ZAKIR HUSSAIN & MASTERS OF PERCUSSION

March 29, 2016 | by Rusty Aceves

Seiichi Tanaka

For his final week as an SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director, the world’s foremost tabla virtuoso presents his longstanding percussion ensemble project, Masters of Percussion. Since the mid-1990s, Zakir Hussain has assembled a revolving group of superlative Indian musicians to explore the richness of the South Asian percussion tradition while embracing the universal brotherhood of the drum in collaboration with guest artists from around the world. For this engagement, Japanese taiko drum luminary and founder of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, Seiichi Tanaka, joins the group, as well as musicians and dancers from the Diamano Coura West African Dance Company (on April 1 and 2).

Hussain’s base ensemble features Anantha Krishnan and Mannargudi Vaidyanthan performing on mridangam and tavil respectively, cylindrical drums used in the South Indian Carnatic tradition. Navin Sharma plays dholak, a versatile two-headed drum that originated in India, but has migrated throughout South Asia. The percussionists are accompanied by Sabir Khan on sarangi, the 37-string bowed instrument employed primarily in Hindustani classical music. 

A revered artist considered the father of Japanese taiko drumming in the U.S., Tanka is a taiko Grand Master and founder of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, the first taiko group formed in the United States. Born in Tokyo in 1943, Tanaka moved to the U.S. in 1968 and formed the SFTJ to perform at that year’s San Francisco’s Cherry Blossom Festival. His influence has flowed far and wide, with former students having formed their own ensembles throughout the country and the rest of the world. The SFTJ’s music has appeared on the soundtracks to the films Apocalypse Now (also featuring contributions from Hussain), The Right Stuff, Return of the Jedi, and Rising Sun, which included an on-screen appearance by the ensemble.

Formed in 1975 by Senegalese percussionist Zakarya Diouf and Liberian dancer Naomi Washington, the Oakland-based Diamano Coura West African Dance Company is dedicated to the music, dance, and theatre, and culture of West Africa, with members hailing from Mali, Guinea, Gambia, the Ivory Coast, and the U.S. With a full company that includes actors, singers, acrobats, and stiltwalkers in addition to musicians and dancers, the group has toured throughout the U.S., Canada, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Diamano Coura, in the Senegalese Wolof language, means "those who bring the message."