What is the most common advice given to aspiring musicians? It’s got to be the easier said than done, “Get your own voice.” While we all have our favorite musicians, and dream of playing just like them, the fact is that the only satisfaction in musical (as well as in all aspects of life)direction is if you find your own personal sound and style, and then spend the rest of your life perfecting it. Tenor saxophonist Odean Pope is one of the handful of artists who is easily identified by just a few sounds, a rare commodity in this day of Coltrane/Brecker clones.
Pope, who has an exciting new disc out (Universal Sounds) with a quintet including Marshall Allan, is adamant about the necessity of the simple wisdom of sounding like yourself, explaining, “I made a conscious effort to try to make my own sound. In fact, every time I pick that horn up, I try to sound like Odean Pope. That’s one of the things Max would always teach me was to get my own sound. In order to be outstanding, you’ve got to develop your own sound; every time you sit down and pick up your instrument, you’ve got to strive to be yourself. I’ve got my horn right next to me right now; I just came in from out of the house, and every time I pick it up, I just think about old Odean Pope.” He still keeps a disciplined regiment of practicing in order to keep his sound, stating, “I still do long tones, everything, in order to still grow and to develop a big sound, as well as a pleasant sound. “
Part of the course of constructing his own sound was his apprenticeship with masters Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Bryant, Jimmy McGriff and Art Blakey, where he teamed up with the bassist Jymie Merritt before his most famous long term collaboration with legendary drummer Max Roach. He recalls, “I was working with Jymie Merritt’s group, and he was working with Max as well. Max needed a tenor player, so he Jymie told him about me. So, the rest is history!”
“The first stuff I did was with his quintet. Then, the second time we recorded as a quartet, and then the double quartet. The double quartet was so rewarding, cause Max was like one of the pioneers of all time. To have a job with Max Roach, you couldn’t get any higher than that. He taught me to try to be the best you can be, and try to keep the music alive.” From the master drummer, Pope learned an invaluable lesson that few artists have imbibed; the ability to adapt to the changing times without losing your musical integrity. “Max was one of the forerunners all the time, “ Pope states. “ He was changing, changing and changing. He kept up with the times.”
During this time, Pope was beginning to form his own group, and used his Christian roots as a foundation for his unique musical concept. “During this time, I was doing my own career with the saxophone choir and the trio. The choir goes back to the Baptist Church. That’s where it comes from. I grew up in it. My wife was also one of the pioneers of keeping that music out there, as she felt that the saxophone choir was going to be the vehicle to get my name out there, and then do music with the smaller jazz groups. She’s an artist also, and she was inspired to get the music out there. She influenced me a lot. “
Residing in the City of Brotherly Love, Pope didn’t have any problems finding enough tenor saxophonists. “It wasn’t hard to find that many sax players, because Philadelphia has always been loaded down with them. It still is! As long as I can remember, great musicians have always been coming out of Philadelphia. Golson, Coltrane, as well as young killers, like Michael Brecker, as well as the older guys like Bud and Richie Powell, Lee Morgan and Stan Getz. It’s one of the great historic towns for jazz musicians.”
As with many musicians when faced with a new type of musical style, Pope was faced with a bit of skepticism of his musical vision at first, explaining, “(When these guys first saw the charts)there were a lot of mixed emotions. They didn’t know what to expect, and in the beginning they were just trying to adapt to the sound. It was very interesting. When they heard it played back, they started to really dig and say, “this is really something!” The band has been extremely popular for its musical vision over the years, but if you want to see it in concert, you got to get a ticket to Philly, as Pope points out, “It’s difficult to move it around, because it’s so expensive.”
Not only did Pope’s church background help him in his musical direction, but he also found a peace within his soul that has enabled him to keep his life in perspective. “I sang in the church, “ he explains, “as well as did a lot of singing. I didn’t play in the church until I came to Philadelphia. I still go to church. I still go, because there’s something there. I like to go back, get my blessings, and thank my Creator. I read the Bible as well. It tells me that there’s something greater than you are, and you need to therefore say your blessings and thanksgivings because knowing there’s someone bigger than you, you change your behavior. You want to pass your blessings on to others, as you’ve been blessed by God. “
Pope’s reaction to his spiritual blessings has resulted in his passing these acts of grace to others. “I work with some of the younger guys in Philadelphia and pass the information I’ve learned through the years with them. I’m a firm believer in giving something back. I feel as though I’ve really been blessed with all that I’ve learned over the years . I’m walking on so many shoulders, so I want to give some of it back. I’ve walked on Max’s shoulders, Dizzy Gillespie, and a host of other forerunners, as I had the fortune to work with those men.” As we so often need to be reminded, it is the grateful heart that is the most productive, and Pope has successfully used his calling from God to bless others both spiritually and musically