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Brotherly Spirit
Following in
the footsteps of last month’s recording gem
from young tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger,
there is more rejoicing to be had in hearing
the release from Philadelphia’s own tenor
master, Odean Pope, on his sprawling
creation, Odean’s List. If you are a
fan of big band fireworks, prepare to be
amazed and swept away by the artistry and
superb sound on this recording. Pope is
joined by a group of stalwarts playing their
hearts out in the confines of one of the
Lincoln Center’s modern studios. The sound
engineering is first class, capturing the
spaciousness and vivacious quality of the
recording venue, along with delivering every
nook and cranny of the astonishing artistry
on display. Image dimensionality and
soundstage layering and depth are at their
captivating best on this gem of an outing.
This is an eclectic recording in which one
is immediately struck by the sheer energy of
Pope and his bandmates. They combine their
brilliant styles into the service of
affirming that optimistic theme of Pope’s
Philadelphia, commonly known as “the City of
Brotherly Love.” The entire recording could
be summarized as one big musical celebration
and affirmation of Brotherly Spirit, with
original compositions by Pope effervescently
spreading Big Band optimism, openness, soul
and jubilant swing to the outer edges of
your system’s soundstage capabilities. The
opening track, “Minor Infractions,” is a
quick, brassy punch of soul, introducing
huge squalls of brass and bass, gleefully
roiling next to one another with Pope’s
trills up top cementing the momentum. The
glee and euphoria continue into the
straight-no-chaser frolic of “To The Roach,”
dedicated to the great drummer in whose band
Pope starred. The brass section is kicked
into high gear by the pocket rhythm section
of Lee Smith on bass and Jeff “Tain” Watts
on drums and soar in unison until Walter
Blanding, (another tenor master with a
prodigious sense of swing and verve) takes
center stage. Blanding’s solo is a blast of
triplet and trill bliss, rising and falling
on the prongs of George Burton’s sharp
shinned chords and Watts’ furious, shining
cymbal work. Burton takes a bluesy solo turn
off right, and then Watts is given the
spotlight to maximize the shared optimism
with his brilliant stick work; all smooth
ferocious energy from tom to snare without
blinking an eye.
From the bee bop heaven of “Roach” we move
into another eclectic and brilliant
affirmation of brotherly love drawn from a
Spanish melody: “Phrygian Love Theme.” This
piece is stunning from beginning to end. The
composition begins with such pungent
acoustic bass from Smith that your system
will be tested to its abyss in trying to
convey Smith’s careening solo from deep
staccato plucks to long held harmonics. From
here, we are transported to a matador’s
arena, with pulsating brass in red-velvet
glow swirling into James Carter’s blistering
baritone solo. Carter (like a bull in the
ring), bellows and lunges up and down his
instrument with furious delight and abandon.
The horn chorus rings out until Terrell
Stafford takes the reins on his clarion
trumpet. Stafford has a wonderful way of
finding a high note, then using it as an
anchor to find triplet themes up and down
from it, building a beautiful melodic
structure. The piece ends in a cacophony of
huge sounds, all jubilantly proclaiming life
and love in a Spanish musical idiom, but
universally understood.
Pope moves from the capacious sound on
“Phrygian” to the complex, interior world of
his own solo work on the gorgeous, “Say It
Over And Over Again,” a duet with his
compatriot, Lee Smith, on acoustic bass.
This is Pope at his most mesmeric, as we
listen intently to every nuance of his
brilliant technique. His voluminous sound
fills the soundstage; he loves to simply
affirm and declare, with huge swaths of
melody and breathy glow. Pope also loves to
create the equivalent of “double entendres”
in his phrasing, by holding one note to
create several different shades of tones and
colors in the same delivery. Pope’s grasp of
melody and his spontaneous devising of new
ruminations from the whole cloth of the
simple, (optimistic) theme is brilliant.
Smith is also a brotherly partner, letting
Pope explore the landscape and keeping
patient pace with him, until Smith’s own
punctuated, pungent solo is traversed and
intertwined with Pope’s own voice. “Blues
For Eight” also presents a smaller, trio
configuration and allows for even more
spaciousness, with a relaxed quality to the
experimentation. Pope strides away
beautifully, sliding up and down his tenor
with off-kilter bravado. He projects huge
affirmations of swagger and sound, honking
and blasting away in gleeful counterpoint to
Smith’s walking bass and Watts’
eight-to-the-bar conversation on cymbal and
snare. Pope’s final, voluminous exclamation
here is all affirmation and triumph.
Track seven, “Collections” returns us to the
vortex of the volcanic eruption that propels
this marvelous big band of love. The
composition is built upon a shining,
furiously optimistic run, cascading through
Watts’ initial percussive attack and the
brass section’s scats. Here, James Carter
solos with so much passion and energy that
it is a miracle that he does not swallow his
baritone’s mouthpiece as he reaches for the
pinnacle in treble and bass ranges on his
huge, shiny instrument. David Weiss’ trumpet
also reaches high and sparkling, leading
naturally into Watts’ cascading waterfall of
cymbals and snare that embraces the source
of the melody once again. The final
compositions on this gem are left in Pope’s
capable hands, as he unleashes a barrage of
spiritual affirmations on the title track
(which finds him in melodic entwinement with
Watts) and on the soft closer, “CIS”,
containing a nuzzle of brass with Pope
embracing notes with big melodic feeling to
spread the globe around.
AND FROM DIGGING DEEP IN THE RECORD BIN:
My modest vinyl rig is now in place and
includes: the venerable VPI Scoutmaster
Turntable from craftsman extraordinaire,
Harry Weisfeld; VPI’s JMW9 Memorial tone arm
(Note: a percentage of proceeds from sales
of this tone arm go to a fund in memory of
his son the late Jonathan Weisfeld to
further the Arts and Music. For more
information, see
www.vpiindustries.com); a Dynavector 20
X-H moving magnet design cartridge; and
finally, the overachieving Rogue Stealth
phono stage, reasonably priced and
wonderfully articulate with these partners.
If you are looking for more tenor sax glory
recorded on vinyl, dig deep into your local
record store’s bins and find a copy of Soul
Battle
 [Prestige
PR7223; Remastered in 1988 by Phil De Lancie
at Fantasy Studios (OJC-325)]. This Rudy Van
Gelder recording is from a killer “blowing”
session recorded in September, 1960
involving three tenor sax Masters: Oliver
Nelson, King Curtis and Jimmy Forrest. The
band also includes Gene Casey on piano,
George Duvivier on bass and a young (now
elder statesman) Roy Haynes on drums. The
recording is raw, sassy and vivid. It
perfectly captures the inventive style of
each of these tenor geniuses as they strut
their stuff on a wide and deep soundstage
(with a natural, lend-me-your-ear feel that
only vinyl can provide). Odean Pope may have
found inspiration here, as in the blistering
cut, “Anacruses,” which finds Haynes sawing
off some fast paced cymbal/snare
combinations to ignite an intense run of
tenor sax riffs with bold statements and
deep, melodic grooves. King Curtis’ soulful,
huge R&B sound cements this brotherly “Soul
Battle;” a precursor to Odean Pope’s own
glorious Affirmation.
We welcome any suggestions for audiophile
recording gems. Please write to
nelsonbrill@stereotimes.com.
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