Odean Pope

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Odean Pope
Odean Pope (1980)
Odean Pope (1980)
Background information
Born (1938-10-24) October 24, 1938 (age 85)
Ninety Six, South Carolina, U.S.
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Tenor saxophone
LabelsMoers, CIMP, Soul Note, Porter, In+Out
Websitewww.odeanpope.com

Odean Pope (born October 24, 1938) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.[1]

Biography[edit]

Odean Pope at Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay CA 8/7/88

Pope was raised in Philadelphia, where he learned from Ray Bryant while young.[2] Early in his career, at Philadelphia's Uptown Theater, Pope played behind a number of noted rhythm and blues artists including James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.[3]

He played briefly in the 1960s with Jimmy McGriff, and late in the 1960s he began working with Max Roach, including on tours of Europe in 1967-68. He was a member of Philadelphia group Catalyst in the early and mid-1970s, and assembled the Saxophone Choir, 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 has publicly spoken about his bipolar disorder, which he has had for over 30 years.[4]

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."[3]

Discography[edit]

As leader[edit]

  • Almost Like Me (Moers, 1982)
  • The Saxophone Shop (Soul Note, 1985)
  • The Ponderer (Soul Note, 1990)
  • Out for a Walk (Moers, 1990)
  • Epitome (Soul Note, 1993)
  • Ninety Six (Enja, 1996)
  • Collective Voices (CIMP, 1996)
  • Ebioto (Knitting Factory, 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, 2006)
  • To the Roach (CIMP, 2007)
  • What Went Before, Vol. 1 (Porter, 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)[5]

As sideman[edit]

With Max Roach

With Catalyst

  • 1972 Perception
  • 1974 Unity
  • 1999 The Funkiest Band You Never Heard
  • 2010 The Complete Recordings, Vol. 1
  • 2010 The Complete Recordings, Vol. 2

With others

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Odean Pope Profile". All About Jazz. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  2. ^ Yanow, Scott. "Odean Pope Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b Cahill, Greg (22 February 2001). "The Seeker: Saxman Odean Pope strives for the sacred". Northern California Bohemian. ISSN 1532-0154.
  4. ^ John-Hall, Annette (18 March 2011). "Jazz great Pope tells of bipolar struggles". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  5. ^ "Odean Pope | Album Discography | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Odean Pope | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2016.

External links[edit]