Legendary tabla artist Zakir Hussain passed away on December 15 at the age of 73. He was admitted to a hospital in San Francisco. The maestro passed away due to
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
(IPF) which is a lung condition. As several celebs mourn his loss, Adnan Sami has penned a long, emotional note and revealed that they were supposed to do a show together just three days before he passed away.
He shared some pictures with Hussain and called him an elder brother. In a tribute as he expressed some heartfelt emotions, Sami said, “I’m completely shocked & devastated… Today I’ve lost an elder brother… A person who was always there for me no matter which part of the world he was, I always knew that he would be rooting for me. Whenever we met, we would pick up from where we left off as if no time had passed. The fact that he was a musical genius, a rhythmic phenomenon & undoubtedly the greatest tabla player of all time can never be overstated! But he was also a loving soul. He was extremely protective about me like an elder brother.”
He further added, “My first album in 1986 was with him. Since then, our relationship was ever so close as we performed
Indian Classical Music
concerts together with me on the
Electric Piano
& him on Tabla. Our collab was explosive!! What fun we had. Whilst I moved onto singing, we still performed our instrumental concerts together but not as much as one would have wanted. Regardless, the love was always there. He was such an incredible source of encouragement. He was very generous.Finally, we decided that we needed to get together and start performing more regularly again. The 1st concert that was confirmed was to take place in Mumbai on 12th December 2024- 3 days ago!!!! It was sold out very quickly after the announcement. “
This show was postponed due to Hussain’s health reasons and rescheduled for March 2025. But God had other plans, said Sami.
He added that he’s still struggling to process his death. “While I still struggle to process this, my broken heart bids a tearful farewell to my elder ‘Maestro’ brother & extend my deepest & heartfelt condolences to his dear family which I consider my own…The music & legacy that Zakir Bhai has left behind will always beat in our hearts forever…🙏🖤,” said the singer.