| Raised on the sounds of classical and jazz piano in Bowling Green, Ohio, Mike Pope's musical development began as a pianist at age 7. Through his brother, Pope discovered the electric bass, and by age 12 he began emulating the lines of Jaco Pastorius. Just a couple years later, with the encouragement of his teacher Jeff Halsey, Pope began studying the string bass. In his mid-teens, he received permission from his dad, a concert pianist and instructor at Bowling Green State University, to participate in the school's jazz lab bands and to also continue acquiring live performance experience while gigging at the local jazz clubs.
After high school, Pope completed his degree in jazz studies performance through the tradition of North Texas State University's prestigious jazz program. He then moved to Los Angeles for a short time before relocating to New York City on the recommendation of Michael Brecker. There he immersed himself in the eclectic musical landscape and soon became distinguished for his reputation on both acoustic upright and electric bass. In recent years, Pope has expanded his credits by touring internationally as a member of several high-profile projects including Chick Corea's Elektric Band, David Sanborn, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Bill Bruford, Joe Locke, Al Dimeola and The Manhattan Transfer. Equally at home on the acoustic and the electric bass, Pope's role has run the gamut from hard-swinging bebop to funk and R&B. John Patitucci said, "Mike Pope is a real renaissance man. He is a musician of broad scope and tremendous talent. His virtuosity on electric and acoustic bass is rare even by today's standards. His harmonic sophistication is matched only by his ability to improvise on a very high level with great consistency. To top it off, he's no slouch on the piano either (it's in the family genes). In addition I'd also like to note that Mr. Pope is an inventor as well (designs and builds pre-amps for basses etc.). All this plus he can take your car apart and rebuild it for you. Is there anything Mike Pope can't do????" In addition to his talent as a bassist, Pope has been the electronics designer for Fodera Guitars for the last decade. He engineered and builds the proprietary preamp circuit that is used in virtually every Fodera bass. With his partner David Yates, an internationally recognized medical device engineer and fine bassist in his own right, he created the Fodera "xCaliper" bass compressor, and the Fodera "Model 2006" preamp pedal. In the summer of 2008, Mike Pope launched MichaelPopeDesign. Continuing the tradition of excellence that is an integral part of Fodera basses, MichaelPopeDesign is building stand-alone bass reinforcement equipment that is made in the USA and that offers boutique quality and hands-on attention to detail. MichaelPopeDesign will continue to create high quality useful products that solve real world problems musicians and audio professionals encounter everyday. The company will continue to benefit from Mike’s on-going career as an in-demand musician, composer, audio engineer and educator. Visit mikepopejazz.com to learn more about Mike's career as a solo artist and session bassist. |