I only recently became aware of Zakir Hussain, probably because my interest in drumming emerged only a few years ago when I learned to play the bodhrán. With a full-time job, I’ve had to keep my focus pretty much on the bodhrán so I could make progress. In fact, I became aware of Hussain’s passing through a social media post by a bodhrán player. Otherwise, I might still be deprived of knowing about him.

I will likely never fully understand the tabla and the traditions in comes from, though over time I hope to gain more knowledge of both. I did listen to Hussain play recently and it struck me that he was so at one with his instrument that a whole new being emerged – there was Hussain the person, playing the tabla and then there was this new being that emerged when he became really at one with the drum:

I noticed this after watching some very intense moments from some of Hussain’s performances, but what made me think of it again was watching this video of Ronán O’Snodaigh demonstrating a technique where he presses a pipe on the back of the skin to get a warped sound. As he warms up, he takes off musically, and that sense of the person and drum fusing into one being emerges:

Maybe these drummers can find this higher state because they started playing music at young ages, and after so many years of practice and performance they became more and more adapted to their particular instruments and musical traditions. The Indian tabla tradition is especially rich and has a long-established system of teaching and learning.

The bodhrán, however, is in many ways a new instrument that has continued to evolve and grow since it gained widespread popularity in the fifties and sixties when players like Sean O Riada of the band Ceoltóirí Chualann, Peadar Mercier of the Chieftains and Johnny Ringo Mc Donagh of De Dannan brought it onto the stage as a part of popular Irish music.

To play the bodhrán well, or even competently, involves improvisation, since the drummer does not play the tune in the same way as melody players do. This makes the instrument both easier and harder to play. This characteristic might play a role in Ronán’s ability to reach such heights in his playing, and insofar as the tabla also requires improvisation, it might play a role with Hussain as well.

I have listened to the Distant Kin album, which features Hussain and the bodhrán virtuoso, John Joe Kelly, couple of times so far, and will give it more spins on the virtual music app turntable in the future. Seems like a good place to learn more about Hussain’s drumming – from what I understand, he was fond of the bodhrán, which is an instrument that is often looked down on, or under appreciated.