1971, in Detroit, trombonist Phil Ranelin and saxophonist Wendell Harrison started a band, a recording company, and a magazine, and called them the Tribe. This legendary political, social, and aesthetic collective also included key members like drummer Doug Hammond, trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, Pianist Harold McKinney plus musicians like Band The Mixed Bag, Bass Clarinetist and Woodwindist Aaron Neal, Bassist Ed Pickens, Bassist Will Austin, Bassist Lopez Leon, Bassist John Dana, Bassist Reginald (Shoo-Be-Doo) Fields, Conga Player Charles Miles, Drummer / Percussionist Roy Brooks, Drummer Billy Turner, Drummer Ron Jackson, Drummer George Davidson, Drummer Bud Spangler, Drummer Danny Spencer, Drummer Ike Daney, Drummer Gayelynn McKinney (Harold Mckinney's daughter), Drummer Michelle Jhara-Mckinney (Harold Mckinney's wife), Guitarist Ralph Armstrong, Keyboardist / Pianist Pamela Wise, Keyboardist David Durrah, Keyboardist Keith Vreeland, Keyboardist Buddy Budson, Keyboardist Charles Eubanks, Percussionist Barbara Huby, Percussionist Billy Turner, Percussionist Lorenzo Brown, Pianist Kenny Cox, Pianist Charles Eubanks, Poetry group The Black Messengers Synth player Daryl Dybka, Trumpeter Charles Moore, Vocalist Jeamel Lee, Vocalist Spanky Wilson , Vocalist Leon Thomas, and others.
The collective released a number of highly collectable albums including records like Phil Ranelin's "Vibes From The Tribe," Marcus Belgrave's "Gemini II," Harold McKinney's "Voices And Rhythms Of The Creative Profile," Doug Hammond and David Durrah's "Sea of Nurnen," and Wendell Harrison's "An Evening with the Devil" - many of these releases have been reissued or licensed in the US, Europe and Japan by labels like Hefty, Soul Jazz, P Vine and Ubiquity. Given the broad nature and appeal of these recordings they have become highly praised and sort out by collectors of jazz, funk and electronic music. Interviewing Wendell Harrison in 2001 Jazz Times said the label “packed a strong musical punch remarkable for its unorthodoxy.”
Tribe, like Sun Ra throughout his career (releasing records on his own EL Saturn), Max Roach and Charles Mingus in the early 60s (releasing their own music), Stanley Cowell and Charles Tolliver with their Strata East collective in New York, the AACM collective in Chicago (Braxton, The Art Ensemble of Chicago and many more), the Black Artists Group in St. Louis and the Underground Musicians' Association in Los Angeles (Horace Tapscott and associates), defined the very meaning of independent spirit and community in jazz. Few people in the Detroit area music scene have been untouched in some shape or form by the influence and impact of Tribe. The House, Techno and Hip Hop generation among them.
In spring 2007, internationally respected innovative Detroit based producer Carl Craig re-assembled the remaining core living original members of the Tribe collective all still heavily active nationally and internationally and still very much in contact with other - Wendell Harrison (still living and working in Detroit), Phil Ranelin (now living and working in Los Angeles), Marcus Belgrave (still living in Detroit) and Doug Hammond (now living in Germany). In Craig’s newly refined Detroit Studio a brand new collective album started to take shape. The record features classic Tribe material including a brand new arrangements of the Tribe classics “Vibes from The Tribe,” and "Glue Fingers" as well as new compositions written especially for the record.
The first taster for the album, the single "Livin in A New Day" an appropriately titled brand new composition by Phil Ranelin, was released in December 2007. Describing the new song Phil said “It felt great to be back laying down some tracks with the guys. The inspiration for "Livin In A New Day " comes as usual for me just checking out the daily vibes on the planet. We are in very critical times in my opinion and there are lots of issues that need our attention. Things have drastically changed in the last twenty or thirty years and unfortunately most of it hasn't really been good for the planet or the people of the planet, and then you have all of these on going wars, lies, disruptions and fear promotion that's taking place it's really crazy ! That's "Livin In A New Day."
The second single from the album "Vibes From The Tibe / Livin' in a new Day - C2 remix" featured a brand new remake of the Tribe anthem "Vibes From The Tribe" plus a non-album Carl Craig remix of "Livin' in a New Day" that was especially made for UK DJ Gilles Peterson. The single was released in early August 2008 following the Tribe collectives first ever live gig in New York at the new (le) Poisson Rouge space (formerly the Village Gate) as part of the JVC JAZZ FESTIVAL.The show featured the full live band including Marcus Belgrave on trumpet, Wendell Harrison on reeds and Phillip Ranelin on Trombone. The New York Times' Ben Ratliff attended the gig giving it a favorable review.
Fans of Carl Craig should note this is not a Carl Craig album - he is the producer here and for him this album is about presenting the Tribe sound. In some ways it's an extension of his work with the Detroit Experiment but says "it's less experimental than Innerzone Orchestra and more cohesive than Detroit Experiment" but moreover in reality the project is a revival of Craig's label Community Projects which released the fantastic jazz album "World Trade Music" from drummer Francisco Mora in the late 90s. Community Projects is a sister label to Craig's Planet E Communications - devoted to non electronic music including jazz, world musics and blues. It's basis is in the Detroit community. Below is detailed biographies for the four core Tribe members.
Read a Downbeat Magazine story on Tribe
Wendell Harrison
Saxophones, clarinet, vocals
Born Oct. 1, 1942, in Detroit, Mich.
As a youngster, Wendell Harrison’s mother got him involved in music to keep him of the streets. By the time he arrived at Northwestern High School he knew his instrument and played with classmates, and later jazz luminaries, such as trumpeter Lonnie Hillyard, saxophonist Charles McPherson, and percussionist Roy Brooks. He studied formally with pianist Barry Harris, who introduced Harrison to the music of Sonny Rollins, and also at the Detroit Conservatory of Music. His early jobs included stints with the show bands of Choker Campbell and Teddy Harris Jr. He also worked with Claude Black and Willie Metcalf. These associations led him work with Sonny Stitt and Elvin Jones.
After graduating from high school Harrison headed to New York where he soon joined guitarist Grant Green and hit the road. During the 1960s he worked with Big Maybelle, Jack McDuff, Lou Rawls, Woody Shaw, Charles Tolliver, Jimmy Owens, Betty Carter, Eddie Harris, Sarah Vaughn, the Joe Henderson - Kenny Dorham Big Band and others. He played and recorded with saxophonist Hank Crawford for nearly five years, and replaced John Gilmore in the Sun Ra Arkestra, spending a few years in orbit with the celestial keyboardist.
In 1971, after some two years in residence at the Synanon community in California to kick a heroin habit, Harrison returned to Detroit. After taking a job teaching at the nonprofit Metro Arts Complex, he founded Tribe with trombonist Phil Ranelin.
As Tribe wound down Harrison worked regularly as a duo with pianist Harold McKinney with whom he founded Rebirth, Inc., a nonprofit, in 1978. With his second wife, pianist Pamela Wise, Harrison and Rebirth embarked on a path of jazz education and performances with national and local artists. He established WenHa records and publishing company, which released many of his records and those of Wise. In the 1980s he published the Be Boppers Method Books I & II to aid young people in developing improvisational skills.
Musicians brought in by Rebirth for workshops, performances and recordings include Andy Bey, Steve Turre, Reggie Workman, Claude “Fiddler” Williams, Horace Silver, Jerry Gonzalez, Cindy Blackman, Don Byron, Jean Carne, Howard Johnson, Kirk Lightsey, Vanessa Rubin and Dennis Rowland.
Starting in 1979 Harrison reacquainted himself with the clarinet, his first instrument. He later established the Mama’s Lickin’ Stick clarinet ensemble, featuring each instrument in the clarinet family, to perform new music he composed. Rebirth received several grants from Chamber Music America in support of composing, residencies and cultural exchange related to the clarinet ensemble.
In 1993 Harrison was named a Michigan Jazz Master by Arts Midwest and in 1995 toured Africa and the Middle East with the Michigan Jazz Masters ensemble. He has also received a composer award from the National Endowment for the Arts, a commission from ArtServe Michigan, and was named a Jazz Master by the Detroit City Council. Harrison excels as a composer, educator and performer, recording music from early swing, to bebop, hip hop and techno. He has more than 30 records as a leader, sideman and producer, including: Birth of a Fossil (1985) with Dennis Rowland; Reawakening (1985) with Leon Thomas; Wait Broke the Wagon Down(1987) with Pamela Wise; The Carnivorous Lady(1988) with Marcus Belgrave and Pamela Wise; Fly By Night(1990); Forever Duke(1991) with Mama’s Lickin’ Stick; Something for Pops (1993) with Harold McKinney; Rush and Hustle(1999) with Mama’s
Lickin’ Stick; Battle of the Tenors (2003) with Eddie Harris; Eighth House: Riding with Pluto(2002); and Urban Expressions(2005).
Wendell Harrison website
Phil Ranelin
Trombone, vocals
Born May 25, 1939, in Indianapolis, Ind.
Phil Ranelin began studying trombone at age 11 because his paternal grandmother said he would have a wonderful life pursuing music. In the late 1950s he studied at Jordan Conservatory under the principle trombonist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Ranelin was especially inspired by bebop trombonist J.J. Johnson. In 1958 he took first place in the city wide City Parks Talent Contest. At age 19 he met Wes Montgomery and played 16 weeks of Saturday matinees at a local club. He sat in with Grant Green and Eddie Harris whenever they came through town. In 1964 he joined Freddie Hubbard in New York, where he met Thelonious Monk. After returning to Indianapolis for a short stay, he moved to Detroit in 1968 and worked in local bands in addition to sessions at Motown studios, particularly with Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, and The Temptations. During this time he played with Pharaoh Sanders and Roland Kirk. He chose to stay in Detroit when Motown moved to Los Angeles and co-founded Tribe with Wendell Harrison.
Ranelin was Tribe’s most prolific composer and released Message from the Tribe (1972) with Wendell Harrison, The Time is Now (1974) and Vibes from the Tribe( 1976) as a leader.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1977 and continued his association with Freddie Hubbard’s band for several years, including appearing on the trumpeter’s album Mistral, 1981’s top jazz album in Japan. Ranelin has played with the Horace Tapscott Quintet, the Michael Session Sextet, the Taumbú International Ensemble, Solomon Burke, Norman Connors, Ella Fitzgerald, Al “Tootie” Heath, Billy Higgins, Freddie Redd, Sarah Vaughan, and the Gerald Wilson Big Band, and has toured Japan with the New Temptations. He was a founding member of the BoneSoir trombone choir collective and has led groups for club dates and festivals.
In recent years that has included Phil Ranelin & the Tribe Renaissance, and the Phil Ranelin Jazz Ensemble. He has performed tributes to greats across the jazz spectrum, such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, J.J. Johnson, Eric Dolphy and John Coltrane.
Always an active civic participant, Ranelin was honored in 2002 for his Outstanding Contributions to Jazz by the International Association for Jazz Education. He’s also been honored by official resolutions as a “Rare and Valuable Cultural Treasure” and a “Cultural Ambassador” by the Mayor and the City Council of Los Angeles. May 25, 2004 was declared Phil Ranelin Day throughout the City of Los Angeles.
In addition to numerous recordings as a sideman and his Tribe releases, as a leader Ranelin has recorded Love Dream(1986); A Close Encounter of the Very Best Kind(1996); and Inspiration (2004). In 2001 The Time is Nowand Vibes from the Tribewere remixed, remastered and re-released on Hefty Records. The single “Livin’ in a New Day” was released in 2007 by Carl Craig’s Planet E Communications.
Phil Ranelin website
Marcus Belgrave
Trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals
Born June 12, 1936, in Chester, Penn.
Marcus Belgrave first learned bugle from his saxophone-playing father and by age six was playing trumpet. He later was exposed to jazz by his cousin, saxophonist Cecil Payne, and through Payne met bebop icons Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach. As a teenager Belgrave played with Clifford Brown, who opened up a “whole new world” for Belgrave after Brown schooled him in improvisation. Belgrave began touring with Ray Charles at age 19, and it was one of the most valuable learning experiences he could have had. He also worked around New York with the likes of Yusef Lateef and Charles Mingus. He met Wendell Harrison during that time.
The road took its toll on Belgrave and he moved to Detroit in 1963 to work in the Motown studios. After a short while he returned to Chester to care for his ailing father. During this eastern sojourn he worked with singer Lloyd Price, trumpeters John Hunt and Jimmy Owens, and vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. After that he toured with saxophonist Hank Crawford, and later he worked with singers Bobby “Blue” Bland and Jerry Butler. Belgrave returned to Detroit in 1967 and became involved in efforts by musicians to mark their own space in the Detroit Creative Musicians Association, Strata Record and Concert Gallery, and ultimately Tribe.
His Tribe release, Gemini II, was his first as a leader. He later founded the Jazz Development Workshop and eventually became mentor to a younger generation of musicians such as Geri Allen, Bob Hurst, Kenny Garrett and James Carter. He worked with elder master drummer J.C. Heard’s quartet and big band and taught in the jazz studies program at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.
Through the 1980s and 1990s he toured worldwide as a leader and as a sideman, working with Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett, Eddie Jefferson, Dizzy Gillespie, Lawrence Williams, J. C. Heard and others. He played with Branford Marsalis on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” was an original member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and the Lincoln Center Motor City Jazz Masters. He was named a Michigan Jazz Master by Arts Midwest and toured Africa and the Middle East with the Michigan Jazz Masters. Since 2000 Belgrave has performed a Tribute to Louis Armstrong, particularly recreating the seminal Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings, with clarinetist Charles Gabriel. In 2003 he joined Carl Craig for The Detroit Experiment and has continued working with the techno master. He was named Jazz Master Laureate of Detroit in 2008 by the Detroit City Council.
In addition to numerous recordings as a sideman, as a leader he’s recorded Working Together (1992) with Lawrence Williams; Live at Kerrytown Concert House, Vol. 1(1993) with Tommy Flanagan, Geri Allen and Gary Schunk; Marcus Belgrave’s Tribute to Louis Armstrong (2002); Marcus & Charlie, Detroit’s New Orleans Connection(2002) with Charlie Gabriel; You Don’t Know Me, A Tribute to New Orleans, Ray Charles and the Great Ladies of Song(2007) with Joan Bow and Charlie Gabriel; and Marcus, Charlie & Joan … Once Again(2009) a tribute to his bebop mentors.
Marcus Belgrave Website
Doug Hammond
Drums, percussion, vocals
Born Dec. 26, 1942, in Tampa, Fla.
Doug Hammond started playing music in Florida as a sideman working in blues and R&B bands. He practiced and learned as many songs as possible so he could play with working bands, and his will to succeed led him to eschew holding a day job. The strategy worked and through records he schooled himself with some of the great masters of blues, jazz and swing. In the early 1960s he worked alongside Earl Hooker, The Five Royals, Sam and Dave, and Little Willie John. He had his eyes on New York but in 1965 moved to Detroit as a warm-up for the Big Apple. His early Motor City associations include Kirk Lightsey, James “Blood” Ulmer, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. He built a reputation as a spare drummer who accented the nooks and crannies of the music while still swinging. That soon led to work with the likes of Donald Byrd, Sonny Redd, Joseph Jarman, Betty Carter, Chet Baker, Sonny Rollins, Hank Crawford, Focus Novii and Marcus Belgrave — covering everything from blues to bop and free jazz. In 1967 he was a founding member of the Detroit Creative Musicians Association, and served as vice president and coordinator of the organization that presaged some of the ideals that later led to Tribe’s founding.
Hammond moved to New York in 1970, and over the next decade worked with Kenny Durham, O.C. Smith, Charles Mingus, Sam Rivers, Howard Johnson, Lonnie Liston Smith, Howard Johnson, Marion Williams, Etta James, Lowell Fulson, Arthur Blythe, Sammy Price/Hal Singer, Dorothy Ashby, Nina Simone and Mal Waldron. He co-led an octet with saxophonist Sonny Fortune. His 1974 Tribe release with keyboardist David Durrah evidenced a fusion of jazz, African grooves and light, soulful melody. Lyrically he stood against the war in Vietnam and called out to African Americans to live positive lives.
In the late 1970s and into the 1980s he led the Doug Hammond Trio, and played in Peter Giger’s Family of Percussion. His resume stretches further in work with Paquito D’Rivera, Arnett Cobb, Wolfgang Dauner and Stephan Kurmann. In 1984 he moved to Germany and worked from that base until 1988 when he returned to Detroit for a year. In 1989 he moved to Linz, Austria, to teach jazz percussion at the Anton Bruckner Private University until his retirement in 2007. Over time his music has evolved toward blues and rhythm chant forms spiced with American and European avant garde.
Hammond has written several books of poetry, song lyrics, essays and drum instruction, including: Lonely Music Man(1982); Percussion and Rhythm Workshop(1993); In This Maze of Seeming Wonders(1994); 10 Melodies for Memory(1998); and Times On the Planet Earth(2000).
Hammond has recorded many times as a sideman over the decades. As a leader his albums include: Folks(1980); We People(1989); The Original Doug Hammond Trio; Perspiciuty(1991); Spaces (1992); It’s Born(1996/2000); Singing Smiles(2005); and A Real Deal (2007).
Doug Hammond website
Doug Hammond feature in Waxpoetics
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Rebirth" Album Credits
Artist: Tribe
Project: Rebirth
Label: Community Projects / Planet E
Producer: Carl Craig
Engineer: Collin Dupuis
Recording Studio: White Room & My House of Trouble, Detroit, MI
Mix Studio: My House of Trouble, Detroit, MI
Mastering: Michael Fossenkemper @ Turtle Tone Studios
The Tribe: Wendell Harrison, Phil Ranelin, Marcus Belgrave, Doug Hammond
Personnel:
Kelvin Sholar - Rhodes
Karriem Riggins - Drums
Damon Warmack - Bass
John Arnold - Guitar
Amp Fiddler - Keyboards
Humberto 'Andres' Hernandez - Congas
Joan Belgrave - Voice
Pamela Wise - Keyboards
Ralphe Armstrong - Bass
Pathe Jassi - Bass
Gayelynn McKinney - Drums
Motor City Horns - Backing Horns
Mark Byerly (Trumpet), John Rutherford (Trombone), Keith Kaminski (Sax)
01. Living In A New Day
Written by Phil Ranelin (Philran Music BMI)
Phil Ranelin - Trombone, Wendell Harrison - Sax, Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet, Kelvin Sholar - Rhodes, Karriem Riggins - Drums, Damon Warmack - Bass, John Arnold - Guitar, Humberto 'Andres' Hernandez - Congas, Carl Craig - Synth and sound design
02. Glue Fingers
Written by Marcus Belgrave (EdMarsyl Publishing)
Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet, Wendell Harrison - Sax, Phil Ranelin - Trombone, Kelvin Sholar - Rhodes, Karriem Riggins - Drums, Pathe Jassi - Bass, John Arnold - Guitar, Amp Fiddler - Organ, Additional Horns - Motor City Horns
03. Denekas Chant
Written by Doug Hammond Gema (Jodgoa Publishing Corp, ASCAP)
Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet, Wendell Harrison - Clarinet, Phil Ranelin - Trombone, Kelvin Sholar - Rhodes, Karriem Riggins - Drums, Ralphe Armstrong - Bass, Amp Fiddler, Carl Craig - Synths, Additional Horns - Motor City Horns
04. Vibes From The Tribe
Written by Phil Ranelin (Philran Music BMI)
Phil Ranelin - Trombone, Wendell Harrison - Sax, Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet, Kelvin Sholar - Rhodes, Karriem Riggins - Drums, Pathe Jassi - Bass, John Arnold - Guitar, Humberto 'Andres' Hernandez - Congas, Carl Craig - Synth bass and sound design
05. Son Of Tribe
Written by Marcus Belgrave, Carl Craig, Wendell Harrison (EdMarsyl Publishing, Planet E Communications ASCAP, WenHa Music Publishing BMI)
Wendell Harrison - Bass Clarinet, Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet, Karriem Riggins - Drums, Damon Warmack - Bass, John Arnold - Guitar, Carl Craig - Keys and vibe
06. Jazz On The Run
Written by Wendell Harrison (WenHa Music Publishing BMI)
Wendell Harrison - Sax, Phil Ranelin - Trombone, Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet, Kelvin Sholar - Rhodes, John Arnold - Guitar, Additional Horns - Motor City Horns
07. Ride
Written by Wendell Harrison (WenHa Music Publishing BMI)
Wendell Harrison - Sax, Phil Ranelin - Trombone, Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet, Kelvin Sholar - Rhodes, Karriem Riggins - Drums, Damon Warmack - Bass, Amp Fiddler - Organ, Humberto 'Andres' Hernandez - Congas, Additional Horns - Motor City Horns
08. Lesli
Written by Lawrence Williams (EdMarsyl Publishing)
Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet, Wendell Harrison - Clarinet, Phil Ranelin - Trombone, Karriem Riggins - Drums, Kelvin Sholar - Rhodes, Ralphe Armstrong - Bass, John Arnold - Guitar, Carl Craig - Synth and sound design
09. 13th And Senate
Written by Phil Ranelin (Philran Music BMI)
Phil Ranelin - Trombone, Wendell Harrison - Sax, Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet, Kelvin Sholar - Rhodes, Doug Hammond - Drums, Ralphe Armstrong - Bass
10. Where Am I (Featuring Joan Belgrave)
Written by Wendell Harrison (WenHa Music Publishing BMI)
Wendell Harrison - Sax, Marcus Belgrave - Trumpet, Pamela Wise - Keyboards, Drums - Gayelynn McKinney, Damon Warmack - Bass, John Arnold - Guitar, Amp Fiddler - Rhodes, Joan Belgrave - Voice
