Phil Ranelin (born May 25, 1939) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

trombonist.

Career

Ranelin was born in Indianapolis and lived in New York City before moving to Detroit in the 1960s. He played as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

on many

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

recordings, including with

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

. In 1971, he and

Wendell Harrison Wendell Harrison (born October 1, 1942) is an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. Early life and career Wendell Harrison was born in Detroit, Michigan. In Detroit, Harrison began formal jazz studies with pianist Barry Harris. H ...

formed a group called The Tribe, which was an

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz and experimental jazz) is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through to the late 1960s. Ori ...

ensemble devoted to black consciousness. Alongside it he co-founded

Tribe Records Tribe Records was an American jazz independent record label which was active during the 1970s and whose artists included Doug Hammond, Marcus Belgrave, Phil Ranelin and Wendell Harrison. History Based in Detroit, Michigan, United States, Trib ...

. He released several albums as a leader in the 1970s, and continued with The Tribe project until 1978. Following this, Ranelin worked with

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

. Ranelin worked mostly locally in Detroit in the following decades, and did not find widespread acceptance among jazz aficionados. However, he eventually came to the attention of

rare groove Rare groove is music that is very hard to source or relatively obscure. Rare groove is primarily associated with funk, R&B and jazz funk, but is also connected to subgenres including jazz rock, reggae, Latin jazz, soul, rock music, northern soul ...

collectors who became increasingly interested in his work. As a result,

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

drummer

John McEntire John McEntire (born April 9, 1970 in Portland, Oregon) is an American recording engineer, producer, drummer and multi-instrumentalist, based in Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of both Tortoise and the Sea and Cake. McEntire started playing dr ...

remastered some of Ranelin's older material and re-released it on

Hefty Records Hefty Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois (United States). Founded in 1995 by John Hughes III,Telefon Tel Aviv Telefon Tel Aviv is a New Orleans–derived, Chicago-based American electronic music act, formerly comprising Charles Cooper and Joshua Eustis. Since Cooper's accidental death in 2009, Telefon Tel Aviv has continued with Eustis as the sole official ...

Discography

* ''Message from the Tribe'' (

Tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

, 1972) * ''The Time Is Now!'' (Tribe, 1974; reissued

Hefty Hefty is an American brand of household products such as trash bags and trash cans, disposable tableware, children's disposable tableware (including their defunct '' Zoo Pals'' product line), slider closure food storage and freezer bags, plast ...

, 2001) * ''Vibes from the Tribe'' (Tribe, 1975; reissued Hefty, 2001) * ''Love Dream'' (Rebirth, 1986) * ''A Close Encounter of the Very Best Kind'' ( Lifeforce, 1996) * ''Remixes'' (Hefty, 2002) * ''Inspiration'' ( Wide Hive, 2004) * ''Living a New Day'' (Wide Hive, 2009) * ''Reminiscence'' (Wide Hive, 2009) * ''Perseverance with Henry Franklin and Big Black'' (Wide Hive, 2011)

As sideman

With

* '' The Love Connection'' (Columbia, 1979) * '' Skagly'' (Columbia, 1979) * ''

Mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Microp ...

'' (Liberty, 1980) * ''Pinnacle'' (Resonance, 1980 011 With

Freddie Redd Freddie Redd (May 29, 1928 – March 17, 2021) was an American hard-bop pianist and composer. He is best known for writing music to accompany '' The Connection'' (1959), a play by Jack Gelber. According to Peter Watrous, writing in ''The New Y ...

* '' Everybody Loves a Winner'' (Milestone, 1991) With

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

* ''

The Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

'' (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, 1984)

External links

Phil Ranelin Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2018)

References

Phil Ranelin Phil Ranelin (born May 25, 1939) is an American jazz and experimental music trombonist. Career Ranelin was born in Indianapolis and lived in New York City before moving to Detroit in the 1960s. He played as a session musician on many Motown rec ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranelin, Phil 1939 births Living people American jazz trombonists Male trombonists Musicians from Indianapolis 21st-century trombonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians