PREMIK RUSSELL TUBBS & MARGEE MINIER-TUBBS. Oneness-World

Oneness-World, an extraordinarily hopeful and powerfully inspirational masterwork from the expansive, ever-evolving imaginations of visionary creative team and husband and wife duo Premik Russell Tubbs and Margee Minier-Tubbs, may be the first Grammy-worthy project in history sparked by a frustrated response to not receiving a Grammy nomination for a previous album.     

In 2024, they submitted their highly acclaimed collaboration Pathways for Grammy consideration in the Best Children’s Music Album category. They created the collection to be a special gift to the world and felt that a nomination would give it an international spotlight so more children could hear and appreciate it. When they didn’t receive a nomination, Margee’s disappointment was so great that she admits she cried for several days – until, in looking at the five worthy artists who did make the list, she felt a whirlwind of gratitude filled emotion and realized that, in essence, she did receive the nomination because of the Oneness shared by all artists – and by extension, all human beings.

Instead of envy, because of the interconnectedness of all human hearts, the multi-faceted artist  felt a blessed sense of celebration, which quickly gave rise to the concept and intricate, methodical development of Oneness-World, an album artfully and soulfully fusing elements of world music, jazz fusion, Indian and Celtic influences, dashes of blues and, thanks to Margee’s keen insight and eloquent poetic expressions, powerful spoken word messages. The urge to launch the project was so great that she and Premik put aside another album they were working on at the time.

Permik and Marjee each bring fascinating individual professional resumes to the historic achievement of Oneness-World. Perhaps best known in jazz fusion circles for his work with John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Premik has performed and/or recorded with Carlos Santana, Whitney Houston, Regina Belle, Sting (Concerts for the Rainforest at Carnegie Hall), Herbie Hancock, Clarence Clemons, Jean-Luc and Clara Ponty, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, Lonnie Liston Smith, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Billy Joel, James Taylor and many others. Since 2010, he’s been the on-call wind player for Grammy winning producer Will Ackerman’s influential new age music hub Imaginary Road Studios. Growing up, he was deeply inspired by Ravi Shankar’s music, which made him “a believer in the possibility of successfully blending Eastern and Western musical styles. In many ways, some of the vibes and textures on Oneness-World are a culmination of this lifelong passion.

Truly the ultimate embodiment of a Renaissance Woman, Margee Minier-Tubbs is a multi-faceted artist with a diverse international background in fashion, music and linguistics. Throughout her uniquely evolving career, she’s been an acclaimed fashion designer (for several NY couture fashion houses), fashion illustrator, songwriter, lyricist and poet, jewelry designer, master embroiderer, seamstress, creator of wearable & découpage art, charcoal portrait artist, silk and wood painter, French teacher and translator, world traveler, nature lover and (lest we forget!) devoted mother. Following in the footsteps of her mother, she studied classical music before studying ballet and modern dance for 15 years, including at the Joffrey School of Ballet. Seeking healing from her first marriage, in her 40’s she picked up jazz piano and studied for four years and later worked for the French record label Keltia Musique.    

Beyond their rich musical backgrounds and passion for launching and developing adventurous new conceptual recordings, Premik and Marjee’s lives intertwine perfectly in the realm of spirituality. As Marjee says, “Both Premik & I deeply believe in the oneness and interconnectedness of all beings, all life forms, that there is no separation when we are awakened to the universal consciousness of all existence. Both Premik and I, at 15 years old, long ago when we obviously did not know each other, experienced spiritual awakenings.

“I became voracious reader of books of enlightenment, reading Siddhartha and Autobiography of a Yogi. I have been a student of Buddhism on and off throughout my life. Premik was a disciple of the great spiritual master Sri Chinmoy for several decades. These paths lead us now to the formulation of the concept for Oneness-World, a concept that we both believe is more than important, it is crucial! Given the tragic division among people and nations today, both Premik and I believe that if people could wake up, become aware and trust in our Oneness, that the more beautiful world that we all know is possible could emerge and prayerfully, peace could be restored in our fragile world.”

As curious and excited listeners dig in, immersing in the album’s sonically and stylistically expansive, divinely woven universe driven by a spirit of ongoing creation and improvisation, they should know Oneness-World requires a meaningful commitment of their attention to appreciate all the intense sonic intricacies and musical microcosms within. Progressing over the course of seven distinct pieces, sometimes the narrative about our shared humanity unfolds with musical excitement and invention, other times with mystical, uplifting spoken word passages and compelling beautiful sung vocals. The duo’s vision is expertly and dynamically executed by their hand-selected ensemble of storied musical stalwarts. As Premik says, “This album provides a harmonious balance of deep instrumental explorations, along with singing and spoken word all in one beautiful package and thus is an even more powerful expression of our Oneness and belonging.”

Fashioned to fulfill Margee’s vision of having the participating world class musicians use their imaginations to depict the Big Bang Theory/Creation of Life, the opening title track sets the spiritual tone of the album with her opening gentle spoken mission statement (over an ambience of Koshi Chimes, silver bells and Tibetan Bowl) reminding us that “There is only one heart – the heart of our Oneness.” From there, Premik and the ensemble go avant-garde with their intentionally chaotic, atonal swirl of instruments, meant to convey that our universe emerged from an explosion of wildly disparate elements. It evolves into a more controlled (yet still improvisational) and infectiously grooving, easy swinging jazz jam led by Grammy winning violin virtuoso Zach Brock’s fanciful melodic musings and Premik’s whimsical EWI and featuring Emmy nominated pianist Steve Sandberg.

Building off that foundation, “The Weave” draws upon Margee’s studies of textile technologies an intricately woven fabrics at the Fashion Institute of Technology to find musical expression for an impactful metaphor about humankind’s complexities, colorful diversity and an interwoven tapestry of life. Very much in the classic jazz fusion vein, where everyone plays with wild abandon, iIt’s a buoyant romp showcasing Premik’s explosive artistry and improvisational mastery on alto sax, followed by crescendos and decrescendos throughout on piano, violin and keyboards (by Neil “Nail” Alexander) – yet with the pulsating bass of Michael O’Brien and exciting percussion of Todd Isler reflecting the ongoing heartbeat of humanity in all its glory and disarray.   

The bustling, intoxicating bass and drum groove, lighthearted piano energy and fanciful, dancing violin melody at the top of the next piece flows like an exclusive invitation to truly experience the “Joie de vivre” that is best expressed and fulfilled when we realize our connectedness to those around us. The violin magic alternates throughout with passages driven by the kind of fun, freewheeling EWI solo that only Premik can deliver, punctuated by high spirited drum flourishes and a Latin-tinged piano interlude towards the end. Though the album is best appreciated as a whole, the joy and hookiness of this tune would make a great standout single!

Another candidate for that slot would be the fifth track, the hypno-mystical yet playful and peppy “Norwegian Dance,” which the casual might think is an Irish jig since the fiddle happy melody, Premik’s percussive EWI fire and whimsy danceability of the tune gives off those vibes. Interacting with some snappy-funky piano chords, the emphatic global drumming here brings the listener on an ancestral journey back in time, to an elusive era when humans lived in harmony with, respected and were at one with nature and humans all lived on an equal plane. Its clever blend of medieval Scandinavian folklore and sparkling Celtic influences are a call for everyone to rejoice, join together and yes, dance in unity!

Between those two festive gems is Oneness-World’s most fascinating and enigmatic piece “Catwalk (A Stitch In Time)”, an epic three movement, historically rooted, nearly 13-minute opus that draws from Margee’s long history in the fashion industry to alternately showcase its delightful triumphs and dark, tragic history of human and natural exploitation. Though it’s divided into three, stylistically distinct sections, its length might intimidate some listeners, and it might have been better presented for streaming and consumed as a three-part suite each lasting a few minutes. That said, until listeners take time to read Margee’s official bio, a single listen to this fascinating work tells us all they need to know about how she feels about the industry she’s dedicated so much of her life to.

The sultry, powerhouse vocalist Lola Kristine sings the sexy, steamy and blues-steeped  opening song, enhanced by those ever-dancing violin harmonies, which draws everyone in with the glitz and glamour of the fashion world and the dazzling prance of models on the catwalk. A few minutes in, the dramatic music stops, Margee chimes in with the words “A stitch in time,” and breezes into a witty, frolicsome and decidedly jazz semi-spoken word segment chronicling the positive developments in the 150-year evolution of fashion and the birth of Paris couture collections.

Part three offers a backdrop of atmospheric new age ambience for Margee’s pointed spoken word final segment chronicling the tragic heart-wrenching events of the last 100+ years, including the use of low paying sweatshops and a reference to a deadly 2013 garment factory collapse in 2013. Margee says, “The ultimate goal of writing this song was to create an urgent awareness of the harm this industry has been causing not only by polluting our earth but by its lack of humanity and decency in regard to human life and in particular women and young girls.” Overall, it’s an over the top piece that’s different from the others on the album but offers essential insight into the project’s overview of humanity in all its complexities.

Margee saves her most compelling and insightful poetry about the opportunity to experience everything in the universe as tunefully interconnected and in balance for the opening spoken word segment of “La Ronde de Saisons,” an offbeat and trippy-mystical avant-garde jazz expression using the comings and goings of various instruments to chronicle the cycle of seasons the title refers to. As per Margee’s vision, Zach’s violin represents the winter solstice, while Premik’s peppery flute represents the sun slowly getting stronger as spring nears and Neil’s keyboards burst forth into spring, Steve’s piano ushers in the fall, etc. It’s a meaningful tune that feels all at once perfectly designed and improvisational throughout.

Oneness-World closes with one of the project’s most whimsy-filled jazz-driven pieces, a Christmas themed track titled “The Bells,” which could easily be subtitled “Edgar Allen Poe celebrates the holidays!” due to its reciting (male voice this time) passages from the poet’s ominous classic “The Bells,” balanced of course with Margee’s optimistic verses and Zach’s snazzy violin – all of which combine to leave listeners on a cheery note, in a festive mood and ready to embrace the oneness of humanity.