PERFORMAN CE Maestro plays traditional tabla
By Arthur Dudney Hu s!ain wi ll be a visiting PlI.IH(:ETOHJAH STA" W RITER faculty member in the music departmen t next se mester, The instrument W: simple tt!aching a -e:ouue titled "in - a large drum and a small troduction to the Music of in drum. played with the fingers dia," which he designed with and palm. But Zaki r Hu ssain mathematics professor and plays the traditional Indian tabla enthusiast Manjul Bh ar instrument, the tabla, with gava. such subtlety that there see ms The appointment is funded to be more to it. by theCounci! of the Humani Nearly 300 community ties. members attended his recital Hussain brgan to study tab Thursday aft ernoon tohear th e la seriously .a t age sev('n with man internationally re nowned hi s father, and the two began for hi s fusion of classica l in touring together when Zakir dian and Western music. Su TABLA pagt4
)RINCETONIAN Friday APRIL 8, 200S Hussain discusses tabla history TABLA of his many appearances at the to work with hi s colleagues in Un iversity since 1974 - began the music department, espe Co nfinutd from pa,9t I with five minutes of virtuos cially those involved in elec ity demonstrating the instru tronic music. was 12. Hi s fa ther, Ali a Rakha, ment's range. He then intro "Princeton is a respected was wide ly considered one of duced himse lf: "My n.ame is education center and I'm look the greates t tabla players of all Zakir Hu ssain and 1 play this ing at this not as something to time. He died in 2000. instrument." do and teac h, but as a learn ing Hu ssain came to Ame rica To an ove r-ca pacity audi opportunity for me," he sa id. for the fi rst time in 1970 and ence, he explained the history He hopes to "drop anchor" at studied music at the Universi of the tabla. The modern in Princeton and take some ti me ty of Washington at Seattle. He strument is about 200 years off from his grueling concert began to experiment, blending old , though the musical tradi schedule, which typically in Indian classical music with tion stretches back thousands cludes 150 concerts a yea r. va rious Western styles. of years. The' instrument is "I want to assemble and He has since played with a miniature version of large analyze what I've already got," pop musicians like Tito Pu military drums used in an Hussain said . "I haven't had the ente and Va n Morrison, jazz cient India. time to sit down and refl ect." musicians and the Hong Kong Unlike other drums, like As a traditional ar tist, Hus and New Orleans sy mphonies. bongos or congas, the tabla is sain said he is not bothered He has also composed music played with a delicate touch. by tabla's profusion in West for fil m and played drums for "It's like a piano," Hussain ern pop culture, but "excited" Francis Ford Coppola's "Apoca sa id. "One finger is one hand" about it. lypse Now." because of the range of sounds "In the last 30 years, tabla Ye t because of a promise he that can be made. has become one of the premier made to his fat her, who dis Audience members laughed mu sic and art forms of this approved of hi s involvement at his portrayal of tabla play world - so many genres have with Western music, Hussain ing as a conversation, but his adopted it , like hi p-hop, jazz devotes much of his time to lovers' quarrel in rhythm met and electronic music," he said. pure Indian cla ssical music. with approval. "It's high time it wa s brought His recital Thursday - one Hussai n said he is excited out in more de tail."