MUMBAI: Renowned for his genre-defying collaborations, tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion have announced their North American tour commencing from 16 March in Hampton.

The maestro will perform concerts at Washington DC, Los Angeles, Mexico, Vancouver and Philadelphia among others. The tour will culminate on 14 April in Chicago.

The concerts will showcase classical ragas and feature Hussain’s signature mix of traditional sounds with contemporary and classical with folk. As part of the tour, a documentary ‘Zakir and his Friends’ will also be screened at selected cities. The film directed by Lutz Leonhardt is interspersed with colourful vignettes of real-life rhythms from around the world.

Masters of Percussion is an outgrowth of Hussain’s memorable tours with his father, the legendary Ustad Allarakha. Joining the 2012 tour are Fazal Qureshi (tabla & kanjira), Rakesh Chaurasia (bamboo flute), Dilshad Khan (sarangi), Navin Sharma (dholak), Abbos Kosimov (doyra) and the Meitei Pung Cholom Performing Troupe (dancing drummers of Manipur).

Complete tour dates:

16 March – American Theatre, Hampton

17 March – John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Washington DC

18 March – Sanders Theater, Cambridge

21 March – Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles

22 March – Mondavi Center for Performing Arts, Davis

24 March – Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley

28 March – El Plaza, Mexico

30 March – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland

31 March – Moore Theater, Seattle

1 April – Chan Centre for Performing Arts, Vancouver

3 April – EPCOR Centre for Performing Arts, Calgary

5 April – Savannah Music Festival, Savannah

7 April – Annenberg Center for Performing Arts, Philadelphia

10 April – Columbus Association for Performing Arts, Columbus

12 April – University Musical Society, Ann Arbor

13 April – Pabst Theater, Milwaukee

14 April – Chicago Symphony Center, Chicago