Mickey Hart and Zakir Hussain – Sound Consciousness

Meet Mickey

Mickey Hart is best known as a drummer in the Grateful Dead, which for three decades channeled the voices and visions of rock’s psychedelic counterculture and blended them with folk, blues, country, jazz, and other American music streams. On the strength of that work, Hart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and named to Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time.

In addition to his Dead-related work, Hart has a longstanding musical mission: to break the rhythm code of the universe and probe its deepest vibrations. That effort, which began in earnest in the 1970s with the Diga Rhythm Band, produced Planet Drum (1991) and Global Drum Project (2008), both of which received Grammys in the World Music category.

Propelled by an explorer’s restless curiosity, Hart’s groundbreaking recordings point beyond conventional notions of music and culture. As part of his ongoing research, Hart has recorded vibrations from the Golden Gate Bridge, which he describes as a giant wind harp, and collected data from stem cells, heartbeats, and brainwaves to produce compositions. His work with Dr. Adam Gazzaley, a leading neuroscientist, seeks to identify rhythms that can stimulate different parts of diseased and damaged brains, leading to new and innovative approaches to healing. As far back as 1990, Hart testified about rhythm and music therapy before the Senate Subcommittee on Aging. For all its variety, his life’s work can be summed up simply: Having found rhythm everywhere and in everything, he invites us to share its inexhaustible vitality.

Meet Zakir

Zakir Hussain is a tabla virtuoso and is considered a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement. Hussain made his American debut performing with Ravi Shankar at the Fillmore East in New York City. While in New York, he met guitarist John McLaughlin, and their friendship led to the formation of Shakti, a musical group that also included Indian violinist L. Shankar. Over the years, Hussain has accompanied some of the greatest Indian musicians and collaborated with such diverse performers as the London String Quartet and Van Morrison.

His 1992 album with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, Planet Drum, earned a Grammy Award and the Downbeat Critics Poll for best world beat album. He has also contributed to the soundtracks of several films and in 2017 was honored with SF Jazz’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his “unparalleled contribution to the world of music.”