George Cables has been the pianist of choice for saxophonists
Dexter Gordon and Art Pepper; Pepper called him his favorite
pianist. Cables also recorded a lot with jazz stars Joe
Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson and Frank
Morgan. On Cables‘ own new trio album, he is so fluent in the
ways of the keyboard, song structure and harmony, so aware
of his available options at every second, the compositions
themselves seem as if they are being made up on the spot.
But not all of the trio‘s decisions are made in the moment. As
a structural feature, he loves yoking together his left hand and
Essiet Essiet‘s bass, to give the music an extra-fortified low
end. They play in tight unison so often, those doubled bass
lines have become the trio‘s signature. Fused piano and bass
have such a distinct color, when they merge it‘s almost like
another instrument making an appearance. The trio polishes
its music to a high gloss, which is so unassumingly good,
you could miss just how good it is. It gives good taste a good
name.
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