Zakir Hussain and the Masters of Rhythm and Movement at the Auckland Town Hall

These are busy times for local inhabitants of the global village - Womad this weekend, last Sunday the annual cultural smorgasbord (literally) at the Auckland International Cultural Festival in Potters Park, and the ongoing AK05, a highlight of which was this thoroughly entertaining concert hosted by tabla master Hussain.

His broad credentials - from Indian classical traditions to Indo-jazz fusion with the group Shakti and into rock-crossover with Bill Laswell - ensured a full house for a concert which drew a standing ovation when it ended with a barrage of percussion from a stellar cast.

From the muscular opening by Manipuri Jagoi Marup - a trio from eastern India who combined disciplined percussion with extraordinary athleticism - it was clear this was going to be a special event. And that was confirmed when Hussain, violinist Ganesh, percussionist V. Selvaganesh (playing hand drums no larger than dessert bowls out of which he drew an astonishing array of sound) and local tamboura player Alison Booth embarked on a set of magisterial depth and sometimes great humour.

The second raga was a revelation: Ganesh's sinuous violin lines explored the melody at great leisure to find nuances to develop or drop. Then he embarked on a conversation with himself as he echoed his own phrases in other octaves and added subtle microtones. The energy levels rose in alternating dialogues with Hussain and Selvaganesh before an incendiary finale which had the audience erupting with approval and astonishment.

It was only one of many highlights in a concert which entertained (especially drummer Taufiq Qureshi's beat-box-style mouth percussion) and enlightened (dancer Antonia Minnecola's interpretive pieces were from the Mogul period).

They pulled out all the stops at the end when Hussain called on Te Vaka, one of this country's finest musical exports and ambassadors but who we see so little of here. The contrast between the two musical traditions - not to mention the joyous eroticism of the women dancers and imposing physical presences of the men in Te Vaka - seem like an unlikely marriage. But in the lengthy piece arranged specifically for this event there was a happy duelling of styles, a thrilling vibrancy to the Indo-Polynesian melange, and some crowd-pleasing gymnastics again from Manipuri Jagoi Marup.

Then that spontaneous standing ovation from the beaming crowd.

The concert started a little after 4pm and after a longer-than-expected interval - the organisers hadn't provided backstage refreshments for the hard-working musicians apparently - it ended after 7.30pm. A long concert for sure but - other than those seated above Te Vaka in the balcony and therefore unable to see them - you'd struggle to find anyone who would complain.

Exceptional.