J. Harden Pope

J. Harden Pope’s Roots Jazz style of piano playing and singing draws on folk and blues elements hybridized with improvisation and traditional jazz instrumentation of piano, acoustic bass and drums. Use of spirituals is nothing new in jazz, but J. Harden Pope also brings in tunes from unlikely sources such as Basque folk songs and songs by Bob Dylan. J. Harden’s original tunes feature the grit of early styles of blues and gospel. The result is a readily accessible, but decidedly non-kitsch, incarnation of jazz that can be appreciated by the uninitiated and those who have acquired the taste for what has been called America’s classical music.