Team
Odean Pope
I will create a musical suite for a core ensemble of eight musicians (2 saxophones, 2 drummers, bass, violin, harp, piano) that draws on the potent musical ideas and strategies that I experienced as a resident of the “inspired circle”—that group of young musical explorers who lived close to one another, practiced in each other’s homes, shared schools and teachers, and honed our chops and imagination in the same music venues in densely-populated black North Philadelphia neighborhoods in the late-1940s to early 1970s. The project’s creative process and resulting compositions, will repurpose, develop and showcase concepts and strategies that percolated among a group of musicians with whom I communed early in my artistic development and whose influence continues in my work today. Key among this group is pianist/ composer Hasaan Ibn Ali who lived three blocks from me in North Philadelphia and became a mentor to me during the 1940/50s as we practiced almost daily at Ali’s parents’ house. His genius remains clouded due to his unconventional style, limited discography, and death at age 48/49. We experimented together (sometimes joined by John Coltrane) with strategies for expanding/extending chord structures, incorporating unconventional scales, and developing melodic lines. For example, we experimented extensively with “the fourth system”—— using augmented 4th intervals to create melodic/harmonic muscularity and tension and offer greater improvisational freedom. The “inspired circle” included Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Benny Golson, Reggie Workman, Shirley Scott, Philly Joe Jones, Jimmy Oliver, Jymie Merritt, and less-noted musicians, who collectively wove a distinctive sonic environment in racially segregated North Philadelphia. This project aims to recognize the impact of collective innovation and dynamism, and the significance of “place”, in propelling the individual genius of some of jazz’s most revered artists. It also aims to replicate/recall some of the circumstances—close proximity, inspiring collegiality, and mentorship—that motivated me and my generation to embrace experimental music as a life-time endeavor. I will undertake an iterative process designed to both stimulate my own musical imagination, and develop the theoretical and technical knowledge, and improvisational prowess of a professional learning community of highintermediate/advanced jazz players. The learning community of mostly local musicians, facilitated by Tom Lawton and Julian Pressley, two accomplished jazz artist/educators, will be a creative tool for me as I progress through the composing process.
Six-eight workshops with the learning community will let me experiment with compositional ideas and receive collegial feedback, see how composed phrasing converses with improvisation, and give these players a unique window into Philadelphia’s jazz history. They will have an integral role in my creative process. Our process will be interactive—making the journey porous to residents of neighborhoods in/near where I developed my artistic imagination through workshops/open rehearsals held at storefront, residential and outdoor settings. The resulting suite will be performed at LaRose’s Jazz Club, in the Germantown area, one of Philly’s few remaining longstanding jazz venues (see site photos). Jazz documentarian Steve Rowland will design documentation of my/our creative, rehearsal, and performance activities, and will guide and perform research (archival, interviews, and story circles) that can spark and enrich compositions and generate contextual material for a website, workshops, and the performance environment. At this point in my career I feel intense convergence of creative energy, inspiration from decades-long work/collaboration with musical geniuses, and many experiences of sharing my art with artists and audiences across the globe. I want to use this time to honor the enduring influence that Philadelphia has had on my artistic vision, and to perpetuate and document the important jazz legacy that Philadelphia holds.
Tom Lawton and Julian Pressley
Facilitators for Professional Learning Community—Will be the principal liaisons between members of the Learning Community and me; plan and facilitate Learning Community sessions; track the progress of the Learning Community. Lawton is a pianist/composer, an accomplished music educator, and performs with my Saxophone Choir.
Pressley, a veteran alto saxophonist, is a long-time member of my Saxophone Choir. (Learning Community is separate from the Core Ensemble, see below.) Gloria Galante, Craig McIver, Diane Monroe, Tom Lawton, Lee Smith, Bobby Zankel: 6 of 7 Members of Core Ensemble for performance of the completed suite—-Members of the Core Ensemble will engage in rehearsals of the compositions and perform with me in the culminating concert. All are accomplished music readers, improvisers, and composers in the jazz genre; all are familiar with my musical style from having performed with me in various configurations. Steve Rowland: Lead Documentarian—Will design and propose strategies and process for documenting the project and making it accessible to the public through a website, podcasts, and other means; will guide and participate in collecting stories, remembrances, and contextual materials for seeding compositions, and use on websites and podcasts, and in workshops and performance environment. He will be my “thinking partner” in the project. Rowland is an oral historian of jazz and other musical genre, and an audio documentarian with 25 years experience. He produced and directed a 5-part audio documentary on John Coltrane. His research archive includes many hours of unpublished interviews related to Philadelphia’s jazz history. (See Work Sample #2 for an excerpt from his Coltrane audio biography.) Germaine Ingram: Project Designer/Director—Will manage the project in accordance with project intentions and grant requirements; will support me in pursuing artistic goals, and maintain reflective process. Ingram worked closely with me to design the project and enlist project participants. She is an accomplished creative/performance artist and cultural strategist. She has led and collaborated in several major creative and performance projects. All of the above personnel have signed Letters of Commitment to the project.
Gloria Galante, Craig McIver, Diane Monroe, Tom Lawton, Lee Smith, Bobby Zankel
6 of 7 Members of Core Ensemble for performance of the completed suite—-Members of the Core Ensemble will engage in rehearsals of the compositions and perform with me in the culminating concert. All are accomplished music readers, improvisers, and composers in the jazz genre; all are familiar with my musical style from having performed with me in various configurations.
Steve Rowland
Lead Documentarian—Will design and propose strategies and process for documenting the project and making it accessible to the public through a website, podcasts, and other means; will guide and participate in collecting stories, remembrances, and contextual materials for seeding compositions, and use on websites and podcasts, and in workshops and performance environment. He will be my “thinking partner” in the project. Rowland is an oral historian of jazz and other musical genre, and an audio documentarian with 25 years experience. He produced and directed a 5-part audio documentary on John Coltrane. His research archive includes many hours of unpublished interviews related to Philadelphia’s jazz history. (See Work Sample #2 for an excerpt from his Coltrane audio biography.)
Germaine Ingram
Project Designer/Director—Will manage the project in accordance with project intentions and grant requirements; will support me in pursuing artistic goals, and maintain reflective process. Ingram worked closely with me to design the project and enlist project participants. She is an accomplished creative/performance artist and cultural strategist. She has led and collaborated in several major creative and performance projects.
Deena Adler
Reflective Writer——- a role that combines elements of ethnography, dramaturgy, storytelling and evaluation. Deena, a clinical psychologist with more than a decade of experience supporting and observing Odean Pope’s career, writes brief personal reflections on the creative process as revealed by the project’s activities and relationships.