Zakir Hussain and Marcus Gilmore, Rolex Mentor and Protégé in Music, 2018–2019

https://www.youtube.com/embed/6RsuVUB44rU

In the language of tabla there is a vocabulary, there’s a grammar, you learn all that and then you learn to put it together. I learnt everything that I know about drumming from my father. He was my guru and my master. My father told me once, “Go ahead and play with jazz, go ahead and play with rock, do whatever you want to do but don’t forget your roots, don’t forget where you came from, what your identity is because that’s what you bring to the table.” I’ve always had a really strong connection with music, and drums in particular. When I was fairly young I realised that this is what I wanted to dedicate my life to. This programme brings together different cultures and passing information down to the next generation means everything. I actually see it as an opportunity to straighten out some things in my career. Every rhythm cycle has its own particular rhythm riff which has a melodic tone. It’s about preservation of what was and bringing it into the present and making sure that it’s nurtured and passed on to others intact but at the same time, to not just keep it as it is but to open it up to see what else can be done with it.

Marcus has always wanted to compose but the confidence that you need to be able to sit a musician down and tell him or her exactly what you want done is something that does not come easily. There’s this whole composition that I’m writing for the orchestra and I’ve never written for a group of this size or this magnitude or this instrumentation so it’s actually very new territory for me.

I’m still figuring out my artistic process when it comes to composing. I think writing a rhythm concerto… He has experience writing in these types of situations. I looked at the orchestra as one big rhythm section. So he’s able to offer me his advice and show me the ropes. The experience in India was life-changing. I actually got to perform with him in Mumbai. To be involved to this degree and to be like one-on-one, it was amazing. What I’ve noticed is that his language of speaking rhythms has broadened. This need to want to know more and be able to take that leap of faith and take information, that’s something that has always guided great musicians and this is what’s happening with Marcus. I think it’s a beautiful initiative to be pairing up these younger individuals within these disciplines with living legends. It makes the world a more beautiful place to live in. It perpetuates the culture. Our goal in this last couple of years was to be able to take a talented, young, possible genius and bring him to a point where the hesitancy has gone and I think we have arrived at that point.

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