Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
The Story of Tribe Records is told through seven landmark Spiritual Jazz albums, remixed and remastered from the original multitrack tapes under the direction of Tribe co-founders Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison, and includes the unreleased Harrison album Farewell to the Welfare.
Purchasable with gift card
$7USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Exclusive Blue Vinyl LP
Includes an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff “Chairman” Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. It features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe’s mid-1970s hey day.
Includes unlimited streaming of The Time Is Now!
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 3 days
Purchasable with gift card
$31USDor more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Standard Black Vinyl LP
Included in an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff “Chairman” Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. It features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe’s mid-1970s hey day.
Includes unlimited streaming of The Time Is Now!
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
…and the best stories are told in chapters. While the Tribe label has remained one of the brightest lights of America’s 1970s jazz underground, the label has never been feted with a definitive set of reissues, and has thus remained obscure.
That changes now.
This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Century Black American experience, one that expanded outwards towards the cosmos. In the words of the collective themselves, “Music is the healing force of the universe.”
The box will ship with seven albums inside, and will come with an exclusive podcast series that features interviews with label co-founders Phil Ranelin, Wendell Harrison and more, to help guide you on your three week journey through the Tribe Records collective.
Here’s what you’ll get with The Story of Tribe Records:
7 Essential Tribe Records Releases
The definitive reissues of these sought-after albums. These albums sound as good – or better – than the rare original LP issues. They are pressed on high-quality 180g black vinyl and housed in heavyweight, tip-on jackets.
They were either remixed from the original multi-track master tapes under the supervision of Ranelin and Harrison or were lacquered directly from master tape in an all-analog transfer by Bernie Grundman.
Exclusive Podcast Series
In a four-episode podcast series, our host Marcus Moore talks with Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison about what lead them to found their own labe and collective, their own albums in the box–they lead five of the albums here—their impact on Detroit’s Black community through their music and activism, what has and hasn’t changed in the struggle they started decades ago, and what the legacy of their courage in music is in today’s, divided America.
Detailed Liner Notes In An Expansive Booklet
Tribe historian Larry Gabriel and journalist Jeff “Chairman” Mao take us through the history of Tribe Records, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. This deluxe magazine-style booklet also features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe’s mid-1970s hey day.
credits
released January 15, 2021
Credits:
Written-By, Arranged By, Producer, Liner Notes, Trombone, Percussion – Phil Ranelin
Tenor Saxophone, Percussion – Wendell Harrison (tracks: A1 to B3)
Piano, Percussion – Keith Vreeland
Flugelhorn, Percussion – Marcus Belgrave (tracks: A1 to B3)
Bass – John Dana (tracks: A1, B1 to B4)
Drums, Percussion [Left Channel] – Bili Turner*
Drums, Percussion [Right Channel] – George Davidson (tracks: A1, B1 to B4)
Engineer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Bob MeLoche
Producer [for reissue] – Eothen Alapatt
Lacquer Cut By – Bernie Grundman
Layout [Typesetting & Layout] – Carolyn V. Crawford*
Photography By – Hugh Grannom, Marcus Belgrave, Norm Snyder*
Artwork [Cover] – Bili Turner*
Artwork [restoration and layout] – Errol F. Richardson
Design [Album] – Bili Turner*, Phil Ranelin
Phil Ranelin is a trombonist, composer and bandleader and is best known as the co-founder of Detroit's Tribe Records, a
collective that would best be described as a Midwest answer to New York's Strata-East. HIs three entries on the label are revered by fans of the deepest in "Spiritual Jazz." Ranelin recorded extensively through the late 2010s, and is an American musical treasure....more
supported by 17 fans who also own “The Time Is Now!”
My god, what an absolutely incredible Suite. I'll admit, I've struggled to get into Pharoah Sanders due to diving headfirst into some of his most challenging catalogue and that never worked. This is the perfect place to restart. Floating Points is new for me and I can honestly say I've never heard synthesizer music this lush and organic before. the LSO is just perfect. This is one of those albums that any serious music fan needs in their life. The perfect swan song for the great Pharaoh! 5/5 ClassyMusicSnob