Lasha, Prince & Odean Pope Trio – “Mystery of Prince Lasha, the ” – [Creative Improvised Music]

Tenor sax man Odean Pope is in fine form here, backed by his longtime trio-mates on bass and drums. Prince Lasha adds his soprano/alto saxes, clarinet, flute, and piccolo. For a cat who was playing with new-jazz heavyweights like Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, and Elvin Jones during the ’50s-60s, Lasha is not very well known. He’s a welcome discovery for me, because he’s brilliant on the soprano sax, and I also like his unusual piccolo work. His playing is a good match for Pope’s solid tenor. Once or twice it sounds like the two horns may not be 100% in tune with one another, then again maybe it’s advanced jazz harmony or something. More often, the players blend well and rip crazy lines together. Track 2 is sweet and low, has nice bass/drums, and reminds me of an old Wayne Shorter date. A worthy addition to CIMP’s incredible catalog.