Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Odean Pope Quartet: Two Dreams

176

Odean Pope Quartet: Two Dreams

By

View read count
Odean Pope Quartet: Two Dreams
With uncertain times comes the natural urge to seek sources of stability. An Odean Pope album is like a figurative life preserver in this regard. A listener can pretty much bank on certain assurances if Pope's horn is piloting the ship. Mellifluous free bop charts, ample solo space for the participants, and a guiding appreciation for Philly-born soul are norms. But such consistency of intent and application can cut both ways. Quality is assured, but deviations from the formula are infrequent.



This recent CIMP date fits snugly within the established mold. Pope's long-limbed style of soloing finds almost immediate egress after a swiftly stated head on "Turn Me Loose." Shaping from a stern string of phrases his solo spools out over the flexible rhythm of Brown and McIver. The latter two have served loyally as Pope's sidemen for many years. Altoist Grubbs is well acquainted with Pope's preferences too, having invited his friend to participate in an earlier CIMP date, Stepping Around the Giant. His piquant alto packs in plenty of urgency and velocity, often voicing notes in accelerated bursts.



Pope opens "The Foliage" a cappella, sketching a fluttering upper register preface imbued with a delicacy that allows the patter of his pads a place in the acoustics. Grubb's horn joins in and the pair traces a overlapping melodic path, embellished by rolling mallets and centering bass. Pope once again presses forward in a solo that seems to invert the steady ropes of notes pouring from his horn's bell back upon themselves. Grubbs answers with an equally burnished exposition, riding at roughly the same register elevation and making the tonality of the two horns deceptively similar in spots. Their confluence comes to a culmination during the somber spate of harmonizing that closes the piece out.



The program's remaining pieces plumb much the same melodic territory, even recycling heads in several instances, but do so without sounding humdrum or boiler plate. "Quick" is just that, a sprint through a twisting chart shot through with tinges of Ornette that also acts as another feature for McIver's press rolls. The title track takes shape in a lengthy relay between the horns written on the back of a delicate bass soliloquy from Brown, a feat he repeats on "Fifth House" and "AnDar." Grubbs picks up and strolls with a line, only to hand it off to Pope to further elaboration. The leader reciprocates by volleying it back and so unfolds a lovely colloquy between the two men, punctuated by sections of sweet harmony. With "Lines of Four" the players have cap off what has become a strong body of music.



Pope once stated that one of his goals was to play at the bottom range of his instrument like Coltrane played at the top. Here he upends that tactic, favoring the higher registers in proximity to his partner Grubbs. The Trane inflections and cerulean hues that are his principal pigments are still there. They wrap around this fine set like a warm enveloping blanket.

Track Listing

Turn Me Loose; The Foliage; Quick; Two Dreams; Seed of the Land; Fifth House; AnDar; Lines for Four.

Personnel

Odean Pope
saxophone

Odean Pope: tenor saxophone; Carl Grubbs: alto saxophone; Tyrone Brown: bass; Craig McIver: drums.

Album information

Title: Two Dreams | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: CIMP Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.