Trombonist Phil Ranelin and saxophonist Wendell Harrison are among the last people to be surprised at jazz’s resurging popularity. Together, they have dedicated over half a century to making Jazz education and concerts accessible to all. In the early 1970s in Detroit, Ranelin and Henderson would found Tribe Records, a small jazz label that grew to become a model of independent enterprise and ownership. For its time, it was nothing short of revolutionary. Working together with a tight-knit community of supporters, Tribe engineered a platform that placed artists in control of marketing and selling their own works. The results are some of the most soulful and urgent jazz records of any era, timeless classics whose ethos and ambition have guided generations of musicians that followed.
Both Ranelin and Harrison had begun to stake out careers in music prior to recording together. Harrison had toured and recorded with Hank Crawford, Grant Green, & Sun Ra. Ranelin, who hails from Indianapolis, moved to Detroit to play with percussionist Sam Sanders. By that time,
he had already shared the stage with Wes Montgomery and his childhood friend, Freddie Hubbard. Fate brought them together at Metro Arts, a unique federally-funded institute that offered a breadth of interdisciplinary arts courses, ranging from jazz to dance, designed to be accessible for teenagers. Here, many future members of Tribe began building the framework for what was to come.
Tribe records brought together Ranelin, Harrison, Marcus Belgrave, Doug Hammond, Harold McKinney and many others, utilizing community resources and. As the label promised, Tribe indeed offered “a new dimension in cultural awareness”. Despite only releasing eight albums, the body of work is peerless. Each release is a testament to the freedom and artistic license each artist had, crossing together influences ranging from Bebop to Soul to Funk to Classical & Avant-Garde. As the city economy continued slouching downward and racist zoning policies kept many Black people from home ownership, the act of self-publishing and promotion became a political one. Like the music itself, the goal of the business was to uplift the community and point towards a self-determined future.
BIO
Trombonist Phil Ranelin and saxophonist Wendell Harrison are among the last people to be
surprised at jazz’s resurging popularity. Together, they have dedicated over half a century to
making Jazz education and concerts accessible to all. In the early 1970s in Detroit, Ranelin and
Henderson would found Tribe Records, a small jazz label that grew to become a model of
independent enterprise and ownership. For its time, it was nothing short of revolutionary.
Working together with a tight-knit community of supporters, Tribe engineered a platform that
placed artists in control of marketing and selling their own works. The results are some of the
most soulful and urgent jazz records of any era, timeless classics whose ethos and ambition
have guided generations of musicians that followed.
Both Ranelin and Harrison had begun to stake out careers in music prior to recording together.
Harrison had toured and recorded with Hank Crawford, Grant Green, & Sun Ra. Ranelin, who
hails from Indianapolis, moved to Detroit to play with percussionist Sam Sanders. By that time,
he had already shared the stage with Wes Montgomery and his childhood friend, Freddie
Hubbard. Fate brought them together at Metro Arts, a unique federally-funded institute that
offered a breadth of interdisciplinary arts courses, ranging from jazz to dance, designed to be
accessible for teenagers. Here, many future members of Tribe began building the framework for
what was to come.
Tribe records brought together Ranelin, Harrison, Marcus Belgrave, Doug Hammond, Harold
McKinney and many others, utilizing community resources and. As the label promised, Tribe
indeed offered “a new dimension in cultural awareness”. Despite only releasing eight albums,
the body of work is peerless. Each release is a testament to the freedom and artistic license
each artist had, crossing together influences ranging from Bebop to Soul to Funk to Classical &
Avant-Garde. As the city economy continued slouching downward and racist zoning policies
kept many Black people from home ownership, the act of self-publishing and promotion became
a political one. Like the music itself, the goal of the business was to uplift the community and
point towards a self-determined future.
Tribe also existed as a concert series and a magazine. Under the direction of Wendell
Harrison’s wife Patricia, Tribe began publishing a magazine that catered to the interests of the
community and also helped publicize the Tribe artists and albums. The quarterly, and eventually
monthly, magazine would feature interviews with notable musicians, such as Herbie Hancock
and Sun Ra, articles on contemporary Black issues written by local university students, and
even lifestyle pieces on beauty and fashion. With its concert series, Tribe was able to present
notable jazz musicians in Detroit alongside local talent, and the profits would help produce
albums and workshops, thus continuing the ongoing practice of jazz as an oral tradition,
something meant to be listened to and passed on.
Having effectively come to an end in 1977, Tribe’s members would still remain crucial
community figures. With the non-profit Rebirth Inc., Harrison and Ranelin continue to educate
and engage the public in jazz, through public radio shows, lectures, and performances. Phil
Ranelin would join Horace Tapscott’s Pan Afrikan People’s Arkestra, and appear with his
childhood friend Freddie Hubbard on an excellent run of albums on Columbia, and Harrison
would write several books on jazz education, while remaining an active mentor to young
musicians. He also collaborated with notable Detroit musicians, including techno pioneer Carl
Craig, Amp Fiddler, & B12 founder Proof.
The impact left by Tribe is immeasurable today. Practically every independent musician and
label follows their blueprint of self-releasing and signing distribution deals. They would be
followed in Detroit by generations of afrocentric sonic worldbuilders, such as Griot Galaxy, who
first recorded with Ranelin on “Vibes From the Tribe”. As their music continues to be reissued
and enjoyed by fans worldwide, Ranelin and Harrison have delivered another striking chapter in
Tribe story with their upcoming collaboration with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammed
for Jazz Is Dead- a full circle moment that celebrates the visionary power of independent music
and jazz for the people.
JID016 LINER NOTES
To be an independent artist means to not only be free to share your most ambitious artistic
impulses, but to retain ownership of them, working tirelessly to market and produce a body of
work that stands apart from corporate decision-making and interference. For Phil Ranelin and
Wendell Harrison, it was this guiding principle that led them to found the Detroit-based Jazz
label Tribe Records in the early 1970s. Focusing on self-reliance and communal support, Tribe
provided a platform for local jazz artists such as Ranelin and Harrison to record and release
albums, and had community members taking full control of the promotion and distribution. The
label and its magazine set an important early precedent for community-driven arts
organizations, and still stands as a testament to their potential and efficacy. Today, the legacy of
Tribe lives on in labels like Jazz Is Dead, making these recordings at Linear Lab Studios in
Highland Park all the more significant. In their latest dispatch, Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed
Muhammad craft a poignant batch of new material that celebrates the lasting impact of Tribe,
and the perpetual greatness of Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison.
Emerging from misty trumpets and tremoring keys is album opener “Genesis”, which takes its
time introducing each element before breaking out into a fiery funk. On “Open Eye”
kaleidoscopic percussion takes over, leading into a cool, Samba-inflicted guitar that flutters in
between a formidable saxophone solo, courtesy of Harrison. From the moment the cymbals
and bass take off on “Running With Tribe”, the exhilaration remains high, before tempering into a
slithering strut, the string section lingering in the background, both glistening and nervous.
Coming in at the album’s mid-point, “Fire In Detroit” blossoms from a gentle swing into a kinetic
push and pull, showcasing the broad range of Younge and Muhammad’s arrangements. Like its
celestial namesake, “Ursa Major” illuminates and leads listeners through a sonic roadmap of the
album’s repertoire, contrasting softer meditative moments with jagged, fuzzed-out guitars and
urgent drums. Entering with bass and quickly building into a trenchant groove, “Metropolitan
Blues” features an exceptional trombone solo by Ranelin that feels as fresh as the maestro’s
work on classic albums like “The Time Is Now”. Building around a call-and-response between the
horns, keys, and percussion, album closer “Black Census” is a supercharged funk burner that
peppers in woodwinds alongside hi-hats for an eclectic blend. You can hear the sheer joy of the
musicians throughout the recording, so it more than makes sense to hear Harrison laugh at the
end of the take.
As each Jazz Is Dead record focuses on bringing a different legend from the past to the
forefront and highlighting their deep contributions to Jazz and popular music, the label’s most
recent collaboration with Ranelin and Harrison is more than that: it is a symbolic passing of a
generational torch, celebrating both groups’ continued dedication to remaining independent, and
continuing to produce compelling and unique Jazz music.
“GENESIS” SINGLE WRITE UP
Opening with sweltering saxophones that sound as if they’re floating in from a neighbor’s
apartment on a hot summer day, the aptly titled “Genesis” gives listeners an exciting taste of
what to expect on Jazz Is Dead 016. As the interlocking pulse of keys and kick drum heightens,
we plunge into a smooth interplay between the horns section and guitar, building into harder
and freer guitar parts and taut percussion. “Genesis” is a continuation of the stellar track record
from Jazz Is Dead, and is an exciting look into the sounds that populate the entirety of Jazz is
Dead 016
“FIRE IN DETROIT” SINGLE WRITE UP
When one hears the phrase, “Fire In Detroit”, one of the first things that pops into mind is the
uprising that occurred in 1967, a response to racist policing. This event bore strongly onto the
city’s arts community and would inform the work of Tribe Records in the years that followed.
Here, swinging hi-hats and crushing bass line glide alongside a calm Fender Rhodes, the chaos
fermenting until breaking into an ominous groove. As the Rhodes re-enters and guitars scratch
into frame, a string section suggests a better world awaits. “Fire In Detroit” evokes the tumult
and struggle of the uprising, but envisions a hopeful future, and remains a standout moment
throughout the album.
“OPEN EYE” SINGLE WRITE UP
Opening with stuttering percussion and upright bass, similar to that on Wendell Harrison’s
exceptional 1972 album “An Evening With The Devil”, “Open Eye” oscillates between
supernatural tension and calming melodies, shifting with uncanny ease. The second half of the
track features a solo from Harrison and is an excellent showcase of the veteran’s chops.
Blending together moods and sounds derived from Samba and Spiritual Jazz, “Open Eye” is
another notable excerpt from Ranelin and Harrison’s forthcoming entry on Jazz is Dead