Many legendary names in the world of jazz — Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus and others — are long gone. But one giant whose chops have been thrilling audiences for 70 years, "blowing changes" with chord tones and harmonic rhythms, is East Germantown's own Odean Pope, a tenor saxophonist who will be 86 in October. 

He will be performing on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 4 p.m., in the Historic Germantown courtyard, 5501 Germantown Ave., where he will be joined by several other local musicians. 

Part of The Historic Germantown Series on 20th Century Music, The Odean Pope Quartet will perform his music with original arrangements and an oral history of the John Coltrane era of Philadelphia musical progress. Music lovers may bring a picnic and a favorite chair or blanket. 

Pope was born in South Carolina to musical parents, who moved to Philadelphia when he was 10. He showed such spectacular musical promise at the Granoff School of Music and Benjamin Franklin High School that the iconic John Coltrane, a North Philadelphia resident, jazz saxophonist and composer widely regarded as the most influential innovator of avant-garde jazz in the 1960s, offered Pope his first musical job.

Talking to Pope is like interviewing an encyclopedia of jazz. "Coltrane and I used to practice together," he said last week. "He gave me my first job when I was just 17. He called me and said he was leaving to join Miles Davis and asked me to replace him and play with Jimmy Smith. I said, ‘I don't think I can do that. I'm too young.’ He said, 'Never say that. Always say you CAN do something.' That taught me a lesson that I have never forgotten."

Pope was raised in North Philadelphia. Early in his career at the Uptown Theater on North Broad Street, Pope accompanied notable rhythm and blues artists including James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.

He played briefly in the 1960s with famed Germantown organist Jimmy McGriff, and late in the decade, Pope began working with drummer Max Roach, a seminal figure in jazz, including traveling on tour in Europe. He was a member of a Philadelphia group, Catalyst, in the early and mid-1970s, and assembled the Saxophone Choir, which consisted of nine saxophones and a rhythm section (piano, bass and drums), in 1977. He recorded more than two dozen albums, many with Roach.

When asked about his musical influences, Pope said, "Definitely Max Roach. I played with him for 22 years. And Hasaan Ibn Ali, a genius pianist from Philadelphia. I played with him three or four times a week. He did things no one else could do. And I learned so much from Jim Dragoni, a really great guitarist."

Dragoni, a longtime Northwest Philly guitarist and guitar teacher, returned the compliment. "Odean Pope is considered the elder statesman of the Philadelphia jazz community," Dragoni said. "He's been recognized all over the world for his talent. I feel privileged to have known him for 40 years ... You will find yourself mesmerized by the seemingly impossible things he can do with his instrument. I'll be joining him onstage for one of our old favorites from the days we met here in Germantown to explore all the great music we love."

Regarding Coltrane, whose friends called him "Trane," Pope said, "'Trane' was very humble, peaceful, open-minded and caring. Everything you can think of that's good about a man, that was 'Trane.' The first thing we would do each time was play scales for two hours, minor and major scales, long tones from low B-flat to high F. I learned so much from that. It enables you to play all over the instrument.

"I still play scales every day. They are the fundamental concept of playing any instrument. I got the knowledge of every sound ... As a child in the Baptist Church, I learned the old hymns and modern hymns. My parents instilled so much confidence in me. Our music is an anguished cry for world peace. Let's all love one another. That's what you hear in our music."

Pope has always felt a strong commitment to working musically with children. He was musical director of a Philadelphia cultural initiative, "Model Cities." He started the jazz studies program at the Settlement Music School, and he continues to give master classes in the School District of Philadelphia, as well as nationally and internationally.

When asked why he still gives so many master classes for young musicians at age 85, Pope replied, "There is still so much young talent in Philadelphia, and I just love working with them. And I will keep on doing it until they lay me down."

Pope's artistry as a performer, composer, arranger and educator has earned him three citations from the City of Philadelphia. Among his many awards are: The Pew Fellowship in the Arts for Music Composition (1992); Afro-American Historical Society; No. 1 Tenor Saxophonist at the North Sea Jazz Festival; several from Chamber Music America and Artist of the City (2009). Pope was also the 2017 recipient of the Mid-Atlantic Living Legacy Award, and he was a guest artist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1999.

One of Pope's biggest fans is Deena Adler, of Lafayette Hill, a clinical psychologist who has written extensively about him. "Odean is a force of nature," Adler said last week, "and his including me into his musical world has rewarded me with so many bright moments. There is much to admire about Odean. Jazz has been the mode, but his remarkable resilience has been the method."

For tickets to the July 13 event, $20 per person, visit historic-germantown.ticketleap.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com