PHIL RANELIN
The Time Is Now
Hefty Records
Hefty 032

PHIL RANELIN
Vibes From The Tribe
Hefty Records
Hefty 033


Originally from Indianapolis, trombonist Phil Ranelin first made a name for himself as a co-founder of the Tribe organization in Detroit. Like UGMAA in Los Angeles, the AACM in Chicago, BAG in St. Louis, and several other Afrocentric music and arts collectives founded in the early 1970s, Tribe attracted forward-thinking musicians who were interested in artistic self-determination. Other Tribe artists included reedman Wendell Harrison, pianists Harold McKinney and Kenny Cox (who led two sessions for Blue Note in the late 1960s), drummer Doug Hammond, and trumpeters Marcus Belgrave and Charles Moore. Though Tribe was defunct by the early 1980s, the organization nurtured a jazz scene that eventually produced world-class jazz artists such as Steve Coleman, Geri Allen, James Carter, Craig Taborn, Regina Carter, Tani Tabbal and Jaribu Shahid.

Tribe documented their explorations via a quarterly arts magazine, and an in-house record company. Produced in micro amounts for the local population, the original recordings are incredibly hard to come by these days. Record collector types pay several hundred dollars for original Tribe pressings without batting an eyelash. For the rest of us, there are the CD reissues. Hefty, a Chicago-based label, has done a spectacular job with both of these discs. Both feature updated liner notes by Ranelin himself, and complete personnel information. More importantly, both reissues contain outtakes, and complete versions of several tracks that were faded-out on the original vinyl issues.

The Time is Now, recorded in 1973 and 1974, predates Vibes From the Tribe by two years. Ranelin's music, while quite distinctive, reveals a fascinating and diverse combination of influences. The obvious reference points for several tracks on The Time is Now are Miles Davis' Filles de Kilimanjaro, In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, and Herbie Hancock's Crossings and Mwandishi. Some of the resemblances are purely superficial: multiple drummers, electric piano, repetetive bass lines, etc. More significantly, Ranelin, Harrison, Belgrave, and the other soloists successfully employ the sort of collective interplay that Miles perfected on Bitches Brew. Interestingly, Harrison's expressive tenor saxophone calls forth the spirits of Ayler and Sanders in ways that no Miles sideman ever dared to. Ranelin's fleet, outward-bound trombone work recalls that of Hancock sideman Julian Priester. Several tracks on The Time Is Now depart significantly from the early electric Miles influence. "13th and Senate" is a lush, heartfelt, and straightforward blues with Ranelin's trombone front and center. "Of Times Gone By,""Black Destiny," and "He The One We All Knew" all spring from hard bop, and the ebullient interplay on these pieces is rather reminiscent of one of Charles Mingus' late '50s / early '60s ensembles, or early Sun Ra. The outtakes and extended tracks are also worthwhile. The alternate take of "The Time Is Now For a Change" is quite different from the LP version. Taken half a step faster, it features a much less cheesy keyboard sound, and fine bass clarinet work by Haroun El Nil.

Vibes From The Tribe is a somewhat more commercially-oriented release. Funky (and now widely-sampled) backbeats are prominent on both the title track and "Sounds From The Village," and the electric bass work of Lopez Leon and ex Mahavishnu sidekick Ralph Armstrong is quite a bit stronger than anything from The Time Is Now. Armstrong even contributes a brief McLaughlin-esque guitar solo on "Sounds From the Village." Still, there is lots of musical substance here, and the fact that both tracks fade out after less than four minutes is intensely frustrating. This is redressed on the CD reissue by the inclusion of the complete versions of both tracks. "Wife" and "For The Children" both feature
fair-to-middling vocals by Ranelin. The problem with the vocal tunes is not entirely due to the quality of Ranelin's voice. Rather, it is the odd fit of the lyrics to the melody line. "Wife," in particular, would have been a complete musical statement without any vocals or lyrics at all. The centerpiece of this disc is a reworking of "He the One We All Knew," with Ranelin backed by an early incarnation of the Griot Galaxy band. The version of this tune on The Time Is Now was maddeningly brief; perhaps the cruellest fade-out on either disc. The later version, though it starts beautifully, would have benefited greatly from some judicious editing. Even so, there is enough musical meat here (supplied mainly by Ranelin, Armstrong, and saxophonist Faruk Bey) to make the entire 18+ minutes worth wading through a few times. Of the three bonus cuts, one ("Vibes From The Tribe, 8-Track Version") seems to be a cover version involving Hefty affiliated artist John McEntire, and possibly other members of the band Tortoise. Whatever the origin of this particular track, it provides some pretty interesting perspective on the original.

Though both releases are worthwhile for their historical value alone, I found myself returning more frequently to listen to The Time Is Now. Hefty Records deserves kudos for making Phil Ranelin's interesting and individualistic music available to the world at large.


--Dave Wayne


Track Listing; The Time Is Now: 1. The Time Is Now For A Change; 2. Time Is Running Out; 3. Of Times Gone By; 4. Black Destiny; 5. 13th and Senate; 6. He The One We All Knew, Pt. 1; 7. The Time Is Now For A Change, outtake; 8. Time Is Running Out, extended; 9. He The One We All Knew, Pt. 1, extended

Track Listing;Vibes From The Tribe: 1. Vibes From The Tribe; 2. Sounds From The Village; 3. Wife; 4. For the Children; 5. He The One We All Knew; 6. Vibes From the Tribe (extended); 7. Vibes From the Tribe (8-Track version); 9. Sounds From The Village (extended)


Personnel; The Time Is Now: Ranelin, trombone, percussion; Wendell Harrison, tenor sax (except 4); Marcus Belgrave, trumpet (except 4); Bill Turner, drums, percussion; George Davidson, drums, percussion (except 2); Keith Vreeland, electric piano, percussion; John Dana, bass (except 2, 7); Reggie 'ShooBeDoo' Fields, bass (2, 7); Charles Moore, trumpet, percussion (2, 7); Haroun El Nil, alto sax (2, 7), bass clarinet (7)

Personnel; Vibes From The Tribe: Ranelin, bass trombone, vocals (3, 4), percussion (4, 5); Wendell Harrison, tenor sax (1,2, 6-8), flute (3, 4); Faruq Hanif Bey, tenor sax, soprano sax, congas (5 only); George Davidson, drums, percussion (all except 5); Marcus Belgrave, trumpet (1, 6, 7); Lopez Leon, electric bass (1, 2, 6, 7); Ron English, electric bass (1, 6, 7); Kenny Cox, electric piano (1, 6, 7); Buddy Budson, electric piano (2, 8); Ralph Armstrong, electric guitar (2, 8), bass (3-5); Barbara Huby, congas, percussion (2, 4, 8); Harold McKinney, piano (3, 4); Bud Spangler, percussion (4); Ken Thomas, piano (5); Tariq Abdus Samad, drums (5); Daud Abdul Kahafiz, zeetar (5)