Wendell Harrison

2023 repress. "The Tribe co-founder's debut, remixed from the original mutli-track master tapes under the direction of its creator and lacquered by Bernie Grundman. Now-Again presents the defi¬nitive Tribe Records reissues. Deep, spiritual jazz of the highest order. 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. Reedman Wendell Harrison leads the group in a set of soaring, spacious, righteous tunes – with great help from Marcus Belgrave on trumpet, and assorted other instruments, which he and Harrison play in the best AACM tradition. Phil Ranelin's also in the group on trombone – and other players include Charles Eubanks on keyboards, Ike Daney on drums, and Will Austin on bass – and the album also features some spoken passages by the Black Messengers, Oba and Vajava. The whole thing's fantastic – that strong collaborative spirit that graced the best part of the American jazz underground of the time. 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."