PHILLIP RANELIN AND WENDELL HARRISON - A MESSAGE FROM THE TRIBE
Released: 28/07/23
The Tribe founders’ collaborative debut, remixed from the original mutli-track master tapes under the direction of its creators and lacquered by Bernie Grundman. Phil Ranelin’s side has been pitch-corrected and restored to a suite, as was originally intended. Wendell Harrison’s side contains extended, full versions of two songs. The definitive reissue of this spiritual jazz masterpiece. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America’s 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. 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.” 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. The booklet features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe’s mid-1970s heyday.
The Japanese edition from P-Vine is a reissue of the record’s original edition, first released in 1972. The record would later be re-released in an extended double LP version with re-recorded tracks, but this record boasts its own charms, and remains a pinnacle record of socially conscious spiritual jazz. Pressed on heavy-weight 180g vinyl, this version also ships with an iconic Japanese obi strip.
Pickup currently unavailable at Dreamhouse Records