall. If such a issue can be improved, it is a perfect concert.

Awesome performances from all of them. Also I love the venue.

Amazing show, great venue, superb artists. It was an absolute delight & pleasure to watch this.

Event was an unforgettable night for us. Zakhir was awesome as ever and his Jugalbandi with flute & Saarang were the best. Dance perfomances were beautiful. Worth every penny. The show keeps our feet tapping and fingers moving for the tunes.

I would rather go to a concert where Ustad Zakir Hussain plays with Pt Ravi Shankar or Anoushkha. Having attended all his concerts for the last 6 years or so, I have to painfully say that this concert is among the least liked concerts of all. Niladri Kumar is not a very well versed or seasoned musician. I believe that Niladri kumar is being promoted aggressively to have an alternative Sitar player in the Indian music scenario. The fusion piece was the worst of all. The playing was extremely awkward by both Ustaad and Niladri Kumar. For the other numbers there was no hint of the extreme brilliance and timing that he had displayed with Pt Shivkumar Sharma, and the other collaborators that he played with in the past. This is the first time in my life that I went home feeling that I didnt get to see the Ustaad I really went to see.

Ustad Zakir Hussain was brilliant as allways. Along with Nandari Kurmar on sitar it was very nice. However i hoped there was less fusion and more classicial.

Awesome, Zakir was great and Niladri Kumar was too good.

The concert was a treat. Zakhir hussain was magical [as expecpected] and his brother was amazing as well[surprise!!]. The event started 30 mins late..so that was little irritating , but once it started it was captivating most of the time. A li'l more of Zakhir hussain [ or his brother!] and less of the guys on the Mrindangam would have been ideal.

Zakir Hussain is brilliant. He was phenomenal yesterday too. I have seen him perfom in Pittsburgh and Lansing. Pittsburgh program was traditional. Lansing was experimental and it worked beautifully. Boston experiment failed. It was very choppy. It was showcase of different instruments and did not have a confluence as aprogram.

This was a spectacular display of talent. Zakir Hussain is of course a wonderful performer and he never ceases to amaze me. But the amount of talent that was on stage with him, from the sarangi player, to the two violin players, was amazing. The energy on stage was high, and you could feel it sitting in the audience. You MUST see this concert if it is coming to your area!!

I have never seen percussive mastery of this level.

Zakir Hussain and the troupe were unforgettable. They have the stuff that Gods are made of at the tips of their fingers

Fantastic show, very well presented, had a nice combination of percussion instruments from Hindustani, Karnatak and western traditions.

Fantastic show as always. Zakir Hussain never ceases to amaze.

Maestro Zakir Hussain is .....there are no words in English or for that matter in any dictionary to describe his talent. One has to experience it. It was amazing unforgettable experience. And Niladri Kumar - OMG at one crescendo moment I thought the strings would break. Together they take you to heaven. Steve Smith is one of a kind, he is fun to listen to. Viku Vinayakram on Ghatam was icing on the cake. And to top it all Hariharan was great.

just phenomenal!! except for the kathak dancer who looked like she was suffering from rigor mortis. they should have found someone better for a ZH concert.

Great concert!! amazing percussions! Would definitely go again.

The concert was absolutely amazing, Zakir is truly a God on the Tabla! My only problem was with the stage lighting. It was very dim at times and hard to see the Maestro's hands, especially from a distance.

Fantastic performance by the greatest tabla player. The added bonus of Hariharan was spectacular. Could have done without the drums and jazz/blues...prefer more of the traditional classic Indian music instead. Zakir, Niladri and Dilshad did not disappoint. Thank you.

The sound was not good. The technicians did a poor job in the first half. The second half was better. Also, the singer was quite boring in the first half.

World class. Great interaction with the audience. Played classic Indian music and also jammed with modern percussionist. Fresh and a good counter point to western music. Recommended.

Exceptional talent! I don't know if anyone else on the planet can do what Zakir Hussain can do. Drumming has been taken to a new level.

If you're a fan of rhythm and drumming, this is the concert to see! Zakir brings together 7 fabulous musicians and a wonderful dancer to entertain us.

Very interesting and entertaining. Dancer was not very good.

What a treat to be in the company of this wonderful group of master musicians. Each and every one of them is a world class performer. The sitar and tabla piece was especially beautiful and magical. Thank you, Zakir Hussian for a great evening of music.

Side acts terrible and amateurish. Main artist fiine

I felt the audion system was not balanced well. The dancer was a distraction! The show would have been much better without the dance.

Th performance was simply fantastic. A beautifully creative blend of East & West, this was a memorable performance by a very talented group of musicians. Would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Ustad zakir Hussain, with his troupe, as always was phenomenal. His music left us in a world of stillness, nothing on the mind but pure awe and wonder. Thank you!

This show was amazing - with so much talent complimenting one another to make an unforgettable evening!. They certainly could have done without dance interludes. These were unnecessary distractions. She should limit her performances to high school stages (sorry).

It was amazing to see legend in action...This was my first time experience to been at live concert.

So much talent all working together in such harmony. They even brought the audience in over and over again. Mr. Hussein is just incredibly talented. I was very close to the stage and he seem\\ed both friendly and confident. I have loved his music for some time but I could never understand from watching Youtube video just how he created such complex rhythms. Watching him live I saw how he played the entire instrument and top is not like some uniform drum at all. Watching the hands of the drummers was a treat in and of itself. I will never forget the man who played a large clay pot. It was just amazing.

Any words of praise are less to describe it.. It was kind of divine music experience.. Heavenly music.. With Zakir Hussain, you always get more than expectations.. Other artists were equally great.. Can't say who was better than the other.. Would want to go again and again.. We purchased CD also from there..

It was simply awesome and mesmerizing. All the musicians were wonderful! The duets ("Jugalbandi") between the masters were thoroughly enjoyable. Overall a very well spent 2 and half hours of my life!

amazing combination of table, flute, dholak and sarangi.

It was an amazing performance. No words to describe the maestro and the tricks he did on the (as he mentioned ) earth made Tabla.

The show was spectacular. Zakir and his entourage of percussionistas dazzled the audience with their ability to play musical instruments.

amazing performances! superb acoustics - my new favorite concert venue in columbus.

The program was great. It was a delight to Watch Zakir and his group perform. My boys enjoyed it very much; it was their first Indian musical show. They are both into music; my younger son is part of a band. I would recommend this show to all.

Worst concert I have ever been to in my entire life.

The concert was just amazing. We had a great time and enjoyed each moment of it.

Last Sunday @ the Balboa Theatre I had the pleasure of seeing Crosscurrents. An American/Indian mix of virtuoso musicians. It was a remarkable mix of Jazz & Indian music which I felt went beyond Genre's or classifications. It had all types mixed together in a total package of really great improvisational pieces that included: Tabla, Saxes, Bass, Guitar,Keyboards, & Trap Set Drums & vocals that were amazing. The vocal pieces were like a type of Scat singing in a completely different meter and scale than typically western music has. There were also a time when there was a Duet between Dave Holland on Bass & Zakir Hussain on Tablas that was truly remarkable playing @ it's finest. The vocalist was extremely well rehearsed and sang in many styles including styles from Northern and Southern India. The crowd loved them as well as I did and I hope they make some recordings soon for everyone to experience.

It was a good show. Everything was very well organized. How can I meet the artist, in future show? How can I be in the list? Thank you in advance

one of my shortest Indian classical music concert ever. We were there to watch-listen Rahul Sharma play Santoor. His performance was about an hour and 15 minutes. Total event was 1 hr 45 minutes. Show started at 8:10 pm instead of 8 pm. Finished at 9:40pm. What a bummer. Audience thought they were teasing us by leaving and coming back to take bow. We waited for almost 7 minutes to see they might comeback and stay for another short raga. For a concert to leave OC at 5:30 Pm to get to UCLA, park and drive back for another 1:15 hr for a short concert is not worth the money or time. Don't get me wrong Rahul was outstanding. But we wanted more for the money & time we invested. Classical music is such your heart wants more.

Awesome experience!! The best concert ever. Jugalbandi was my favorite.

The selection of the raga (Bhim Palasi), rendition and the "conversation" between the instruments were all nicely done. Concert seemed a bit short. Could have added one more piece... The talk back after the concert was very engaging and insightful. The questioning by Michael Shrive and answers - especially from maestro Zakir Hussain - were crisp, honest and sprinkled with good sense of humor.

The musicianship was top notch. These guys are rock stars of Indian music. However the show's start time of 5:00 pm was earlier than usual for concerts, which came as a surprise. The musicians started promptly on time, and then left the stage immediately after finishing. They did not return for an encore.

While Zakir was the headliner, it was Niladir's show... no less exciting - he matched up the fame of Zakir

Really enjoyed the show. This was my first time attending such an event. I was looking forward to the solo piece mentioned in the program booklet but it did not happen so that was a disappointment for me and my boyfriend - he is a big fan and was delighted to get this as a birthday gift

It should have been called Niladri Kumar with Zakhir Hussain. No solos by Zakhir Hussain and it felt like he actually played less than Niladri Kumar. Niladri Kumar was good but I paid to see more of Zakhir Hussain and was disappointed.

I had been to previous Zakir Hussain concert twenty years' ago. That concert was centered around Ustad Wilayat Khan and Zakir was accompanying on tabla. I signed up for this concert not knowing the program. I was pleasantly surprised knowing the inclusion of other percussion maestros. I knew this was going to be a treat to eyes and ears. They filled the auditorium with their music and reverberating vibrations. It was really amazing to see three generations of music players.

Such an opportunity to enjoy the live performance by Ustad Zakir Hussain in Minneapolis. The tabla was awesome as expected. Sabir Ali in sarangi was mindblowing.

An amazing performance that took us to a different world.

There's simply no other way to say it: Holland and Hussain were two saints last night Dark tonalities, crazy-ass rhythms Something really special One piece was so evocative of Miles' "In a Silent Way" Including an Indian guitarist channeling early, way pre-Mahavishnu John McLaughlin With Holland honestly never sounding better, nor more obviously in bliss And Zakir acquitting himself with Tony Williams' earlier role ...And then some Overall and throughout the entire evening: a bona fide spiritual experience, sublime Thank you so much, Zakir, Dave, and company! Dr. Bob Weathers Irvine, California

Unbelievably awesome, one of the best concerts I have attended.

Mesmerizing! Playing beyond comprehension!! Spell-binding!!! Transcendental, by the very definition!!!!!!!! A reverent audience.... you could hear a pin drop.

I have loved attending Ustad Zakir Hussainji's Masters of Percussion concerts over the years. The evnt typically is absolutely spectacular. However, not this time. Allowing the vocalist Hariharan to begin with his boring voice rendering "I am a patient of a disease called love" was a poor artistic choice. Zakirji tried to pick up the tempo with Hariharan putting us to sleep by but the overlay of a boring voice spoiled the sounds of the tabla. After hariharan left, the concert came alive. When Niladri Kumar on the sitar was fabulous, the new sarangi player was a delight. And so on re percussion. With Zakirji spectacular as always. However, the short Katathk pieces by Antonia were a distraction and disjointed. I realize that she is the wife and perhapsthe power behind the throne, but come on. It should have been "percussion" all the way. Having Hariharan come back on at the end with the "blues" was another travesty. The best words I heard all evening were Zakirji turning to the drummer and "lets go to the finale. Hit it!" That cut of Hariharan perfectly. Note that in Indian music once a raga is set for the evening, it is maintained throughout. Someone need to tell that to Mr. Hariharan. By the way I believe its incorrect for an artist to use"Padamshree" as if it was his first name. Note "Padamshree Hariharan" in the concert advertizing.

Masters of percussion had too much of ghazal singing and kathak dancing and not enough jugalbandis on percussion instruments.

I went there thrilled about hearing Zakir Hussain and was very satisfied for the first 20 minutes or so, the rest had nothing to do with my expectations. The various performers were impressive in their skills but I wasn't there for a demo. I was there to here genuine beautiful music that usually touches me to tears and goes directly to my heart. I felt nothing, and certainly no emotions at all. The sound was much too loud and blasting in the theater. I didn't come to a disco I was there to hear the beautiful subtleties expressed in Indian music and in this environment it would have been impossible to hear them. Anyway I left close to the end when I realized it was going to be the same thing to the end. I also felt the only dancer was horrendous . I have never seen anything like that. So ungraceful uninteresting and I felt Zakir was just doing a favor to all those people but certainly not to me. Sorry to be so negative but I have a passion for India and its music, I have been to many concerts here and in India and this one was the worst by far.

One of the best concerts I attended so far. I love classical music and I throughly enjoyed the concert. It was a good learning experience for me as well since I am a classical music student. Totally recommend it and will visit again :)

Amazing talent. But the show could've been better if it had better structure. Hariharan, though very talented, failed to hold the audiences interest due to bad selection of songs. Starting and ending with a popular crowd pleaser would have done the trick.

The artist is great. However, his attempt to infuse classical indian music and instrument with western instruments failed. I would have preferred to see manly Tabla and Sitar and harmonium. The attempt to attract western audience using fusion music , did not work in my opinion. I hope he reverts to traditional indian music.

Concert was great! Always wanted to see Zakhir Hussain since I missed his last concert. Love the way he presented different drums along side except for the dancer, she was out of rhythm and wasn't very graceful in her moves. Paid high price for seats but they were still horrible! but loved the concert!!!!

unforgettable, fabulous, outstanding...3 hours of scintillating performance

Zakir Hussain was mesmerizing! And his accompanying musicians were top notch!

It was less about Zakir Hussain than I expected and more about featuring Indian music-inspired world class artists who happen to use percussion instruments. The music was an eclectic mix of truly modern Indian classical (both Hindi and Carnatic), Bollywood, New Age fusion, and jazzerized Hindi pop. I was initially going to give this review just four stars because musically, I was not taken. But this would have been unfair to the musicians, who all without exception were really amazing. This evening would have fit well with some late evening NPR music show: one always learns something new even if one doesn't love what one hears. But then, listening to it on radio, I would not have appreciated seeing the sitar being used as a percussion instrument. In that sense, seeing is believing. I will not revisit this same show but I will from now on always perk up whenever I see any of the artists advertised by themselves or with their own ensembles.

Out of this world! So talented and captivating. I cant wait to see them again.

Prior to this concert, I had heard about Zakir Hussain, but had never actually heard or seen him. He is quite the virtuoso. His assisting artists did great jobs as well. The first half of the concert was engrossing from beginning to end. The second half started out great, but the final part, where all of the participants joined together, was a little too long. I found myself itching for it to be over, and a few people were walking out. I stayed until the end, however, just to be sure not to miss anything spectacular, but that didn't come.

Amazing experience. All of the musicians were fabulous.

Fantastic and mesmerizing and listening to Harihanji was an added treat

Amazing performance! Zakir rocks! Highly recommended.