Zakir Hussain, an Indian classical musician who has been called 'the greatest tabla player of his generation,' has died at age 73 of lung disease.

His collaborators included John McLaughlin, Béla Fleck, Ravi Shankar, Herbie Hancock, Yo-Yo Ma and members of the Grateful Dead.

Zakir Hussain, whose "dancing fingers" made him one of the greatest players of the tabla or Indian drums and who became a major force in contemporary world music, has died. Hussain, 73, died in a San Francisco hospital from complications of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - a chronic lung disease,