Odean Pope – Odean’s List – In and Out IOR CD 77102-2, 64:00 ****:
(Odean Pope, Walter Blanding – tenor saxophone; James Carter – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone; David Weiss, Terell Stafford – trumpet; Jeff “Tain” Watts – drums; George Burton – piano; Lee Smith – bass)
No matter where tenor saxophonist Odean Pope has traveled, who he has recorded with or where he has lived, he has carried the sound, experience and tone of his native Philadelphia. It is in his robust sax voicing, is demonstrated in his compositional vibrancy and can be heard in the street edge of his solos.
Pope is probably best known for his tenure with Max Roach in the late 1960s and again in the 1980s, but he has also led the hard bop/jazz-rock combo Catalyst, the multi-horn Saxophone Choir and other configurations. Pope’s latest venture, Odean’s List, finds him utilizing an octet in a ten-track outing that shifts from high-end intensity to reflective luminosity and from blues-based themes to brisk bop.
Odean’s List has an impressive roster: James Carter on tenor and baritone sax, tenor saxophonist Walter Blanding, trumpeters David Weiss and Terell Stafford, drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, pianist George Burton and bassist Lee Smith. This is an energetic ensemble that brings imagination and expertise to eight Pope originals, Jimmy McHugh and Frank Loesser’s “Say It Over and Over Again” and Eddie Green’s “Little Miss Lady.”
The program commences with the short warm-up “Minor Infractions,” which starts with Burton’s rising piano lines, followed by the massed horns that pick up the theme, and then Pope rides over the top with his soaring sax. The proceedings kick into high gear on Pope’s tribute to Max Roach, “To the Roach,” which features Blanding’s vigorous tenor, Burton’s swinging keyboard and a boisterous Watts’ solo spotlight. The tune is also a representation of how Pope combines the fortitude of a big band while maintaining the individuality of a smaller combo.
The blending of single instrumental personalities with the expansive octet characterization comes alive on “Phrygian Love Theme.” Smith opens with an extended bass offering before the horns and piano enter with a dusk-dimmed riff. When Carter unfurls a resonant baritone sax passage listeners can almost taste the earthiness that permeates his improvisation. Stafford then raises the bar with a rippling trumpet solo.
Twilight is replaced by a late night vibe on the aptly-titled “Blues for Eight.” Smith’s flexible bass, Watts’ elastic percussion and Pope’s urban sax furnish additional weight to the pre-midnight pulse. The track eventually escalates to a free/bop boil that never loses the accessible tempo: the music approaches avant-garde but sustains ties to the traditional.
Pope ends on familiar ground with a renovation of his homage to his wife, “Cis,” a lovely mid-tempo ballad. The arrangement has a lush grace brought about by the swinging unison horns. Pope strides to the front for a final solo while Carter’s soulful baritone sax percolates in the undercurrent. This is a marvelous finish to an album that justifies repeat listening.
Equally entertaining are Archie Shepp’s liner notes, highlighted by his sharp humor-laced memories of hanging out with Pope in Philadelphia in the mid 1950s, a time when many future jazz stars jammed at tiny Philly venues. The sound recording for Odean’s List is no less enticing, since it replicates the deep tone of a nightclub, perhaps an after-hours joint where musicians could stretch out without restrictions.
TrackList:
1. Minor Infractions
2. To the Roach
3. Phrygian Love Theme
4. Say It Over and Over Again
5. Little Miss Lady
6. Blues for Eight
7. Collections
8. Odean’s List
9. You and Me
10. Cis
— Doug Simpson