Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » George Cables: My Muse

3

George Cables: My Muse

By

Sign in to view read count
George Cables: My Muse
Pianist George Cables' relationship with the late Helen Wray must have been one joyous romance. Contrary to the expectations of an album dedicated to a departed loved one, My Muse is a collection of uplifting and, frankly, happy-sounding originals and standards. Take away the personal context and you'd swear Cables and company were just enjoying the gig.

Cables is an elegant pianist. He has the rare capability to play with great drama, but without ever becoming hard or abrasive. And of course he can swing with impeccable pace and timing, employing his deft sophistication that makes even simple passages sound structured and perfect. When he's playing hard, as on "You're My Everything," the melody is at the forefront, never giving way to percussive, McCoy Tyner-like thunder. Cables is grace on eighty-eight keys.

But if their deliveries differ, Tyner is clearly on Cables' list of favored composers. "You Taught My Heart to Sing" is a perfect vehicle to showcase Cables' skill with a romantic ballad. His performance is finely wrought, sensitive and densely layered without ever becoming baroque. Cables packs a lot of playing into every song, but never overdoes it.

The real meat of My Muse is Cables' originals. There are four, and they're all first-rate. "Lullaby" is just that: a short, softly stated and beautiful melody to open the record. "Helen's Song" opens with Cables playing a nuanced solo variation on the melody, but it quickly solidifies as bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer Victor Lewis join in. The tune unfurls with a mid-tempo bounce—quietly, at first, and then, following the first bridge and solo chorus, building into a happy (there's that word again) venture through collaborative musical charm. Then, when it seems as if the band couldn't get any happier, it dives right into the title track, with its vampy syncopated rhythm and Cabels' fat and lush ten-finger bridge chords. It's simply a fun tune. It might have been the long lost Vince Guaraldi masterpiece that never made it into a Charlie Brown special.

The final original, "But He Knows," features a broken waltz brushed out by Lewis under the descending scale of the statement. Cables makes great use of the lower register, often overlaying Essiet's bass lines. The result is a full, opulent sound of fully realized music.

The balance of the date covers a top-notch selection of jazz and popular music's finest composers, including Tyner, George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, and Marvin Hamlisch. Don't confuse "happy" with "light." There is a lot of great playing and terrific music on My Muse. Cables, Essiet and Lewis weave all of these sources into a seamless, well thought-out and, yes, happy-sounding album.

Track Listing

Lullaby; You're My Everything; You Taught My Heart To Sing; Helen's Song; My Muse; My One And Only Love; But He Knows; The Way We Were; My Old Flame; Hey, It's Me You're Talkin' To; I Loves You Porgy.

Personnel

George Cables: piano; Essiet Essiet: bass; Victor Lewis: drums.

Album information

Title: My Muse | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: HighNote Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.