# George Cables

George Andrew Cables (born November 14, 1944) is an American jazz pianist and composer.

## Early life

Cables was born in New York City, United States. He was initially taught piano by his mother. He then studied at the High School of Performing Arts and later at Mannes College (1963–65). He formed the Jazz Samaritans at the age of 18, a band that included Billy Cobham, Steve Grossman, and Clint Houston. Cables' early influences on piano were Thelonious Monk and Herbie Hancock.

## Later life and career

Cables has played with Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, Joe Henderson, Frank Morgan and other well-established jazz musicians.
His own records include the 1980 Cables' Vision with Freddie Hubbard among others. From 1983, Cables worked in the project Bebop & Beyond. He left later in the 1980s, but returned for guest appearances on two early 1990s albums, before rejoining in 1998.
Cables is a charter member of The Cookers band, founded in 2010, which includes leading jazz composers and players like Billy Harper, Eddie Henderson, David Weiss, Donald Harrison, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart and others.

## Discography
### As leader/co-leader

| Year recorded | Title | Label | Notes |
| 1975 | Why Not | Whynot | Trio, with Tony Dumas (bass), Carl Burnett (drums) |
| 1979 | Circle | Contemporary | With Joe Farrell (flute), Ernie Watts (alto sax), Rufus Reid (bass), Eddie Gladden (drums) |
| 1979 | Cables' Vision | Contemporary | With Freddie Hubbard (flugelhorn), Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone), Tony Dumas (bass, electric bass), Peter Erskine (drums); some tracks with Ernie Watts (tenor sax, flute), Vince Charles (percussion) added |
| 1980 | Morning Song | HighNote | Quartet, with Eddie Henderson (trumpet), John Heard (bass), Sherman Ferguson (drums); in concert |
| 1980? | Some of My Favorite Things | Atlas | Trio, with Tony Dumas (bass), Billy Higgins (drums) |
| 1981 | Whisper Not | Atlas | Trio, with Tony Dumas (bass), Peter Erskine (drums) |
| 1982? | Old Wine, New Bottle | Atlas | Trio, with David Williams (bass), Carl Burnett (drums) |
| 1982? | Wonderful L.A. | Atlas | Trio, with David Williams (bass), Carl Burnett (drums) |
| 1982 | Goin' Home | Galaxy | Duo, with Art Pepper (alto sax, clarinet) |
| 1982 | Tête-à-Tête | Galaxy | Duo, with Art Pepper (alto sax) |
| 1983? | Sleeping Bee | Atlas | Trio, with Tony Dumas (bass), Ralph Penland (drums) |
| 1984 | The Big Jazz Trio | Eastworld | Trio, with Stanley Clarke (bass), Peter Erskine (drums) |
| 1985 | Phantom of the City | Contemporary | Trio, with John Heard (bass), Tony Williams (drums) |
| 1986 | Double Image | Contemporary | Duo, with Frank Morgan (alto sax) |
| 1987 | By George | Contemporary | Some tracks solo piano; most tracks trio, with John Heard (bass), Ralph Penland (drums) |
| 1991 | Cables Fables | SteepleChase | Trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums) |
| 1991 | Night and Day | DIW | Trio, with Cecil McBee (bass), Billy Hart (drums) |
| 1991 | Beyond Forever | SteepleChase | With Joe Locke (vibraphone), Santi Debriano (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) |
| 1993 | I Mean You | SteepleChase | Trio, with Jay Anderson (bass), Adam Nussbaum (drums) |
| 1994 | Quiet Fire | SteepleChase | Trio, with Ron McClure (bass), Billy Hart (drums) |
| 1994 | George Cables at Maybeck | Concord | Solo piano; in concert |
| 1995 | Person to Person | SteepleChase | Solo piano |
| 1995 | Alone Together | Groove Jazz | Trio, with Philippe Soirat, Carlos Barretto |
| 1995 | Skylark | SteepleChase | Trio, with Jay Anderson (bass), Albert Heath (drums) |
| 1996 | Dark Side, Light Side | SteepleChase | Trio, with Jay Anderson (bass), Billy Hart (drums) |
| 1997 | Bluesology | SteepleChase | Trio, with Jay Anderson (bass), Billy Drummond (drums) |
| 2000 | One for My Baby | SteepleChase | Trio, with Jay Anderson (bass), Yoron Israel (drums) |
| 2001 | Senorita de Aranjuez | Meldac | Trio, with George Mraz (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) |
| 2001 | New York Concerto | Meldac | Trio, with George Mraz (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) |
| 2001 | Shared Secrets | MuseFX | With Bennie Maupin (bass clarinet), Gary Bartz (alto sax), Alphonso Johnson and Abraham Laboriel (bass; separately); Vinny Colaiuta and Peter Erskine (drums; separately) |
| 2003 | Looking for the Light | MuseFX | One track solo piano; one track trio, with Peter Washington (bass), Victor Lewis (drums); most tracks quartet, with Gary Bartz (alto sax, soprano sax) added |
| 2004 | A Letter to Dexter | Kind of Blue | Trio, with Rufus Reid (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) |
| 2007 | You Don't Know Me | Kind of Blue | Solo piano |
| 2012 | My Muse | HighNote | Trio, with Essiet Essiet (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) |
| 2013 | Icons & Influences | HighNote | Trio, with Dezron Douglas (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) |
| 2015 | In Good Company | HighNote | Trio, with Essiet Essiet (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) |
| 2016 | The George Cables Songbook | HighNote | Some tracks trio, with Essiet Essiet (bass), Victor Lewis (drums); some tracks quartet, with Sarah Elizabeth Charles (vocals) added); one track quintet, with Craig Handy (tenor sax, flute) added; some tracks sextet, with Steven Kroon (percussion) added |
| 2019 | I'm All Smiles | HighNote | Trio, with Essiet Essiet (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) |
| 2020 | Too Close for Comfort | HighNote | Trio, with Essiet Essiet (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) |

### As sideman

With Laurie Antonioli
* Soul Eyes (Catero, 1984)
With Gary Bartz
* Love Song (Vee-Jay International, 1977)
With Art Blakey
* Child's Dance (Prestige, 1972)
With Joe Chambers
* The Almoravid (Muse, 1974)
With The Cookers
* Warriors (Jazz Legacy Productions, 2010)
* Cast The First Stone (Plus Loin Music/Harmonia Mundi, 2011)
* Believe (Motéma Music, 2012)
* Time And Time Again (Motéma Music, 2014)
* The Call Of The Wild And Peaceful Heart (Smoke Sessions Records, 2016)
* Look Out! (Gearbox Records, 2021)
With Joe Farrell
* Sonic Text (Contemporary, 1979)
With Chico Freeman
* Focus (Contemporary, 1995)
With Curtis Fuller
* Crankin' (Mainstream, 1971)
With Dexter Gordon
* Sophisticated Giant (Columbia, 1977)
With Billy Harper
* Capra Black (Strata-East, 1973)
With Roy Haynes
* Thank You Thank You (Galaxy, 1977)
* Vistalite (Galaxy, 1977 [1979])
With Eddie Henderson
* Comin' Through (Capitol, 1977)
* Witness to History (Smoke Sessions, 2022)
With Joe Henderson
* If You're Not Part of the Solution, You're Part of the Problem (Milestone, 1970)
* In Pursuit of Blackness (Milestone, 1971)
With Freddie Hubbard
* Keep Your Soul Together (CTI, 1974)
* High Energy (Columbia, 1974)
* Gleam (Columbia, 1975)
* Liquid Love (Columbia, 1975)
* Windjammer (Columbia, 1976)
With Bobby Hutcherson
* Waiting (Blue Note, 1975)
* Knucklebean (Blue Note, 1977)
* Highway One (Columbia, 1978)
* Conception: The Gift of Love (Columbia, 1979)
* Un Poco Loco (Columbia, 1979)
* Four Seasons (Timeless, 1983 [1985])
* Good Bait (Landmark, 1985)
With Philly Joe Jones
* Philly Mignon (Galaxy, 1977)
With Eddie Marshall
* Dance of the Sun (Muse, 1977)
With Greg Marvin
* Taking Off! (Planet X, 1991)
* Special Edition (Planet X, 2001)
With Frank Morgan
* Quiet Fire (Contemporary, 1987 [1991] with Bud Shank
* Mood Indigo (Antilles, 1989)
* A Lovesome Thing (Antilles, 1991)
* City Nights: Live at the Jazz Standard (HighNote, 2003 [2004])
* Raising the Standard (HighNote, 2002 [2005])
* A Night in the Life (HighNote, 2003 [2007])
* Montreal Memories (Live Duo Performance) (HighNote, 1989 [2018])
With David "Fathead" Newman
* Keep the Dream Alive (Prestige, 1978)
With Art Pepper
* The Trip (Contemporary, 1976)
* No Limit (Contemporary, 1977)
* Thursday Night at the Village Vanguard (Contemporary, 1977 [1979])
* Friday Night at the Village Vanguard (Contemporary, 1977 [1979])
* Saturday Night at the Village Vanguard (Contemporary, 1977 [1979])
* More for Les at the Village Vanguard (Contemporary, 1977 [1985])
* San Francisco Samba (Contemporary, 1977 [1997])
* So in Love (Artists House, 1979)
* Artworks (Galaxy, 1979 [1984])
* Landscape (Galaxy, 1979)
* Besame Mucho (JVC, 1979 [1981])
* Roadgame (Galaxy, 1981 [1982])
* Art Lives (Galaxy 1981 [1983])
* APQ (Galaxy, 1981 [1984])
* Arthur's Blues (Galaxy, 1981 [1991])
* Art Pepper: Unreleased Art, Vol. 1 (APM 2006)
With Max Roach
* Lift Every Voice and Sing (Atlantic, 1971)
* To the Max! (Enja, 1990–91)
With Sonny Rollins
* Next Album (Milestone 1972)
With Charlie Rouse
* Epistrophy (Landmark, 1989)
With Bud Shank
* Yesterday, Today and Forever (Concord Jazz, 1983) with Shorty Rogers
* California Concert (Contemporary, 1985) with Shorty Rogers
* That Old Feeling (Contemporary, 1986)
* Quiet Fire (Contemporary, 1987 [1991] with Frank Morgan
With Woody Shaw
* Blackstone Legacy (Contemporary, 1970)
* Song of Songs (Contemporary, 1972)
* Woody III (Columbia, 1979)
With Archie Shepp
* Archie Shepp
* California Meeting: Live on Broadway (Soul Note, 1985)
With Bennie Wallace
* Bennie Wallace in Berlin (Enja Records, 2002)
With Kazumi Watanabe
* Lonesome Cat (Denon, 1978)