Odean Pope

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

Biography Pope was born in Ninety Six, South Carolina, to musical parents and moved to North Philadelphia at the age of 10, where he was taught by pianist Ray Bryant. His talent at the Granoff School of Music and Benjamin Franklin High School caught the attention of fellow North Philadelphia resident and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, 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 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." thumb

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, consisting of nine saxophones and a rhythm section (piano, bass, and drums), in 1977.

Pope founded the jazz studies program at Settlement Music School and offers master classes within the School District of Philadelphia. 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 the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in 2017.

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."

As sideman With Max Roach Pictures in a Frame (Soul Note, 1979) In the Light (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! (Enja, 1992) Live in Berlin (2010)

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 1965: Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album, Hasaan Ibn Ali 1972: Catalyst, Eddie Green 1986: Music World, Jamaaladeen Tacuma 1992: Seeking Spirit, Bobby Zankel 1996: 13 Steps on Glass, Sunny Murray 2001: Philadelphia Spirit in New York, Byard Lancaster 2002: Stepping Around the Giant, Carl Grubbs 2006: A Horse of a Different Rhythm, Craig McIver 2008: Let the Rhythm Take You, Monnette Sudler 2009: Blueprints of Jazz, Vol. 3, Donald Bailey 2009: Brownswood Bubblers Four, Gilles Peterson 2009: Impressions of Coltrane, Khan Jamal 2012: Matt Covington, Matt Covington