George Cables Letter To Dexter CD

This CD is a thank-you note from pianist George Cables to Dexter Gordon for sharing his stories, his talents, his music, and his Dexterness with us. The music is a combination of Dexter's compositions and songs that he liked to play - songs that make Cab

Personnel: George Cables (piano); George Cables; Rufus Reid (electric bass); Victor Lewis (drums).
Liner Note Author: George Cables.
Recording information: Avatar Studios, New York, NY (05/25/2004).
Pianist George Cables, who spent some of his formative years accompanying saxophone great Dexter Gordon, pays tribute to the man with a nicely varied collection of tunes written by or associated with Gordon, A Letter to Dexter. His trio is filled out by fellow Gordon alumni Rufus Reid on bass and drummer Victor Lewis, both of them now giants in their own right. Cables has a decorous and romantic playing style, and combined with a rhythm section as mighty as this one, the results should be magnificent. And so they are, at least most of the time. Unfortunately, there are occasional moments when the rhythmic thread is lost and the groove falters. This usually happens during piano solos: listen carefully, for example, to the way the bass and drums wander off-groove during Cables' first chorus on "Fried Bananas." But most of the album is a delight. The trio's take on the Gordon composition "Cheesecake" is powerful and relentlessly swinging; "I Told You So," a Cables original, has a wonderfully lilting Caribbean flavor, and Cables' solo rendition of "'Round About Midnight" is another treat, an unusual and highly intelligent interpretation characterized by staccato phrasing and pleasingly Monk-ish touches of dissonance. Also noteworthy is Reid's gorgeous bass solo on "Polkadots and Moonbeams." Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson

JazzTimes (p.89) - "Cables, Reid and Lewis are in total synch throughout, and the love all three feel for Gordon and his music shines through on every cut."