Mastery from jazz pianist George Cables who turned 80 recently

Meaningful studio set
Plus a sideways glance of the trio live
A steaming presence in The Cookers
The context today – plug in the Cables for a spin
Echo that élan
Pukka Sear Sound sonics
Morning Song and Like a Lover linger longest

Meaningful studio set

Mostly trio tracks rounded off by pianist George Cables playing solo on Horace Silver’s ‘Peace’ – the trio tracks double bassist is Essiet Essiet and drummer, Jerome Jennings

Plus a sideways glance of the trio live

In a live no frills version full of appeal nevertheless, above on YouTube broadcast in April, you can also hear the same trio of Cables, Essiet whose work with Cables includes My Muse and In Good Company and Jennings – known for The Beast (2016) feat. Christian McBride – in action in a Manhattan church.

In the Cookers in recent years New York City born pianist and composer George Cables turned 80 last month.

He toured with Sonny Rollins in the late-1960s.

And Cables’ debut as a leader called Why Not? (1975) was issued on the label of the same name (later on Candid) and featured double bassist Tony Dumas and drummer Carl Burnett.

He became a part of the Dexter Gordon Quartet. We’d compare Cables’ approach to Kirk Lightsey’s and Kenny Barron’s a bit.

A steaming presence in The Cookers

Freddie Hubbard featured on Cables’ 1979 album, Cables’ Vision.

Cables is also on The Almorivid track, ‘Medina.’

The Cookers revived Harper piece ‘Capra Black’ that was included on Warriors (Jazz Legacy Productions, 2011)

Cables is also on a number of classic recordings including Billy Harper’s Capra Black (1973) and Joe Chambers’ The Almoravid (1974), on tracks such as a take on Joe Zawinul’s wondrous ‘Early Minor’ when Cables played electric piano and in the course of that version introduced a gorgeous Woody Shaw trumpet line.

The context today – plug in the Cables for a spin

Ascertain how we ride the Cables car in a playlist context

Cables continued an association with saxist Harper that runs to the Cookers, David Weiss’ acclaimed Freddie Hubbard inspired supergroup.

Echo that élan

Tracks here include the opening brace of Cables originals with the word ”Echoes” in the title – the propulsive McCoy Tyner-like flair demonstrated on ‘Echo of a Scream’ and the latinate, beautifully voiced, ‘Echoes.’

‘Echo of a Scream’ was inspired by a painting that was the work in the 1930s of Mexico born David Alfaro Siqueiro.

Album track ‘So Near, So Far’ was interpreted by Joe Henderson on his musings for Miles themed 90s album for Verve. Cables played with JoeHen in the 70s on In Pursuit of Blackness.

Pukka Sear Sound sonics

Recorded at New York’s Sear Sound on a day in January and one day in May this year it’s Cables’ seventh record for the hard bop and straightahead rooted US jazz indie, HighNote.

This latest includes a British connection in the selection of the Benny Green & Tony ”the Baron” Crombie tune from the 1960s ‘So Near, So Far’ covered by Miles Davis on 60s classic Seven Steps to Heaven and by Joe Henderson in the 1990s.

Morning Song and Like a Lover linger longest

Most of all we love the version of Cables’ best known tune ‘Morning Song’ that he introduced along with the great Mwandishi Hancockian Eddie Henderson on Comin’ Through in the 1970s and which also appeared on Cables’ Vision at the dawn of the 80s.

With a nod to Ellingtonia on ‘Prelude to a Kiss’, Cedar Walton (‘Clockwise’) and ultimately Horace Silver in the quietly moving solo treatment of his classic much covered reverie ‘Peace’ other highlights include a version of the 1980s Dori Caymmi/Nelson Motta love song that the Bergmans wrote English words to entitled ‘Like a Lover’. We could listen to that song and the Cables treatment all day, all night long.