The late Ustad Zakir Hussain’s long and fruitful musical journey with sitar virtuoso Niladri Kumaar needs no introduction. None that this writer can put in words, at least. “The sitar and the tabla are not just a match made in heaven, but on Earth,” Kumaar shares. Yet, until recently, this magic never found its way to a collaborative album. That changed with the recent launch of Space Between the Notes.

Recorded during the Ustad’s brief visit to Mumbai in 2023, the 55-minute-long album plays out like a musical odyssey that rewards the listener with a concluding signature composition in Raag Bhairavi that the Ustad wished to preserve.  “If you listen to the album closely, I’m sure Ustadji will say hello, too,” Kumaar tells us from the Texas stop of his ongoing USA tour.