Born: October 24, 1938
Place of Birth: Ninety-Six, South Carolina
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio
Odean Pope is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Pope was raised in Philadelphia, where he learned from Ray Bryant while young.
Early in his career, Pope played behind several noted rhythm and blues artists at Philadelphia's Uptown Theater, including James Brown, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder.
He played briefly in the 1960s with Jimmy McGriff, and late in the 1960s, he began working with Max Roach, including on tours of Europe in 1967-68.
He was a member of the Philadelphia group Catalyst in the early and mid-1970s. He assembled the Saxophone Choir, which consists of nine saxophones and a rhythm section (piano, bass, and drums), in 1977.
He became a regular member of Roach's quartet in 1979 and recorded extensively with him, in addition to numerous releases as a leader.
Pope has publicly spoken about his bipolar disorder, which he has had for over 30 years.
Pope was quoted in 2001 as saying, "Every time I pick that horn up, there's always something that I discover I can do differently if I really seek. If you were on planet Earth for about 2 billion years, I feel there's always something new that you can find to do. There's no end."