'Keyboardists have been given little recognition'--Zahid Hossain

Zahid Hossain playing on his keyboard

After he came to Bangladesh in 1974, Zahid was so adept at playing the accordion and other instruments that he got a job in the radio on the next day of his visit. Meanwhile, he performed in many stage shows and television as well. In the early 1980s, when the keyboard was introduced, he got interested in the instrument. In his view, the importance of the accordion was reduced because its sound effect could be reproduced by keyboards. So, he took the decision to play the keyboard. When the keyboard was enhanced with more effects and synthesisers, he rushed to Singapore to purchase this digital keyboard because it was not available in our country.

He still plays the keyboard. He is a versatile player on stage, television and cinema. Though he cannot recall the number of songs for which he played the instrument, one of the hits was Amar buker moddhyekhaney.

He was very keen on music direction because his two brothers Ali Hossain and Golum Hossain Ladu were music directors. He used to do music direction in different programmes during his school days. Later, when he came to Dhaka, along with his friend MA Shoeb, Hossain brought out an album titled The Best of MA Shoeb. It was a collection of modern Bangla songs performed, written and composed by these two young musicians. In a scenario where all the cassettes in the market were by artistes of other countries, this album sought to promote Bangla modern songs in our country. The album was a massive hit and it brought them a lot of money. Zahid worked as music director for different artistes like Andrew Kishore, Rulia Yasmeen and M A Shoeb. But as he became engrossed in music direction, his elder brother music director Ali Hossain told him to concentrate on his keyboard playing. And he did so. He still recalls that day, 'I realise it was the right decision to concentrate on the keyboard.'

In 1988, Zahid, along with four other musicians, formed a band named Panchapandab. This band plays music as the backups of the singers on stage. Zahid played with Mitali Mukharjee, Jagjit Singh, Bhupen Hazarika and many other eminent artistes. He has traveled throughout the world to play keyboards on both government and non-government tours. He feels that with the mushrooming of television channels, the scope of keyboardists has also increased. And he feels that one can easily earn his or her living by playing instruments with commitment.

According to Zahid, 'The audience is mindful of the keyboards. The audience does not only listen to the singer, they also appreciate the tunes being played by the musicians.' He feels proud that he plays an instrument that can reproduce the effects of any instrument except tabla. But there is very little recognition of the keyboard players, says Zahid. He cites the example of keyboardist Manam Ahmed who is a world-class player but did not get any award or recognition for his incomparable performance.

'Different instruments have different styles, but keyboards have a unique style,' he says in conclusion. This is best exemplified by the popularity of Zahid's music.