The fluid ensemble lineup of the Richard Russell Group is returning to Port Townsend this weekend with another concert of “One World Music.”

The May concert last year was so well received that it has prompted the return of the group to Unity in PT, according to local guest-musician David Michael, a Celtic harpist who’s lived in Port Townsend since 1990.

Last year’s event represented the culmination of close to half a century of musical collaboration, which is again being hosted through the Unity Spiritual Enrichment Center.

Michael met future sarod player Russell at the Evergreen State College in Olympia more than 50 years ago. Prior to last year’s concert, their most recent joint local performance was the Port Townsend Friends (Quaker) Meetinghouse in 2017, alongside Grammy Award-winning woodwind player Nancy Rumbel.

By contrast, Russell and Rumbel had performed together at Unity in 2023, as part of that year’s lineup of the Richard Russell Group, which this year includes not only Russell, Rumbel and Michael, but also the returning Anil Prasad on the tabla, and newcomer Matt Weiss on the cello.

The Seattle-based Richard Russell Group was established in 2018 to explore “One World Music,” and Michael considers himself and Russell to have been pioneers in “World Fusion Music” ever since their college years together, as they’ve collaborated in various concerts, recordings and ensembles throughout the decades, which eventually led Russell to introduce Michael and Rumbel to each other.

Russell regards his college years in Washington state as his gateway to Eastern music, since his education led him to spend a year abroad in Nepal, Tibet, after which he became a disciple of the Indian maestro Ali Akbar Khan, focusing much of his more-than-four decades of study of Indian music on the 25-string sarod.

After 20 years in the Bay Area, Russell returned to Texas, but even cities as artistic as Austin couldn’t compare to the West Coast, in his opinion, so he was drawn back to the Pacific Northwest nine years ago.

Russell, a prolific composer who doubles as a keyboardist, has also been a member of the seminal “World Fusion Music” group Ancient Future, as well as the Ali Akbar College Orchestra, and has recorded and performed with numerous luminaries of Indian classical music.

Fellow composer Rumbel has earned international renown for her playing of the oboe, ocarina and English horn, and her credits include work with the Paul Winter Consort and award-winning recordings with guitarist Eric Tingstad.

Michael is a composer as well as a teacher and multi-instrumentalist. He’s produced 26 CDs of original music, and has collaborated with musicians including Benjy Wertheimer, Steve Gorn, Jami Sieber, Michael Mandrell, Gwen Franz and the late Randy Mead. Michael’s music has been featured on radio and television shows, among them documentaries, and in nature films.

Prasad has honed his skills on the tabla — the two-piece hand-drum that’s a signature percussion instrument in North Indian classical music — by studying with Zakir Hussain, who’s widely regarded as a maestro of Indian drumming.

Prasad credits his approach to drumming with making him “one of the most sought-after” drummers in the Seattle area, for concerts and recording projects, varying from Indian classical to jazz and fusion.

Weiss, who joined the Richard Russell Group last year, is praised by his colleagues as a seasoned musician, equally proficient on the violin, viola and cello, just as adept at playing within a wide range of genres, including western, classical, jazz, pop, sacred, secular and Eastern styles.

Weiss began the violin at age 4, and not only performs regularly in the Seattle area, but also conducts the Octavia Chamber Orchestra.

As for the Richard Russell Group as a whole, Michael and Russell described its output as an eclectic blend of “Indian rāgas, western polyphony and ambient jazz,” employing “a unique array” of acoustic instruments, as well as “ensemble improvisation, serenely meditative flow, and up-tempo rhythmic energy and excitement,” to bridge Eastern and Western cultures.

“This is truly uplifting and celebratory music,” Michael said.

What to know:

Doors open at 3:40 p.m. for the 4 p.m. concert on Saturday, May 31, for which you can either purchase your tickets in advance at BrightStarEvents or purchased at the door at the Unity Spiritual Enrichment Center of Port Townsend, at 3918 San Juan Ave. Tickets are $28 in advance or $33 at the door.