Originally published in Jersey Jazz Magazine. Reprinted by permission of the New Jersey Jazz Society.
In 1976, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon made a triumphant return to the United States after spending 14 years living in Copenhagen. He quickly established a working quartet with George Cables on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, and Eddie Gladden on drums. Cables, who will turn 81 on November 14, believes being hired by Gordon was a pivotal point in his career. "Up until that time," he said, "I was spending a lot of time with the electric piano and with other keyboards -- clavinet, synthesizer, and the like. With Dexter, for me, it was rediscovering the piano."
Cables has recorded more than 30 albums as a leader since then and will be leading a trio at Newark's Bethany Baptist Church on Saturday, November 8, as part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival. When Jersey Jazz celebrated Gordon's centennial birthday (February 2023), Cables recalled the tenor saxophonist's flexibility as a bandleader. "If he heard me playing something that was representative of some of the things that younger players were doing, he might ask me what it was or ask me to show it to him. Once, when we were playing a ballad, when the piano solo was coming up, Rufus stopped, and, of course Eddie stopped as well. So, then the piano solo became solo piano. Apparently, he didn't dislike the idea so that became a regular thing."
Perhaps the best known of the quartet's recordings was Manhattan Symphonie, originally released on Columbia Records in 1978 and reissued in 2005. Reviewing the reissue for All Music, Thomas Jurek pointed out that Cables "provides a solid foil for Gordon . . . his large chord voicings are simultaneously insistent and utterly subtle, shading the harmony with enough depth to give Gordon room to really dig into them and blow." Gordon, Cables added, "had a sense of humor, so some people didn't think he took the music seriously. Dexter was strongly influenced by Lester Young -- his philosophy and point of view. He would recite eight bars of the lyrics to whatever we were playing to the audience." Gordon once told Cables that Young would turn around and recite the lyrics of the whole song to the band. "That was how important they thought knowing the lyrics was."
Cables' latest album as a leader was I Hear Echoes, released on the HighNote label in 2024. Reviewing it for AllAboutJazz, Joshua Weiner pointed out that, "Cables plays with undiminished dexterity and invention . . . On the evidence of I Hear Echoes, Cables still has a lot to say at the piano after 60 years in jazz." On January 20, 2025, I Hear Echoes reached Number 1 on the JazzWeek charts.
In addition to Gordon, Cables has played with several other jazz giants including drummer Art Blakey, tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, alto saxophonist Art Pepper, and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. "Sometimes," he said, "I had to pinch myself, playing with these musicians. How did I get here? I started in the music late. I went to the High School of Performing Arts. (The Upper West Side school is now known as LaGuardia High School of Music & Art). My freshman year, I remember someone put Charlie Parker on the record player. Then, later I became aware of Art Blakey's 'Drum Suite' and recordings by Ray Bryant and Oscar Pettiford and 'Take Five' by Dave Brubeck. My best friends were Rich Maldonado, whose stage name is Ricardo Ray, and a tuba player, Larry Fishkind. They taught me how to improvise. I'd go down into my basement and play 'Autumn Leaves' or something like that.
"When I was 18," he continued, "we'd go to the Five Spot and see Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Mose Allison, Mal Waldron, Roland Kirk. Listening to records was one thing, but seeing these guys in person was something else." The Five Spot Cafe was located at 5 Cooper Square in the Bowery and featured live jazz from the late '50s through the late '60s. According to villagepreservation.com, the Five Spot, "for a time, was probably the hippest place in town, if not on the planet."
Ricardo "Richie" Ray is a pianist/singer/music arranger/composer best known as part of the duo, Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz. Larry Fishkind has performed with several classical orchestras including The American Symphony Orchestra, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, and The Netherlands Theatre Orchestra. He has also played with jazz artists such as trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, saxophonist Steve Lacy, and clarinetist George Lewis.
After graduating from the High School of the Performing Arts, Cables attended the Mannes College of Music and then played in a band called The Jazz Samaritans, which also included drummers Billy Cobham and Lenny White, bassist Clint Houston, and saxophonist Steve Grossman. In 1969, he joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. "Art Blakey would conduct the band from the back," he said. "He would remind you of how to shape your solos. You might hear him in the back if he felt you could be funkier or more soulful. He might say, 'Let it run down your leg.'"
Cables also toured with Rollins. "He was to jazz what Paul Hindemith was to classical music -- 'Elementary Training for Musicians'. It was anything but elementary. I remember my first encounter with Sonny Rollins. It was an audition really. He asked if I knew 'Love Letters'. I didn't, so he brought out the sheet music. 'OK,' he said, 'let's do it in d flat. Then, he brought out 'Night and Day', saying, 'Let's do it in e flat. Now, let's do it in e major.' He liked to do songs in different keys because he felt each key had a different color. He is truly a great, great musician with a sound that can last forever."
(Originally published in the 1940s, Paul Hindemith's textbooks, according to halleonard.com, "are still the outstanding works of their kind. In contrast to many musical textbooks written by academic musicians, these were produced by a man who could play every instrument of the orchestra, could compose a satisfying piece for almost every kind of ensemble, and who was one of the most stimulating teachers of his day. It is therefore not surprising that these books should remain essential reading for the student and the professional musician.").
During the late '70s and early '80s, Cables spent about four years playing with Art Pepper, who he described as being "serious and sensitive about the music. One of the things I remember is his approach to ballads. After the melody, he would stay in that ballad tempo, keep that ballad feeling. Other musicians, after the melody, would go into quadruple time, bouncing."
In May 1982, just a few weeks before Pepper's death, he and Cables recorded a duo album, Goin' Home, on the Galaxy label, with Pepper playing clarinet instead of alto sax on some of the tracks. In February 1983, The Washington Post's Mike Joyce wrote that, "Pepper and Cables would be an inspired pairing in any context, but this one-on-one setting suits them particularly well. Clearly, Cables is an underrated pianist possessing a strong and personal touch. He can unravel the keyboard swiftly, but more often his playing is defined by boldly articulate and unhurried phrasing, as well as the ease with which he balances melodic and rhythmic concerns"
Joyce emphasized the rapport that existed between Pepper and Cables on Duke Ellington's "In a Mellotone", pointing out that, "Cables' quick response time, his right hand darting in and out of the melody, while his left provides Pepper with harmonic clues and a gently swinging pulse."
Hubbard was another favorite of Cables. "I played with him for five years. Whatever he thought of, he could play. He could also sit down and play on the piano."
At Bethany Baptist Church, Cables will be joined by bassist Alexander Claffy and drummer Jerome Jennings. "Alex was in my combo for two years when I was teaching at The New School," Cables said, adding "I can say he was my rock. I'm really thrilled to see him doing what he's doing." Jennings was the drummer on I Hear Echoes. "I have musical and personal connections with both of them," Cables said. "Both Alex and Jerome are 100 per cent in, always present."
Cables' favorite young pianists are James Francies, Tyler Bullock, and Arcoiris Sandoval. There's a testimonial by Cables on Sandoval's website, which says, "She has her own voice and creative point of view with an infectious energy to whatever she plays. In other words, this young woman can play!" He's also a fan of alto saxophonist Sarah Hanahan (Hanahan and Bullock have been featured as Jersey Jazz Rising Stars, in September 2020 and February 20, respectively).
The New Jersey Jazz Society is a non-profit organization of business and professional people, musicians, teachers, students and listeners working together for the purpose of advancing jazz music. Their mission is to promote and preserve America’s original art form – jazz. The Society seeks to ensure continuity of the jazz art form through its commitment to nurture and champion local talent, along with showcasing outstanding national and international artists providing for the younger generation via arts education programs.
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