We are aspiring for harmony

Born Chinmoy Kumar Ghose in the small village of Shakpura in East Bengal (now Bangladesh) in 1931, Sri Chinmoy was the youngest of seven children. In 1944, after both his parents had died, 12 year-old Chinmoy entered the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, a spiritual community near Pondicherry in South India. Here he spent the next 20 years in spiritual practice - including long hours of meditation, practising athletics, writing poetry, essays and spiritual songs.

Sri Chinmoy sees aspiration - the heart's ceaseless yearning for ever higher and deeper realities - as the spiritual force behind all great advances in religion, culture, sports and science. By living in the heart and aspiring for continual self-transcendence, men and women can bring forward the best in themselves and find their path to true satisfaction. In his words:

"Our goal is to go from bright to brighter to brightest, from high to higher to highest. And even in the highest, there is no end to our progress, for God Himself is inside each of us and God at every moment is transcending His own Reality."

Today, Sri Chinmoy serves as spiritual guide to students in some 60 countries around the world, encouraging a balanced lifestyle that incorporates the inner disciplines of prayer and meditation with the dynamism of contemporary life.

Sri Chinmoy's life is an expression of boundless creativity. His vast output spans the domains of music, poetry, painting, literature and sports. His contributions in each of these fields have been striking and far-reaching.

He regularly travels throughout the world to offer free concerts, lectures and public meditations, to meet with his students, and to meet and discuss spirituality with world and community leaders. Sri Chinmoy does not charge a fee for his spiritual guidance, concerts, lectures and public meditations.

The Song Remains the Same

On a brisk April evening in Queens, New York, Sri Chinmoy called upon one of his students, Adarsha Kelly, and sang a few words of his latest song. Adarsha, from Scotland, is renowned for his smooth baritone, and Sri Chinmoy has hailed him as the best singer of all his students. This time, he repeated Sri Chinmoy's lyrics through a microphone: "Run, run, run, run, run, run! World-Harmony-Run."

It was the night before the World Harmony Run was launched at the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in Manhattan, so there was some excitement in the air. The ceremony was mostly in place, but one vital thing was missing: a theme song.

Sri Chinmoy has composed 19,000 songs (that's not a misprint), including theme songs for many of the humanitarian projects and sports events that he has founded. Therefore, Australian Salil Wilson, global coordinator of the World Harmony Run, had already requested a song from Sri Chinmoy. He did not hear it until the night before the event, when the composer taught it to Adarsha and his other students. The melody and lyrics were both deliberately simple, something that a young child or a non-singer could learn in minutes. This simplicity, however, belied the depth of the lyrics in the second and final line: "We are the oneness and fullness of Tomorrow's Sun."

These clearly were not the average lyrics of a children's song. Indeed, it encompassed the lofty dreams of the World Harmony Run. Even those uncertain of its meaning can appreciate the sadly uncommon but wonderfully profound words and phrases - "oneness", "fullness", "Tomorrow's Sun" – raising to a musical crescendo.

As his students cluttered the seats, Sri Chinmoy then asked for the better (or more confident) singers to come down and sing the newly composed song – loudly and dynamically, with "no soulfulness". He also called musicians to bring their instruments – as a few dozen singers came down from the bleachers. As they sang those two lines repeatedly, the crowd of singers became more and more enthusiastic, improvising vocal arrangements and handclaps, as musicians gradually moved in. More of the audience, even some of the less able singers, were inspired to move from the bleachers and join the choir. It was clearly not an elite singing group. This was a joyous free-for-all, hootenanny style.

As the song was repeated, the musicians gradually moved in with their instruments in hand, squeezing their way through the assembled chorus. A guitarist would move towards a microphone at the front, adding their accompaniment to the song. A tabla player or esraj virtuoso would join in the fun, five or ten minutes into the song. A drummer would move in with a partial drum kit, assembling it in front of the singers as they kept singing. As all these embellishments arrived, the group sang and sang for some 40 minutes. "Amazing how two lines can be repeated, over and over, and still you just want to keep singing them," said one of the singers. "Of course, Sri Chinmoy's students have a feel for his music. But this time, we knew it was very special indeed."

At the World Harmony Run launch the next day, legendary singer Roberta Flack performed a haunting rendition of John Lennon's ode to world harmony: "Imagine" – a song known to almost everyone. Following that, she joined Sri Chinmoy's students in the first public performance of a song that, 24 hours earlier, did not even exist. Once again, the chorus of singers was accompanied by an impromptu band of musicians. The power and foot-stomping joy of the song suggested that world harmony is not only meditative and sweet, but also inherently dynamic.

In the space of three months, the World Harmony Run song has become one of Sri Chinmoy's most commonly heard songs, performed in most of the 70 nations which the World Harmony Run has visited, carrying the burning Harmony Torch into thousands of schools and special events. The original version was recorded a few days later, and the CD went into a second printing almost immediately. This song is not merely an adjunct to the event, but something that has taken a life of its own.

Due to its simplicity and its catchy tune, it is unlikely ever to have a "quintessential" version, but has more chance of remaining a popular standard. In Australia, a competition has been launched among schools, to determine the best arrangement of the song. Already, many versions have been recorded, many of which can be downloaded from the song's own website: Sri Chinmoy's World-Harmony-Run Song. From here, listeners can enjoy the cute, tuned-percussion arrangement of Palicky, an all-female, Czech ensemble (whose name, appropriately, translates roughly to "musical sticks"); or the celebratory sounds of a steel drum band from Dominica. The toe-tapping arrangement of Canadian guitarist Pavaka Ritchot is on the rapidly increasing play list, alongside the jazz arrangement of Austrian musician Vidyutonnati Spitzer.

Australian musicians have provided some of the more interesting versions. One local band, the Freeloaders, performed as the Run travelled through Canberra, providing reggae, salsa and Beatles-inspired (think "Twist and Shout") versions of the song. (These live performances are not currently on the website, as the Freeloaders plan to make a studio recording.) A Canberra school has entered a rap version into the competition.

While it is in no immediate danger of overtaking "Yesterday" as the most recorded song in history, it shares an infectious simplicity with the Beatles' classic that leaves potential for countless versions. As the World Harmony Run is set to become a regular event, the past few months might provide just a hint of the ways in which this eclectic song will be heard.

Founder and Organisers

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About

Premik: A Musical And Spiritual Perspective

Premik is a flutist-saxophonist-composer-arranger and producer. He has worked with Carlos Santana, Whitney Houston, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Narada Michael Walden, and Lonnie Liston-Smith among others. He is equally at home in popular, jazz, R&B, new age and experimental styles. His composing credits also include music for sports documentaries, sketch comedies and corporate training films.

Premik, (pronounced pray-meek) was born Russell Wayne Tubbs in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. His dad, Harold Tubbs, was a Big Band arranger and trumpet/flugelhorn player. Harold made sure that his son got a thorough background in the different musical idioms by starting him on piano and theory lessons by age six as well as taking him to various jazz and classical concerts.

By age nine, young Russell was studying clarinet voraciously and advancing at a rapid rate, but it was when he got his first saxophone that a whole new world opened up: the world of improvisation. From that point on, the aspiring young saxophonist was off and running towards a life of musical and personal adventures. During his second year of High School, the young saxophonist had an experience that would prove to be life - transforming. "Within the same two month period, I heard the music of John Coltrane and Ravi Shankar (click here for a look into Premik's meeting & performances with Ravi and Anoushka Shankar) for the first time. They both evoked such a deep sense of spirit and the search for a higher meaning in life that I had to find out more about the source of these mysterious sounds and feelings". From that point on, he began reading the various sacred texts of India, as well as studying its music. During his last year of High School, Tubbs had the privilege of studying with Joe Allard, one of the great woodwind teachers of our time, who helped bring his new student to a greater understanding of Coltrane's music.

After High School, Tubbs attended the Berklee College of Music for a short time, but was frustrated by the methods and constraints of its system. This feeling of dissatisfaction lead Tubbs back to New York City to study both with Joe Allard and Ornette Coleman, one of the great innovators in modern jazz. These teachers, along with avid listening to such experimental artists as Frank Zappa and Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) inspired Tubbs to start his own avant-garde quartet along with keyboardist Clifford Carter(currently working with James Taylor). Reminiscing about those times, Tubbs remarks: "You know, I was so flipped about Beefheart's approach to music that I just HAD to go and somehow meet this guy and maybe even play in his band! So, as things were not working out so well for me at the time (Tubbs was then in Miami trying to put a band together) I decided to do something radical. I packed my bags and my horns and took a bus all the way from Miami to Trinidad, California with nothing more than a scribbled address given to me by Ornette Coleman!"

Tubbs did, in fact twice meet with Beefheart and sat in on a rehearsal with The Magic Band. After this experience, a newly inspired Tubbs returned to New York, reforming his band Brethren Crazed Man the Wildlife Ensem (as in 'ensemble') to perform at whatever venues would risk hiring them. New musical vistas were opening up for Tubbs, yet the young saxophonist still felt in his heart something was missing.

In 1973, Tubbs began working with an experimental jazz/fusion group known as The New Maguire Sisters (there were no women in the band...everyone just thought it was a cool name) along with an as-yet-unknown drummer named Michael Walden, who had just become a student of Eastern spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy. Although Tubbs found himself a bit puzzled by his drummer-friend's new devotional lifestyle, he felt somehow reminded of a spiritual search he himself had once begun but had somehow veered away from. It wasn't long before Walden was able to convince Tubbs to make the trip to Queens, New York to have the experience of seeing Sri Chinmoy in person. "Narada was a clever guy", Premik remembers. "He knew how much I was into Indian music, so when he told me that Ali Akbar Khan (the great Indian sarodist) was giving a free concert in Sri Chinmoy's honor, I was primed!" Tubbs also had the good fortune of meeting the great guitarist, John McLaughlin for the first time, a meeting that would soon prove to be auspicious for Tubbs' career. "That evening was an unforgettable experience for me, both musically and spiritually, for I knew I had come face-to-face with a genuine enlightened being. I also knew that to really follow this path would mean a serious commitment and I wasn't sure if I was ready for that just yet. It took me some seven-odd months of soul-searching and seeing Sri Chinmoy numerous times to convince me, once and for all, that this was the real thing. Both Narada and Mahavishnu (John McLaughlin's spiritual name) gave me such support during those times. I'll never forget that".

Shortly after becoming Sri Chinmoy's student, a cascade of events began to unfold career-wise for the young saxophonist/flutist. First came an invitation from John McLaughlin in December 1974 to record on the album Visions of the Emerald Beyond. After that came a six-month tenure with the Mahavishnu Orchestra including tours of Europe and the U.S. The U.S. tour was a remarkable pairing up of both Mahavishnu and the Jeff Beck Group. Tubbs worked alongside such greats as Jean-Luc Ponty, bassist Ralph Armstrong and the soon-to-be-famous Narada Michael Walden on drums. Soon after his stint with the orchestra ended, Tubbs was invited to perform for the first time with Carlos Santana at an event entitled "Planetary Celebration". Held at the Nassau Coliseum it included such artists as James Taylor, Pete Seeger and many others. What started as a one-time opportunity to work with Santana would later develop into a long-lasting friendship. Some two years later, after Carlos had finished his first solo album for Columbia, entitled Oneness: Silver Dreams, Golden Reality, he invited Tubbs to join him on a six-week European tour as part of an opening act for the Santana band. The band called Devadip Oneness bore Carlos' spiritual name, given to him by Sri Chinmoy. The band opened for Santana each night of the six-week tour, playing a variety of interesting jazz-tinged arrangements of Sri Chinmoy's compositions along with a few originals by Santana and keyboardist, Chris Rhyne.

A year later, Carlos began making plans for a new solo album that would include songs from the very successful European tour, played by both the original members and a stellar list of guest artists. First, Herbie Hancock was invited in as co-arranger and co-musical director. Then the incredible took place when Carlos and Herbie managed to line up the entire original Miles Davis Quintet (unfortunately, sans Miles). Russell Tubbs, the unknown reedman from New York found himself in the company of Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Ron Carterand of course, Herbie and Carlos along with various Santana band members. This landmark album would be called The Swing of Delight, named after a poem by Sri Chinmoy. Several of the guru's compositions were included in the album, which Tubbs arranged for this unique line-up of players. "I couldn't believe that I was working on the same project with so many of my favorite musicians and that they were doing my arrangements!" Premik recalls. "It was truly a dream come true".

After a successful album release in the summer of 1980, hopes ran high that there would be a second run of the Devadip Oneness band during Santana's Japan tour that year. But due to personnel problems within Santana's main group, there was no time to reform a second band. Unfortunately, only European audiences had the chance to experience this remarkable Santana offshoot which featured Tubbs' soprano sax and flute work.

Soon after finishing with Santana, Tubbs met jazz keyboardist Lonnie Liston-Smith at a Sri Chinmoy meditation. The connection was immediate, and soon Tubbs was frequenting Smith's Westchester residence for informal duo sessions. It was during this period that Tubbs received the name "Premik" from his spiritual teacher, which translated from Bengali, means "unconditional lover of God". From that point on, the name "Premik" would appear on all future credits.

After several years hiatus from the scene, Lonnie Liston-Smith had just re-emerged with the highly successful album Dreams of Tomorrow. Premik was chosen as Smith's saxophonist/flutist for the next two years of touring and recording, playing at venues throughout the U.S. and Great Britain, and the world renowned Montreaux Jazz Festival. During this time, Premik recorded on two of Lonnie's albums: Silhouettes and Rejuvenation which included the great bassist Cecel McBee.

With help from his friend Narada, whose songwriting and production work was now riding high on the charts, Premik began to move back into session work playing on a string of hits by such artists as Clarence Clemens, with Jackson Brown, Whitney Houston, Regina Belle, Yoko Ogimone and Jermaine Stewart (see "Recording Credits").

In 1994, Premik became a member of composer Carman Moore's Skymusic Ensemble, performing Moore's epic work Mass for the 21st Century that summer as part of Lincoln Center's Out-Of-Doors concert series. Since that time, Premik has performed with Skymusic numerous times throughout the NYC area.

In 1995, Premik was invited to perform with India's great violinist, Dr L. Subramanium at the world premier of his new work, Global Symphony. Early next spring, Premik toured India with Dr. Subramanium, performing the work at various festivals. Premik has also been featured on soprano sax, flute and wind synthesizer in Subramanium's Global Fusion tours throughout the U.S.

Premik currently resides in Queens, New York where he owns and operates his own project studio as well as teaching woodwinds, doing free-lance composing work and performing throughout the New York area. He is also the in-house composer/producer/arranger for Nu-Vision, the self-esteem/drug prevention musical show for children ages 7-14, which has performed throughout the New York City school system as well as abroad.

Fountain-Art

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