Home » Jazz Musicians » Phil Ranelin

Phil Ranelin

Phillip Arthur Ranelin was born in Indianapolis, Indiana where he grew up under the influence of J.J. Johnson, Wes Montgomery, Earmon Hubbard, Pookie Johnson, Russell Webster, Willis Kirk, Jimmy Coe and Melvin Rhyne. Ranelin is loved and respected around the globe as a master trombonist of the J.J. Johnson tradition, former Freddie Hubbard sideman and as co-founder of Detroit’s famed TRIBE Records. Ranelin has studied and played with some of the most highly respected Jazz and classical educators in the business, including professors David N. Baker, Larry Ridley, Nathan Davis, Bunky Green, Dr. Louis Smith and Donald Byrd with whom in 1976 he received the key to the city of Detroit. Ranelin’s Jazz performance credits include: Norman Connors, Ella Fitzgerald, Art Pepper, Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wilson, Vi Redd, Freddie Redd, Marcus Belgrave, Wendell Harrison, Harold McKinney, Ray Appleton, Roy Brooks, Sarah Vaughan, Larry Gales, Tootie Heath, James Spaulding, the all-star Luckman Jazz Orchestra at the Disney Concert Hall, and Freddie Hubbard with whom in 1981 he appeared on MISTRAL, Japan’s #1 Jazz record of the year.

As a leader, Ranelin has shared the bill with Stanley Clarke, Christian McBride, Les McCann, Sonny Rollins, Pharoah Sanders, Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Smith, O.C. Smith, Leon Thomas and McCoy Tyner. Ranelin has appeared at many Jazz festivals around the world including the Montreux Jazz Festival, Kool Jazz, Indiana Black Expo, Vera Cruz Muestra International Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Atlantic City Jazz Festival, Montreux Detroit, the Newport and Playboy Jazz Festivals, Jazz At Drew, USC Spectrum LA Jazz, UCLA Jazz & Reggae Festival, The Indy Jazz Fest and the Inaugural Indianapolis Jazz Community Festival. A Los Angeles resident since 1977, Ranelin has been designated by official resolutions as a “Rare and Valuable Cultural Treasure” and as a “Cultural Ambassador throughout the Nation and to the world audience” by several legislative bodies such as Los Angeles City Council, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, California Senate and California Assembly.

Ranelin’s 2001 Juneteenth performance in Pacoima was officially honored by United States Senator Barbara Boxer and on November 30, 2001, performing at Watts Labor Community Action Committee’s Phoenix Hall in tribute to the culmination of John Coltrane’s 75th birthday year, Ranelin was also honored by the United States Congress via California Congresswomen Juanita Millender-McDonald and Maxine Waters with certificates of appreciation for community service and excellence as an artist. Under the banner of The Phil Ranelin Jazz Ensemble, Ranelin has amassed some of the most dynamic musicians in the Los Angeles area: George Harper on saxophone and flute; Nate Morgan, Danny Grissett, William S. Henderson, Donald Vega, Joel Scott, Jane Getz, Llew Matthews, Greg Kirsten and Jeff Babko on keyboards; Ryan Cross, Wendell Williams, John Heard, Henry Franklin, Tony Dumas, James Leary, Nedra Wheeler and Jeff Littleton on bass; Lorca Hart, Don Littleton, Roy McCurdy, Ralph Penland, Carl Burnett, Fritz Wise and Raymond Pounds on trap drums; and Taumbu on congas and percussions. Under the banner of Phil Ranelin & Tribe Renaissance he expanded his group to showcase a 9-piece trombone-led all-star woodwind group (his Los Angeles based configuration patterned after his 1970s Tribe recordings) which has included such greats as George Harper, Ralph “Buzzy” Jones, Michael Session, Keith Fiddmont, Carl Randall, Louis Taylor and Zane Musa �" all playing Ranelin compositions and arrangements reminiscent of his Tribe hey-days in Detroit.

Read more

Tags

6
Reassessing

The Time Is Now!

Read "The Time Is Now!" reviewed by Joshua Weiner


The early '70s were difficult times in the United States, not least for the jazz community. The optimism of the flower-power and peace movements had given way to political radicalism, conflict and paranoia, and the excitement of the initial free jazz and jazz-fusion eras had begun to wane. John Coltrane and Albert Ayler were dead. Miles Davis was playing thick, unrelenting funk. Important record labels such as Columbia and Atlantic were largely pursuing multiplatinum rock acts rather than jazz. Some ...

18
Album Review

Phil Ranelin & Wendell Harrison: Jazz Is Dead 16

Read "Jazz Is Dead 16" reviewed by Chris May


There is much to love about Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad's Jazz Is Dead label and an equal amount to hate. The production duo's declared mission is “to foreground legends from the past" and “to highlight their contributions" to popular music in general and jazz in particular. Admirable. Spread the love. Trouble is, the results are inconsequential as often as they are substantial. When it works, as on bassist Henry Franklin's Jazz Is Dead 14 (2022), the music will ...

Album Review

Phil Ranelin: Phil Ranelin Collected 2003-2019

Read "Phil Ranelin Collected 2003-2019" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Il trombonista Phil Ranelin—classe 1939—rientra a buon diritto nella lunga schiera di unsung heroes, musicisti ai margini della notorietà che da sempre costellano le vicende della musica afroamericana e ne determinano spesso pagine significative. Specialista del trombone a coulisse, Ranelin ha inizialmente prestato i suoi servigi come session man per la prestigiosa Motown per poi fondare agli inizi degli anni settanta The Tribe, una band ed etichetta discografica che attraverso un jazz sperimentale, poi declinato in territori funky, ...

7
Album Review

Phil Ranelin: Phil Ranelin Collected 2003-2019

Read "Phil Ranelin Collected 2003-2019" reviewed by Chuck Koton


One day, in Indianapolis in 1948, a nine year old Phil Ranelin made a fateful visit to his paternal grandmother's home. She was a real music buff and that afternoon, before she went to do some work out back, she told young Phillip, “Any of these records, feel free to play 'em and see what kind of music you like. Just don't scratch 'em!" That afternoon, Phillip discovered “everything from Big Maybelle to Charlie Parker." A couple of ...

116
Interview

A Fireside Chat with Phil Ranelin

Read "A Fireside Chat with Phil Ranelin" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Loyalty and Los Angeles are seldom companions. However, Phil Ranelin's loyalty to the City of Angels is not confined to a championship banner. His fidelity can be measured by his acute sense of brotherhood and community. Actively involved in contributing to the tradition, Ranelin's life mirrors his music, principled, cultivated, and perpetually progressive.

All About Jazz: Inspiration is your tribute to those who have inspired you.

Phil Ranelin: The title is pretty fitting because I think I was inspired by ...

357
Album Review

Phil Ranelin: Inspiration

Read "Inspiration" reviewed by John Kelman


While he started out as a Motown session player, trombonist Phil Ranelin left that behind in the '70s, instead pursuing a style that blended post-Coltrane post bop with Afro-Cuban rhythms and harmonies. With Inspiration , Ranelin delivers an album firmly planted in these traditions, paying tribute to a number of his influences and past collaborators, including Freddie Hubbard, Horace Silver, Eric Dolphy and, of course, Coltrane.

Ranelin's nonet combines saxophones, bass clarinet and, on occasion, flutes, to create a rich ...

323
Album Review

Phil Ranelin: Inspiration

Read "Inspiration" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Trombonist Phil Ranelin has worked sessions with Motown acts Stevie Wonder and the Temptations. That should be resume enough. If it isn't, he's also played with jazz men Freddie Hubbard, Wes Montgomery, Raahsan Roland Kirk, and Grant Green, just to name a few. Inspiration finds the trombonist fronting a nonet with four multiple reedmen in the mix, on a spirited mainstream session that features four standout guest slots, most notably tenor sax man Pharoah Sanders on “This One's ...

Read more articles
1

Event

Catalina's Bar & Grill Proudly Presents Phil Ranelin's “Freddie's Groove” On Thurs. October 10, 2013

Catalina's Bar & Grill Proudly Presents Phil Ranelin's “Freddie's Groove” On Thurs. October 10, 2013

Source: Dorothy Riley

Former FREDDIE HUBBARD TROMBONIST PHIL RANELIN’s Memorial Celebration of FREDDIE HUBBARD’S 75th Birth Year! Featuring: THE PHIL RANELIN JAZZ ENSEMBLE Exploring some of Freddie’s classic compositions and Ranelin’s own “Freddie’s Groove” written in honor of the legendary Trumpeter Phil Ranelin - Trombone Pablo Calogero - Reeds Jacob Scesney - Reeds Aneesa Al-Musawwir - Bass Mahesh Balasooriya - Piano Don Littleton - Drums $20 Cover, Students with ID $10 - Doors ...

96

Music Industry

Legendary slide trombonist, Phil Ranelin, is alive and recuperating from a major operation

Legendary slide trombonist, Phil Ranelin, is alive and recuperating from a major operation

Source: All About Jazz

Legendary slide trombonist, Phil Ranelin, is alive and recuperating from a major operation as a result of a severe traffic accident caused by an 18-year old drunk driver who ran a red light and broadsided Ranelin's Honda accord on 3rd Street and Normandie as Ranelin was on his way home from sitting in with Obie Jessie at Cabrini's Jazz Alley in Los Angeles during the Thanksgiving Weekend. The successful 5-hour operation took place Friday, December 2, 2005 at Noon, after ...

103

Award / Grant

Trombonist/Composer Phil Ranelin selected "best jazz artist" by LA Weekly Music Awards

Trombonist/Composer Phil Ranelin selected "best jazz artist" by LA Weekly Music Awards

Source: All About Jazz

PHIL RANELIN RECEIVES BEST JAZZ ARTIST AWARD Master trombonist/composer, Phil Ranelin, was selected by the LA Weekly as the 2005 “Best Jazz Artist” as part of the Annual LA Weekly Music Awards!!! This local recognition of Ranelin comes in the wake of his year-long artist-in-residency at Westminster Presbyterian Church where he presented a concert in tribute to Hampton Hawes, honoring Hampton Hawes Day in Los Angeles (November 13th “henceforth”) and four Jazz Appreciation Workshops in Councilman Martin Ludlow’s 10th District. ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Jazz Is Dead 16

Jazz Is Dead
2023

buy

The Time Is Now!

Now-Again Records
2021

buy

Passages

Common Good Records
2020

buy

Phil Ranelin...

Wide Hive Records
2019

buy

Empyrean Tones

Common Good Records
2019

buy

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.