George Cables: All Smiles
Author: Peter Vacher
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Musicians: |
Essiet Essiet (b) |
Label: |
HighNote |
Magazine Review Date: |
September/2019 |
Media Format: |
CD |
Catalogue Number: |
HCD 7322 |
RecordDate: |
26 October 2018 |
Cables' beaming expression on the album cover says it all. A series of health setbacks culminating in an above the knee amputation seemed to signal an end to his career, but the support of friends and family, plus his own determination, has brought him back from the brink. No wonder he's smiling. Happily, there's no sense here of a fading talent, rather the exhilaration of someone whose desire to play is reborn. ‘Young at Heart’, one of two standards on the album, is given a rousing treatment, Lewis alert to every move, the song's shape retained as Cables re-positions it harmonically. On this evidence, Cables enjoys selecting a familiar piece and digging right in, the energy building as variations emerge, often coalescing into a motif to which he returns. With pieces by Wayne Shorter, Monk and Freddie Hubbard on the bill, Cables makes clear his affiliations: after all, this is a man whose vast discography and playing pedigree includes periods with Art Blakey Art Pepper, Dexter Gordon, Hubbard and just about everybody that has mattered in the mainstream modern jazz arena, most recently The Cookers He takes the Shorter piece on quite a romp, Essiet propulsive, the pianist's extrapolations constantly inventive and rewarding. There's plenty of resource here, as there is on Monk's ‘Ugly Beauty’, full of stabbing runs and sudden percussive jumps. This 75-year-old has the kind of standout keyboard command and clarity of intention to satisfy even the most demanding of listeners. Nothing faint-hearted here.
Jazzwise Full Club
- Latest print and digital issues
- Digital archive since 1997
- Download tracks from bonus compilation albums throughout the year
- Reviews Database access
From £9.08 / month
SubscribeJazzwise Digital Club
- Latest digital issues
- Digital archive since 1997
- Download tracks from bonus compilation albums during the year
- Reviews Database access