Now 80, and best known these days as a member of The Cookers, the travelling hard-bop all-stars, Cables has enjoyed a lengthy association with HighNote, this his seventh trio outing for the label. Given the variety of his playing experience – vizhis substantial affiliations with Blakey, Rollins, Gordon and Pepper – and the immensity of his overall discography, it’s no surprise that his playing here evinces what a reviewer described as his ‘do-everything technique rooted in bop, with frequent Tatum flourishes’, a viewpoint that is given full rein here.

His opening ‘Echo of a Scream’ uses a stop-start, heavily percussive motif over a Cuban-style rhythmic pattern, the effect quite tumultuous. ‘So Near So Far’ opens in similarly intricate fashion before resolving into a straight swing tempo, Jennings perfect, the overall effect like a romp as Cables throws everything he’s got at it. He likes patterned shapes, as on his own ‘Morning Song’ which hints occasionally at his professed interest in Chick Corea’s approach. Then comes an open-minded look at ‘Prelude to a Kiss’, the melody kept uppermost and the exposition almost Peterson-ish in its varied effusions. As on previous albums, he includes a familiar standard; his version of ‘You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To’ transformed with an Afro-Cuban rhythmic underlay and compulsive brio.

With its combination of cleverly-constructed originals and pleasing songs like the lyrical ‘Like A Lover’ and the excellent support of Essiet and Jennings, this a fine example of a latter-day master with plenty left in the tank.