Search - George Cables :: Cables Vision

A transcendent disc . . .

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 01/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

". . . that ushered me into the mysteries and glories of creative improvised music. OK, maybe it's not the last word in jazz sophistication, but what may lack in savoir-vivre, it more than makes up for in sheer exuberance.It's time for a seventies jazz revival, methinks. Weather Report. Creed Taylor. Bobby Hutcherson.And George Cables.What's not to like? On this disc, you've got Freddie Hubbard (trumpet, flugelhorn) at the height of his prolific powers, Bobby Hutcherson (vibes) likewise, a young Peter Erskine (drums) laying down some righteous beats, Ernie Watts (ts, ss, flute) at his most expressive. And George Cables ripping.As well as some killer tunes from the leader who, with his latest disc, Looking for the Light, is proving himself to be an important jazz composer.For this neophite jazzer circa 1979, Cables' Vision proved exactly the right antidote for jaded ears. A veritable Balm in Gilead from the decay of the country rock scene, not to mention a welcome respite from the incipient saccharine sentimental solipism of the burgeoning smooth jazz scene, this disc was the bridge over troubled musical waters for a tired warrior in the trenches of the pop-cultural battlefield.And I continue to be blown away by it today. Buoyed by a clutch of superior tunes ("Morning Song," "I Told You So," and "Voodoo Lady" from the leader, "Birdlike," one of Freddie Hubbard's strongest tunes, and "The Stroll," by Bobby Hutcherson), Cables' Vision constantly exhibits a jaunty insousiance of monster proportions.Entirely enjoyable."