Pope was born in
Ninety Six, South Carolina, to musical parents and moved to
North Philadelphia at the age of 10, where he was taught by pianist
Ray Bryant. His talent at the
Granoff School of Music and
Benjamin Franklin High School caught the attention of fellow North Philadelphia resident and jazz saxophonist
John Coltrane, who offered him his first job in music at age 17. Coltrane had called Pope to inform him that he was leaving to join
Miles Davis and asked him to take his place and play with
Jimmy Smith. Pope hesitated, expressing his youth and doubt, to which Coltrane responded, "Never say that. Always say you
can do something.", Half Moon Bay, California, 1988|left|306x306px 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 Philadelphia group
Catalyst in the early and mid-1970s, and assembled the
Saxophone Choir, consisting of nine saxophones and a rhythm section (piano, bass, and drums), in 1977. Pope founded the jazz studies program at
Settlement Music School and offers master classes within the
School District of Philadelphia. He has received awards and fellowships from the
Rockefeller Foundation,
North Sea Jazz Festival, and the
Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, and was honored with the Living Legacy Jazz Award from the
Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in 2017. 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, like, 2 billion years, I feel as though there's always something new that you can find to do. There's no end." ==Discography==