Mike Pope: The Parts You Keep

You have to admire a bandleader who enhances an album by dedicating one of his compositions to an Uber driver and inviting his 85-year-old mother to play piano on the last two numbers. That is exactly what bassist Mike Pope does on The Parts You Keep, and they are two of the recording's more pleasing episodes. Pope also adds a four-member string section on the standard "That Old Feeling" and his quirky composition "Past Is Prologue" (both of which encompass guest appearances by acclaimed trumpeter Randy Brecker).

Elsewhere, Pope leads an able trio (Geoffrey Keezer, piano; Nate Smith, drums) through its paces with other guest stopovers by saxophonist Roxy Coss and guitarist Amaury Cabral, each of whom performs on three tracks. While the bulk of the album was recorded in Maryland, the last two numbers, including the title selection, were taped in Atlanta, Georgia, with Pope's mother, Ann Almond Pope, a classically-trained pianist, at the keyboard. Coss inserts her tenor sax on "The Parts You Keep," after which Mrs. Pope performs solo and closes the album with Ernst von Dohnanyi's "Spharenmusik from Winterreigen," Opus 13, No. 5.

"Dashan's Flying Ubercar" was written after a wild ride in which said Uber driver delivered Pope and his daughter to a train station with only moments to spare before departure. In return for Dashan's valor, Pope promised to write a song for him, the result of which is a high-flying salute that depicts a swift and, at times, harrowing rush through New York City's formidable traffic. That number is performed by the trio, as are the first three: the melodic "Misgivings," Charlie Parker's galloping "Steeplechase" and Pope's off-center reading of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." Besides "The Parts You Keep," Coss adds her soprano on "Steeplechase" and tenor on "Barolo Blue," while Cabral sits in on the last two and the funky "Past Is Prologue." The strings are impactful on "That Old Feeling" (introduced by Pope's resonant bass) and largely wasted on "Prologue."

True, it is not all jazz but the departures are lovely and engaging, thanks to Pope's talented mother who slips quite comfortably into her role as the closing act. In fact, everyone seems to agree that The Parts You Keep are well worth redeeming.