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Phil Ranelin - Live in Los Angeles: 1978-1981


mjzee

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Release date January 26:

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The Found Tapes: Live in Los Angeles is a four LP box set from Tribe Records co-founder Phil Ranelin, celebrating a trio of LA club performances from 1978-1981 which remain especially significant to the visionary trombonist. Backed by a young Billy Childs on piano, Ralph Penland on drums, and Tony Dumas on bass, Ranelin was in peak form as a player and bandleader during this period. This is particularly true of one specific outing at the now shuttered Maiden Voyage in Los Angeles on July 19, 1981, which is presented in full within this set. The audio was restored from decades old cassette tapes which have never been heard until now. A master trombonist of the J.J. Johnson tradition, Ranelin's career has spanned over five decades with eleven records as a solo artist, four as a Freddie Hubbard sideman, session recordings for Motown, and work with artists ranging from Stevie Wonder and Ella Fitzgerald to Red Hot Chili Peppers and Telefon Tel Aviv.

 

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Two concerns holding me back from jumping on the CD set yet (though I may well get there soon enough).  First is sound quality questions (i.e. " The audio was restored from decades old cassette tapes which have never been heard until now.") - I don't see any audio samples on the site.  Second is like half the set being taken up with 'Bye Bye Blackbird', 'St. Thomas', and 'Just The Way You Are', though the other selections look great.

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1 hour ago, felser said:

Two concerns holding me back from jumping on the CD set yet (though I may well get there soon enough).  First is sound quality questions (i.e. " The audio was restored from decades old cassette tapes which have never been heard until now.") - I don't see any audio samples on the site.  Second is like half the set being taken up with 'Bye Bye Blackbird', 'St. Thomas', and 'Just The Way You Are', though the other selections look great.

For $23 I took a chance.

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1 hour ago, felser said:

Two concerns holding me back from jumping on the CD set yet (though I may well get there soon enough).  First is sound quality questions (i.e. " The audio was restored from decades old cassette tapes which have never been heard until now.") - I don't see any audio samples on the site.  Second is like half the set being taken up with 'Bye Bye Blackbird', 'St. Thomas', and 'Just The Way You Are', though the other selections look great.

No problem rolling the dice on sound quality, but I hear you on tune selection and lack of audio samples.

However, I'm a Ranelin / Tribe fanboy, and a recording of that vintage incl. Tribe material...preordered the moment I saw it on the DG site.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sound exciting, but I'm also a bit unsure about the music/tunes and line-up - sounds like a vehicle for hard-bop revisitation, not a classic mid 70's spiritual and free Ranelin.

23$ is a great price, but with additional 20 for shipment I'd wait for the samples.

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  • 4 weeks later...
8 hours ago, felser said:

Sound quality is pretty abysmal, especially the miking on Ranelin himself.  Reluctant pass for me unless I stumble onto a bargain copy.

I was really disappointed on first listen. Agree that Phil comes across the worst on miking, which is unfortunate.

Liked it a lot more on a second, more careful listen. But it's never going to get played (here) as often as the Tribe-oriented releases.

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On 2/3/2024 at 3:26 PM, T.D. said:

I was really disappointed on first listen. Agree that Phil comes across the worst on miking, which is unfortunate.

Liked it a lot more on a second, more careful listen. But it's never going to get played (here) as often as the Tribe-oriented releases.

Waiting for my (CD) copy to crawl here ... I wonder, does the physical set have line-ups for the final tracks that are not w/Childs (there's a sax at some place, too)?

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52 minutes ago, king ubu said:

Waiting for my (CD) copy to crawl here ... I wonder, does the physical set have line-ups for the final tracks that are not w/Childs (there's a sax at some place, too)?

Not that I can see. No formal personnel listing at all. The cover says "...featuring Childs, Dumas, Penland", and that lineup is duplicated on a photo of a poster of the Maiden Voyage date, but no mention of players on the other 2 sessions (1 track Sound Room Dec 78, 2 tracks Two Dollar Bill's 1980).

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7 hours ago, T.D. said:

Not that I can see. No formal personnel listing at all. The cover says "...featuring Childs, Dumas, Penland", and that lineup is duplicated on a photo of a poster of the Maiden Voyage date, but no mention of players on the other 2 sessions (1 track Sound Room Dec 78, 2 tracks Two Dollar Bill's 1980).

Thanks - too bad though!

Obviously Childs might still be playing - what I meant to express: some bits are not exactly with the line-up provided for the entire set.

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47 minutes ago, king ubu said:

Thanks - too bad though!

Obviously Childs might still be playing - what I meant to express: some bits are not exactly with the line-up provided for the entire set.

It's just vague. The statement on the cover "featuring Childs, Dumas, Pentland" IMO doesn't guarantee they are on the final tracks 10-12, though they certainly may be. I am sure, based on liner notes and other info, that they are the band for tracks 1-9. Since no exact date is even given for the final 2 tracks (Two Dollar Bills "1980"), I suspect that details of tracks 9-11 have faded into oblivion.

Edited by T.D.
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