My Muse

GEORGE CABLES: My Muse
HighNote, 2012

MAINSTREAM JAZZ – Classy trio performance, straight as an arrow, with Cables sounding really great on piano and his band mates locked in tight. Cables has dedicated this disc to his late wife, and you can hear the love. The ballads are rich with heartfelt emotion and the uptempo numbers have a really sunny, happy sound that’s hard to resist. So nice.

All very good. Fo’s Picks: 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11

1. 2:05 – gentle solo piano, a lullaby, spare and moving
2. 5:10 – bright, upbeat standard built around a catchy hook, lively solos
3. 7:13 – sweet ballad: caressing piano, dances lightly in waltz time
4. 8:29 – intimate, playful ballad with a retro feel, really blossoms in the middle
5. 5:38 – super-catchy ditty with a happy “Charlie Brown” feel
6. 7:03 – ballad starts airy but gets deeper, very tender and lovely
7. 5:41 – easygoing jazz waltz with a lopsided feel, flowing middle
8. 5:47 – 1970s pop ballad loses most of its syrup in this upbeat version
9. 6:04 – old standard: ornate intro, settles into a torchy after-hours blues
10. 5:07 – snappy, sunny strut: glides along without a care in the world
11. 3:02 – solo piano ballad, a beautiful and very thoughtful performance

[ Fo ] - 10 November 2012