Five Indian musicians picked up awards at the 2024 Grammy Awards at the event held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on the night of 4th February. Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia picked up three and two trophies respectively. Singer Shankar Mahadevan, violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan and percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram, who were Hussain’s collaborators in the fusion group Shakti, won one Grammy each at the event. Shakti won the Grammy for the best global music album for This Moment. The album features the four Indians as well as its founding member, British guitarist John McLaughlin.
This Moment, which released to critical acclaim in June 2023, is the group’s first studio album in more than 45 years. Besides the award for Shakti, Zakir Hussain won two other awards — best global music performance for Pashto and best contemporary instrumental album for As We Speak. Rakesh Chaurasia, nephew of legendary flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia, won two Grammys as part of the ensemble of American banjo player Bela Fleck and American bassist Edgar Meyer for Pashto and As We Speak.