Indian classical sitarist and composer Niladri Kumaar honors his late mentor and longtime collaborator, tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, in The Space Between the Notes. Their musical relationship—documented in Sumantra Ghosal’s film of the same name—grew through years of collaboration, including multiple appearances together at Cal Performances.

Kumaar leads a new ensemble with Agnelo Fernandes on keyboards, Sambit Chatterjee on drums, and Satyajit Talwalkar on tabla. The program combines Kumaar’s original compositions with works he and Hussain performed together, balancing deep grounding in Indian classical tradition with an openness to innovation.