Skyline Dave Pope Trio

• 1 Hermitage 04:49
• 2 Skyline 04:58
• 3 Very Early 06:30
• 4 Falling Grace 07:12
• 5 ESP 04:39
• 6 Country Nocturne 05:20
• 7 Minority 05:40
• Total Runtime 39:08

Info for Skyline

Blue Canoe Records proudly announces the highly anticipated return of the Dave Pope Trio with their new album “Skyline,” available July 18, 2025. This release reunites drummer Dave Pope, pianist and bassist Mike Pope, and world-renowned bassist John Patitucci in a soulful, spontaneous, and deeply expressive collection of originals and jazz standards.

After a 14-year hiatus following their acclaimed debut You and The Night and The Music (2012), the trio reconnected in August 2024 at Vatican City Sound in Marriottsville, MD. Despite having no live performances together in the interim—and with minimal rehearsal—what emerged was a session overflowing with chemistry, creativity, and courage. ​

“Skyline” features two original compositions—Dave Pope’s title track “Skyline” and “Country Nocturne” by Mike Pope—alongside a curated selection of jazz classics including:

“Hermitage” (Pat Metheny)
“Very Early” (Bill Evans)
“Falling Grace” (Steve Swallow)
“ESP” (Wayne Shorter)
“Minority” (Gigi Gryce)

Of special note is the unique interpretation of “Falling Grace,” which features both Mike and John on 6-string electric bass, transforming the trio into a piano/guitar-style ensemble for this track.

The recording nearly faced a setback when Mike Pope suffered a detached retina just one week prior to the session—his second eye surgery in recent months. Despite limited vision, he pressed forward with determination and humor, even jokingly suggesting the album be titled Flying Blind. Thankfully, Mike has since fully recovered, and his performances on this recording are nothing short of remarkable.

Dave Pope, drums
John Patitucci, double bass, electric bass
Mike Pope, piano, 6-string Bass (track 4)

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mike Pope c/o Walk Your Dogma Studios in Marriottsville, MD
Enginnered and produced by Mike Pope
Executive Producer: Dave Pope

Dave Pope
is an Atlanta based multi-instrumentalist performing on drums, guitar and bass guitar. Dave grew up in a musical family with parents, Ann Almond Pope and David Pope Sr., both virtuoso classical pianists and teachers. His brother Pete is a pianist who performs in the Austin TX area and his brother Mike has had an extensive career as a touring bassist, pianist, producer, composer and most recently as Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music.

Dave began his music career in the Toledo OH area at the age of 14 playing in garage bands and subbing for college jazz musicians who were double-booked for gigs. With the instruction and mentoring from local musicians such as drummer Bob Breithaupt, bassist Jeff Halsey, guitarist Chris Buzzelli and multi-instrumentalist Gene Parker, Dave began performing with some of the best musicians in the region. Among those musicians were pianists, Larry Fuller, Mark Kieswetter and Ron Oswanski, guitarist Dan Faehnle and trumpeter Jimmy Cook, to name only a few. During his Toledo days, Dave had a brief stint in Chicago in the late 80’s where he studied with drummers Joel Spencer and Paul Wertico and performed with guitarist Akio Sasajima. After returning to Toledo, Dave embarked in several projects as a band leader, some of which included his brother Mike and a group featuring trumpeter Randy Brecker.

In the late 90’s, Dave moved to East Tennessee where he honed in to his production skills and began performing regularly in the Chattanooga area. He moved to Atlanta in 2008 which has become his home. In Atlanta Dave has performed with world class musicians such as trumpeter and vocalist Joe Gransden; pianists Louis Heriveaux, Tyrone Jackson, Geoffrey Haydon and Kevin Bales; organist Dave Ellington; guitarists Dan Baraszu, Randy Honea, Dave Frackenpohl and Roberto Chiappetta; saxophonists Bill VanDyke and Matt Miller; bassists Tommy Sauter, Craig Shaw, Andy Eulau and Joseph Patrick Moore; drummers Chris Burroughs and Emrah Kotan; and Vocalists Illona Knopfler and Jennifer Farnsworth.

The group’s first record, Dave Pope Trio “You and The Night and The Music” was recorded at brother Mike’s studio in 2010 and released in 2012. It features John Patitucci on bass, Mike Pope on piano and Dave on drums. The project was somewhat experimental in that Mike, primarily a bassist, played piano with his mentor and long-time friend, John Patitucci on bass. The end result was a wonderful journey of spontaneity as the trio had only played together on the session with no rehearsals. Dave initially self-marketed the record up until signing with Blue Canoe Records in December of 2019.

The Trio had planned to do another record in 2020 but had to cancel due to Covid. Fortunately, they were all able to get together for 2 days in the summer of 2024 to record “Skyline”, their newest release on Blue Canoe Records. A lot of musical territory is covered on this record with a variety of styles including an original by Mike and another by Dave. The record also features John and Mike, both on 6 string electric bass performing Steve Swallow’s “Falling Grace”, essentially making the trio both a piano and guitar trio. Although there was a 14-year gap between performing together, the Trio easily picked up where they left off and added some new dimension to this record.

This album contains no booklet.