Ebioto

Amazon.com's Best of 1999
Hearing the interplay between bassist Tyrone Brown and tenor saxophonist Odean Pope on EBIOTO, it's clear why drummer Max Roach has enlisted the pair for his own bands since the late 1960s. Pope plays with a tonal thickness that viscerally recalls John Coltrane, and Brown tugs and shoves with the force and detail of Mingus. Pope's EBIOTO is at once stripped down and jubilant in its pounce. --Andrew Bartlett

Amazon.com
Sax player Odean Pope is something of a well-kept secret, but he shouldn't be, considering that EBIOTO is a true jazz fan's dream: great, swooping melodies and sparse arrangements with an emphasis on the harmonic density and clarity of the players. In this case, there are three performers: Tyrone Brown, an excellent standup-bass player who accompanied Pope on his previous LP, Ninety-Six; drummer Craig McIver, who lends the proceedings considerable gravity throughout; and Pope himself. Pope is firmly in the tradition of Coltrane (he even claims "improvisation is a profound spiritual experience" in the liner notes). As is the case with many of the best trios (think of Ray Brown and Shelly Manne backing Sonny Rollins on the classic Way Out West, which was a prototype for this sort of propulsive jamming), the rhythm section smolders in the background but not innocuously so. In fact, like the greatest rhythm sections, they build a fortress upon which the leader can hail the almighty spirit. They also drive him to new heights. A perfect example is "Good Question Too," which chases the Trane without being dragged by it. Highly recommended. --Joe S. Harrington

Ebioto

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