Jazz Pianist George Cables at 80

Jazz pianist George Cables on the cover of his new album (from the album’s Amazon.com Web page)

Listening to I Hear Echoes, the latest album released by jazz pianist George Cables in celebration of his 80th birthday, I was reminded of having an opportunity to listen to another jazz pianist in performance, Tommy Flanagan. I had been in New York on a business trip and spent an evening that was probably near to the end of his life, listening to him lead a trio with two young colleagues, the sum of whose two ages would probably have fallen short of his own. On I Hear Echoes Cables also leads a trio with younger colleagues, whose ages are somewhat more advanced. His bassist is Essiet Essiet, who is a little over a decade younger than Cables. The “junior member” of the trio is Jerome Jennings on drums, who is in his mid-forties.

The advance material I received for this album describes Cables as “a musician who has not only shaped jazz history but continues to influence its evolution.” Listing to the eleven tracks on  I Hear Echoes, I can attest to the validity of that claim. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any booklet with notes about the eleven tracks being performed. Thus, one is left in a situation similar to that of listening to the trio performing in a club setting without the pianist taking the trouble to provide a few background remarks to his audience over the course of the evening. Indeed, aside from the tracks that I recognized (“Prelude To a Kiss” and “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To”), I had no idea how many of the selections were Cables originals, let alone why they were composed. Apparently, HighNote Records does not believe that the best listeners are informed listeners!