This is one of a series of excellent trio dates made by pianist
George Cables for Steeplechase during his tenure with the Danish label. Joined by bassist
Jay Anderson and drummer
Billy Drummond,
Cables offers a mix of familiar standards and jazz compositions, along with his own tasty originals. His dreamy rendition of "Easy Living" is spacious, with understated bass and careful brushwork, while he romps through a playful setting of "(There Is No) Greater Love" and begins "Come Rain or Come Shine" with an inventive out-of-tempo solo. The fiery, percussive take of
Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia" and infectious interpretation of
Randy Weston's "Hi-Fly" also stand out.
Cables' originals are just as potent, as demonstrated in the hip Caribbean flavor of "Voodoo Lady" and the constantly shifting "Ebony Moonbeams," with a recurring Latin rhythm.