If you’ve ever heard him, you know he’s one of the most exciting tenormen in Jazz (and the master of circular breathing).  The 2017 recipient of the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation’s Living Legacy Award, and 2023 winner of the 4th annual NOVA award, Odean is a virtuoso musician who was featured soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra on Duke Ellington’s The Three Black Kings, and a member of the Max Roach Quartet for over a quarter-century, a prestigious association but one which overshadowed his own accomplishments as a leader and composer.

 

Odean has his own unique musical vision, most fully expressed via his Saxophone Choir – nine saxophones + rhythm section – which is a great favorite of saxophonists like occasional Guest Artists James Carter, Joe Lovano, and Ravi Coltrane.  If you’re looking for a smaller ensemble consider Odean with the Saxophone Choir rhythm section of pianist Tom Lawton, bassist Lee Smith (Christian McBride’s dad), and longtime drummer Craig McIver, who also played in Max’s percussion ensemble M’boom.  But if you’re looking for a band with really unique instrumentation Odean has formed one featuring Bobby Zankel on alto sax, Diane Monroe from the Uptown String Quartet on violin, and Gloria Galante on harp, along with Lee and Craig on b&d.

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