Carl Craig getting Detroit Tribe ready

Carl Craig getting Detroit Tribe ready

12 November, 2007 | 2.09PM

• Section: Music News Topics: Beatport Blog
• Written by: lizwarner

It’s taken since the early 1970s for things to come full circle with the Detroit jazz outfit (and label) Tribe Collective to come together once again — and this time, someone who was just a wee child during the Tribe’s heyday, Carl Craig, is the one making it happen.

Craig hadn’t even completed his first decade of life before the outfit had disbanded.

Today’s version of the Tribe looks different than the original, as not all original members are currently living.

Comprised of a who’s who of Detroit jazz luminaries — Wendell Harrison and Marcus Belgrave, along with Doug Hammond and Phil Ranelin — they’ve recorded a full album to be released in 2008 on Craig’s jazz-infused division of Planet E Communications called Community Projects. 

The quartet have lost none of its unique groove, either.

Trombonist Ranelin steps in for composition and lyrics on their first single, ‘Livin’ in a New Day’, out this month, which is available for preview on the Tribe myspace page.

All members are currently active with their own projects at the moment.

Saxophonist Harrison often plays in Detroit and was recently featured in a photo spread for a Detroit-based magazine; drummer Hammond will release a solo album on Heavenly Sweetness soon, which will include a remix by Four Tet; trumpeter Belgrave gigs frequently around Detroit and elsewhere; and Ranelin, whose past releases under his own name have been titled ‘Vibes from the Tribe’ and ‘Message from the Tribe’, has taken time out from his many current projects to guest on a new album by Build An Ark.

Craig guests on synthesizers, one of a few of the younger guard giving assistance on the album.

The Collective has also recently performed live for British tastemaker Gilles Peterson Worldwide in June.

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