Odean Pope (born October 24, 1938) 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

tenor saxophonist.

Biography

Pope was born in

Ninety Six, South Carolina Ninety Six is a town in Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States, located approximately 9 miles northeast of the county seat, Greenwood, South Carolina, Greenwood. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 2,076, making it the ...

to musical parents and moved to

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as ...

at the age of 10, where he learned from

Ray Bryant Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (December 24, 1931 – June 2, 2011) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1931. His mother was an ordained minister who had tau ...

. His talent at the

Granoff School of Music The Granoff School of Music is a music school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Isadore Granoff (1902 - 2000), a Ukrainian immigrant. Alumni of Granoff include Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Fortune, McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane. Some o ...

and Benjamin Franklin High School caught the attention of fellow North Philadelphia resident and jazz saxophonist

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

, who offered him his first job in music at age 17. Coltrane had called Pope to inform him that he was leaving to join

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

and asked him to take his place and play with Jimmy Smith. Pope hesitated, expressing his youth and doubt, to which Coltrane responded, "Never say that. Always say you CAN do something." Early in his career, at Philadelphia's Uptown Theater, Pope played behind a number of noted rhythm and blues artists including

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

. He played briefly in the 1960s with

Jimmy McGriff James Harrell McGriff (April 3, 1936 – May 24, 2008) was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. Biography Early years and influences Born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McGriff started playing pia ...

, and late in the 1960s he began working with

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

, including on tours of Europe in 1967-68. He was a member of Philadelphia group

Catalyst Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

in the early and mid-1970s, and assembled the

Saxophone Choir The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

, which consists of nine saxophones and a rhythm section (piano, bass and drums), in 1977. He became a regular member of Roach's quartet in 1979 and recorded extensively with him, in addition to numerous releases as a leader. Pope founded the jazz studies program at

Settlement Music School Settlement Music School is a community music school with branches in and around Philadelphia. Founded in 1908 by two young women, Jeannette Selig Frank and Blanche Wolf Kohn, it is the largest community school of the arts in the United States. I ...

and offers master classes within the

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated State schools, public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the largest school district in Pennsylvania and the eighth-lar ...

. He was a 1992 Pew Fellow and in 2018 was awarded a Pew Center Project grant to create ''Sounds of the Circle'', an evening-length suite reflecting the distinctive sound of North Philadelphia and the mid-20th-century innovators who shaped the city's jazz legacy. He has received awards and fellowships from The Rockefeller Foundation, North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, and was honored with the Living Legacy Jazz Award from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in 2017. Pope has publicly spoken about his

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

, which he has had for over 30 years. Pope was quoted in 2001 as saying, "Every time I pick that horn up there's always something that I discover I can do differently if I really seek. If you were on planet Earth for, like, 2 billion years, I feel as though there's always something new that you can find to do. There's no end."

Discography

As leader

* ''Almost Like Me'' (

Moers Moers (; older form: ''Mörs''; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Murse'', ''Murs'' or ''Meurs'') is a German List of cities and towns in Germany, city on the western bank of the Rhine, close to Duisburg. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel (distric ...

, 1982) * ''

The Saxophone Shop ''The Saxophone Shop'' is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Odean Pope, recorded in 1985 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.

'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1985) * '' The Ponderer'' (Soul Note, 1990) * ''Out for a Walk'' (Moers, 1990) * ''

Epitome An epitome (; , from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." A ...

'' (Soul Note, 1993) * ''Ninety Six'' (

Enja Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Jap ...

, 1996) * ''Collective Voices'' (

CIMP Creative Improvised Music Projects, usually abbreviated CIMP or C.I.M.P., is an American jazz record company and label. It is associated with ''Cadence'' magazine and Cadence Jazz Records. The label is noted for its minimal use of electronic pr ...

, 1996) * ''Ebioto'' (

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment and is co-owned and co-operated by Knitting Factory Entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United Stat ...

, 1999) * ''Changes & Changes'' (CIMP, 1999) * ''Philadelphia Spirit in New York'', (CIMP, 2001) * ''Nothing Is Wrong'' (CIMP, 2004) * ''Two Dreams'' (CIMP, 2004) * ''Mystery of Prince Lasha'' (CIMP, 2005) * ''Locked & Loaded: Live at the Blue Note'' (

Half Note In music, a half note (American) or minim (British) is a Musical note, note played for half the duration of a whole note (or semibreve) and twice the duration of a quarter note (or crotchet). It was given its Latin name (''minima'', meaning "le ...

, 2006) * ''To the Roach'' (CIMP, 2007) * ''What Went Before, Vol. 1'' (

Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., a locom ...

, 2008) * ''Plant Life'' (Porter, 2008) * ''The Misled Children Meet Odean Pope'' (2008) * ''Universal Sounds'' (Porter, 2011) * ''Odean's List'' ( In+Out, 2010) * ''Odean's Three'' (In+Out, 2012) * ''In This Moment'' (CIMP, 2016)

As sideman

With

* '' Pictures in a Frame'' (Soul Note, 1979) * ''

In the Light "In the Light" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1975 album '' Physical Graffiti''. The song was composed primarily by bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones on synthesiser, though singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page a ...

'' (Soul Note, 1982) * '' It's Christmas Again'' (Soul Note, 1984) * '' Scott Free'' (1984) * '' Easy Winners'' (Soul Note, 1985) * '' Bright Moments'' (Soul Note, 1986) * ''

To the Max! ''To the Max!'' is a double album by American jazz drummer Max Roach featuring tracks recorded in 1990 and 1991 and released on the Enja label.Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album'',

Hasaan Ibn Ali Hasaan Ibn Ali (born William Henry Langford, Jr.; May 6, 1931 – 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Ibn Ali was strongly influenced by Elmo Hope, and his playing was rapid and intense, retaining a sense of rhythm even when his st ...

* 1972 ''Catalyst'', Eddie Green * 1986 ''Music World'',

Jamaaladeen Tacuma Jamaaladeen Tacuma (born Rudy McDaniel; June 11, 1956) is an American jazz funk avant-garde bassist, composer and producer born in Hempstead, New York. He was a bandleader on the Gramavision label and worked with Ornette Coleman during the 197 ...

* 1992 ''Seeking Spirit'', Bobby Zankel * 1996 ''13 Steps on Glass'',

Sunny Murray James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming. Biography Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...

* 2001 ''Philadelphia Spirit in New York'',

Byard Lancaster Byard Lancaster (August 6, 1942 – August 23, 2012) was an avant-garde jazz saxophonist and flutist. Cook, Richard. (2005). ''Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia.'' New York: Penguin Books. Allen, Clifford. (2005). ''Byard Lancaster: From A Lo ...

* 2002 ''Stepping Around the Giant'', Carl Grubbs * 2006 ''A Horse of a Different Rhythm'', Craig McIver * 2008 ''Let the Rhythm Take You'',

Monnette Sudler Monnette Sudler (June 5, 1952 – August 21, 2022) was an American jazz guitarist from Philadelphia. Early life and career Sudler was born Monnette Goldman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Lea Goldman, married Truman W. Sudler in 19 ...

* 2009 ''Blueprints of Jazz, Vol. 3'', Donald Bailey * 2009 ''Brownswood Bubblers Four'',

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner. He is renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. From this base he ...

* 2009 ''Impressions of Coltrane'',

Khan Jamal Khan Jamal (July 23, 1946 – January 10, 2022), born Warren Robert Cheeseboro, was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He founded the band Sounds of Liberation in 1970. He was described by Ron Wynn as "a proficient soloist when ...

* 2012 ''Matt Covington'', Matt Covington

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Odean American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Musicians from South Carolina CIMP artists 1938 births Living people People with bipolar disorder Moers Music artists Pew Fellows in the Arts People from Ninety Six, South Carolina 21st-century American saxophonists American male jazz musicians Catalyst (band) members 21st-century American male musicians