Greater New Haven's Community Resource for Jazz since 1996
Join us for a special night of jazz with Vocalist April May Webb and her Quintet!
By The Side Door Jazz Club
The Side Door
85 Lyme St Old Lyme, CT 06371
April May Webb – Vocals
Randall Haywood – Trumpet
Yayoi Ikawa – Piano
Jacob Webb – Bass
Nathan Webb – Drums
Join us for a special night of jazz with Drummer Richard Barrata and his Sextet!
The Side Door
85 Lyme St Old Lyme, CT 06371
CRAIG HANDY – SAXOPHONES
BILL O’CONNELL – PIANO
PAUL BOLLENBACK – GUITAR
MICHAEL GOETZ – BASS
PAUL ROSSMAN- PERCUSSION
RICHARD BARATTA – DRUMS
Grammy Nomimated Richard Baratta was born into a musically oriented family in Poughkeepsie, NY in 1950. He began his musical journey at the age 12, playing saxophone, flute and drums, and eventually, exclusively drums. He played mostly jazz all through his teens. After earning a BA in History from Wagner College in 1973, and after studying with Jack DeJohnette, Bob Moses and Steve Haas he moved to NYC in 1975 to pursue his musical career. From 1975 to 1984 Baratta played gigs and recorded in and out of NYC. Some of his bandmates and associations were with John Stubblefield, Joe Ford, Frank Strozier, Hal Galper, Mike Richmond, Saheb Sarbib, Dennis Irwin, Vernon Reid, Billy Bang, Jack Wilkens, Ryo Kawasaki, Jessica Hagedorn and the Gangster Choir, Guilherme Franco, Pe De Boi, Cyro Baptista, and a very memorable one day hit with Hank Mobley and then Johnny Hartman.
In 1984, Baratta decided to dramatically alter paths, and pursued a career in movie production. “Money was tight, the gigs were hard to come by, and I was getting married and wanted to raise a family. It was just time for a very difficult decision that had to be made. I looked back many times and terribly missed the joy in playing and the camaraderie with the musicians. It was a total about face, but I have no regrets, except missing the live performance.”
Since working on his his first film, Desperately Seeking Susan in 1984, Baratta has worked on over 50 movies, first as a Location Manager, then Unit Production Manager, and for the past 15 years as a Co-Producer and Executive Producer. A small sampling of his filmography includes, Academy Award nominated Joker, Joaquin Phoenix winning the Best Actor Award, Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award nominated The Irishman, Dr.Strange, The Wolf of Wall Street, five Spiderman movies,Too Big To Fail, Smurfs, Taking Pelham 123, Across the Universe, Donnie Brasco, Working Girl, Big, & A Paracosm For a full listing of Baratta’s film credits, visit IMDb:https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0053102/
The past 35 years of movie making never prevented Baratta from regularly listening to and attending music almost all the clubs in NYC and festivals elsewhere. As best he could, he tried to maintain relationships with his past bandmates and stay up on the jazz scene. However, with the exception of the occasional one nite gig every few years, Baratta essentially remained on the sidelines when it came to performing. Then a very fortuitous event occurred.
An opportunity presented itself in the fall of 2016 that changed everything. He decided to return to his roots and main love and began performing music again, while continuing to produce films. From December 2016 to the present he has played with Eric Alexander, Vincent Herring, Walter Blanding, Craig Handy, Marcus Printup, Bruce Harris, Gerald Cannon, Bill O’Connell, Emmett Cohen, Jeb Patton, Steve Ash, Chris Pattishal, Mike LeDonne, Ray Gallon, Dave Kikoski, Danny Nimmer, Jerry Weldon, Rogerio Bocatto, Paul Bollenback, Dave Stryker, John Patitucci, Mike Goetz, Essiet Essiet, Yoshi Waki, and many others. From Baratta’s lips, “I’m telling you, I’m in heaven. I just want to keep it going. A light bulb has gone off in my head and the music seems clearer, fresher and more illuminating than ever.”
Baratta currently resides in Tenafly, N.J. He has recorded four records since 2019, (see discography) and has been leading his two different bands, THE GOTHAM CITY LATIN JAZZ SEPTET, AND THE 3B’s + 2, in Jazz Clubs, Music Festivals, Summer Concerts, etc. on a regular basis. Keep your eyes and ears open, and catch his music live or on Savant/High Note Records
Join us for a special night of jazz with the pianist George Cables and his Trio!
By The Side Door Jazz Club
The Side Door
85 Lyme St Old Lyme, CT 06371
George Cables – Piano
Essiet Essiet – Bass
Jerome Jennings – Drums
When George Cables was going to school in New York City he used to walk the streets at night, taking in the cosmopolitan sights and sounds, mentally recording his encounters with “so many different kinds of people.” In his musical career as well, Cables has prowled sidestreets and main thoroughfares in relative anonymity, absorbing countless influences into his personal style.
Born in New York City on November 14, 1944, Cables was classically trained as a youth and when he started at the “Fame” worthy High School of Performing Arts, he admittedly “didn’t know anything about jazz.” But he was soon smitten with the potential for freedom of expression he heard in jazz.
The young Cables was impressed by such keyboardists as Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. But, he points out, “I never really listened to pianists when I was coming up. I would probably say I’ve been more influenced by Miles or Trane and their whole bands rather than by any single pianist. The concept of the music is more important than listening to somebody’s chops, somebody’s technique, The Way Miles’ band held together, it was just like magic. You were transported to another world.”
Cables attended Mannes College of Music for two years and by 1964 he was playing in a band called The Jazz Samaritans which included such rising stars as Billy Cobham, Lenny White. and Clint Houston. Gigs around New York at the Top of the Gate, Slugs, and other clubs attracted attention to Cables’ versatility and before long he had recorded with tenor saxophonist Paul Jeffrey, played on Max Roach’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and earned a brief 1969 tenure at the piano bench with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
A 1969 tour with tenor titan Sonny Rollins took Cables to the West Coast. By 1971 he became a significant figure in the jazz scenes of Los Angeles, where he first resided, and San Francisco, where he also lived. Collaborations and recordings with tenor saxophonists Joe Henderson and Sonny Rollins (“Next Album:), trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw (“Blackstone Legacy”), and vibist Bobby Hutcberson made Cables’ wide-ranging keyboard skills, often on electric piano, amply evident. Demand for his sensitive accompaniment increased and by the end of the 1970s, Cables was garnering a reputation as everyone’s favorite sideman.
Perhaps the most pivotal turn came when hard-bop legend Dexter Gordon invited Cables into his quartet in 1977. The two years he spent with the reappreciated tenor giant ignited Cables’s passion for the acoustic piano and rimmersed him in the bebop vocabulary. “I don’t feel that one should be stuck in the mud playing the same old stuff all the time, trying to prove that this music is valid,” Cables says. “We don’t need to prove anything. But I think you really have to be responsive to your heritage and then go on and find your own voice.”
The longest standing relationship Cables developed in the late seventies was with alto saxophonist Art Pepper. Cables, who Pepper called “Mr. Beautiful,” became Art’s favorite pianist, appearing on many quartet dates for Contemporary and Galaxy, and joining Art for the extraordinary duet album, Goin’ Home, that would be Pepper’s final recording session. “I’ve been able to play with some of the greatest musicians in the world,” Cables says, ..but it’s funny, if you’re not seen as a bandleader, doing the same thing alot of times, it’s easy to wonder, `Well, who are you really? What do you really feel?’ And sometimes I have to ask myself that, because every time I play with somebody different I have to put on a different hat.”
He has performed and recorded with some of the greatest jazz musicians of our time, including: Joe Henderson, Roy Haynes, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Sarah Vaughn, Tony Williams, Bobby Hutcherson and Dizzy Gillespie.
George Cables has emerged as a major voice in modern jazz. He is currently performing and recording as a soloist, with trio and larger ensembles, and as a clinician in college jazz programs. In addition to composing and arranging for his own albums, George Cables has contributed to recordings by Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson and many others. He is noted for his fresh Interpretations of classic compositions and for his innovative style of writing.
Join us for a special night of jazz with the Levin Brothers!
The Side Door
85 Lyme St Old Lyme, CT 06371
Pete Levin – Piano
Tony Levin – bass
Pat Labarbera – Saxophone
Jeff Siegel – Drums
After 5 decades of glorious careers playing with virtually who is who in all genres of music – jazz, fusion, rock, pop and world music, and after guesting on each other’s projects – the Levin Brothers finally decided to have their own jazz band. The band has toured all over the USA, and has performed in Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Japan.
Since graduating from the Eastman School of Music, Tony Levin has become the bass and Chapman Stick voice for Peter Gabriel and King Crimson. In addition, he has played on notable recordings for John Lennon, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Dire Straits, Carly Simon, Judy Collins, and many others. Tony has major jazz credentials, having worked with Buddy Rich, Steps Ahead, L’Image, Gary Burton, Chuck Mangione, and Herbie Mann. He currently records and tours with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Stick Men, and The Crimson ProjeKCt.
As a French Horn major, Pete Levin earned a master’s degree from the Juilliard School. In the early 70s he switched to keyboards, becoming a synthesizer specialist in the NYC recording studio scene. Over the years, he has graced hundreds of jazz and pop recordings and performances by the likes of Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Jimmy Giuffre, Dave Brubeck, David Sanborn, Joe Louis Walker, Don Elliott, Freddie Hubbard, Annie Lennox, Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius and Wayne Shorter. He currently records with his organ trio with Dave Stryker and Lenny White.
Drummer/Composer Jeff Siegel is a veteran of the New York jazz scene and has worked with a virtual who’s-who of jazz artists. A member of Sir Roland Hanna’s Trio from 1994-99, Jeff has performed and recorded with jazz legends like Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Golson, Frank Foster, Helen Merrill and Mose Allison.
Pat LaBarbera is an American-born Canadian jazz tenor, alto and soprano saxophonist, clarinetist, and flautist, best known for his work as a featured soloist in Buddy Rich’s bands. Coming from a musical family, Pat shares jazz history with his brothers, trumpeter/arranger John (Buddy Rich, Buddy DeFranco) and drummer Joe (Bill Evans, Tony Bennett). In 1975 Pat joined Elvin Jones’ quartet, touring and recording with the legendary drummer for over 10 years. While working with Buddy Rich, Pat also played in groups led by Woody Herman, Louie Bellson and Carlos Santana. In 2000, he won a Juno Award for Best Traditional Instrumental Jazz Album for Deep in a Dream.
Join us for a special night of jazz with pianist Joe Alterman and his Trio!
The Side Door
85 Lyme St Old Lyme, CT 06371
Praised by legends like Ahmad Jamal as “a very special artist,” Les McCann as “tiny but only in stature; as a man and musician, he is already a giant,” and Ramsey Lewis as “an inspiration” whose playing is “a joy to behold,” Alterman has carved out a singular space in the jazz world.
A graduate of New York University with both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Jazz Piano Performance, Alterman has performed at iconic venues including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Birdland, and Blue Note, sharing stages with jazz greats like Houston Person, Les McCann, and Ramsey Lewis. He also had the privilege of opening for Dick Gregory at the Kennedy Center, where the legendary comedian introduced him with a knowing smile and the line: “See? Integration works!”
Whether leading his trio or captivating audiences solo, Alterman’s music has been described by Downbeat Magazine as “hard-swinging” and by the late journalist Nat Hentoff as “making people smile and, if the room is right, dance.” With a deep groove, bluesy touch, and an exuberance that’s hard to resist, his playing is both deeply rooted and refreshingly modern. His ability to keep the spirit of swing alive has earned admiration from jazz masters. As Monty Alexander put it, “Joe Alterman is doing his part to keep alive the art of the swinging trio. He is a wonderful pianist whose playing brings smiles and good feelings to his listeners.” Similarly, Benny Green calls Alterman “absolutely one of the most musically enjoyable, swingingest jazz pianists who can be heard playing today.”
With eight critically acclaimed albums to his name, including the 2023 release Joe Alterman Plays Les McCann: Big Mo & Little Joe, Alterman continues to evolve as a recording artist while honoring jazz’s deep traditions. His swinging style and infectious enthusiasm have made him a favorite among both jazz devotees and casual listeners. As George Benson once told him, “You play good and you sound good, and there’s a difference.” That difference—the ability to channel joy, soul, and deep connection through every note—is what sets Alterman apart.
As Dick Cavett aptly said, “Joe Alterman combines outstanding musical technique with infectious enthusiasm for his work. He fills a room with joy.”
Beyond the piano, Alterman’s creative reach extends into cultural leadership and writing. As the Executive Director of Neranenah, an Atlanta-based Concert & Culture series, he celebrates Jewish contributions to music and the arts. His writing has also garnered acclaim—he has penned liner notes for three Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra albums and was the subject of Nat Hentoff’s final piece on music, in which the legendary journalist described Alterman’s essays as “some of the very best on the essence and spirit of jazz.” In 2025, Alterman’s musicianship was further recognized when he was featured on President Jimmy Carter’s Grammy-winning album, Last Sundays In Plains: A Centennial Celebration, marking another milestone in his ever-expanding artistic journey.
Whether performing on world-renowned stages, leading cultural initiatives, or writing about the music he loves, Joe Alterman bridges the past and present of jazz, delivering music that, as Ramsey Lewis put it, is “happy music with tasty meat on the bones.”
Join us for a special night of jazz with trumpeter Eddie Henderson and his Quartet featuring pianist Sharp Radway !
The Side Door
85 Lyme St Old Lyme, CT 06371
Eddie Henderson is an American jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of pianist Herbie Hancock‘s Mwandishi band, going on to lead his own electric/fusion groups through the decade. Henderson earned his medical degree and worked a parallel career as a psychiatrist and musician, turning back to acoustic jazz by the 1990s.
Henderson was born in New York City on October 26, 1940. At the age of nine, he was given an informal lesson by Louis Armstrong, and he continued to study the instrument as a teenager in San Francisco, where he grew up, after his family moved there in 1954, at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Henderson was influenced by the early fusion work of jazz musician Miles Davis, who was a friend of his parents. They met in 1957 when Henderson was aged seventeen.
After completing his medical education, Henderson went back to the Bay area for his medical internship and residency. It was a week-long gig with Herbie Hancock‘s Mwandishi band that led to a three-year job, lasting from 1970 to 1973. In addition to the three albums recorded by the group under Hancock’s name, Henderson recorded his first two albums, Realization (1972) and Inside Out (1973), with Hancock and the Mwandishi group.
After leaving Hancock, the trumpeter worked extensively with Pharoah Sanders, Mike Nock, Norman Connors, and Art Blakey‘s Jazz Messengers, returning to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1975 where he joined the Latin-jazz group Azteca and fronted his bands. While he gained some recognition for his work with the Herbie Hancock Sextet (1970–1973), his records were considered too “commercial”. Henderson has been on the faculty at Juillard School of Music since 2007.
Sharp Radway is a pianist/composer/arranger/author who is a native of Hartford, Connecticut and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. He remains in demand throughout the country and abroad. He is a protégé of Dr. Randy Weston. Sharp is a formidable and seasoned bandleader, heading various groups of his own (ie. his quintet, quartet, trio, Music Of The Streets, Sharp Radway’s Gospel Jazz Group, Sharp Radway’s Big Band, and various vocal and instrumental duos.) Sharp has worked with several Jazz luminaries and forefathers of the genre. Among them are Yusef Lateef, Benny Golson, Red Holloway, Slide Hampton, Curtis Fuller, James Spaulding, Louis Hayes, Candido Camero, Benny Powell, Eddie Henderson, Hamiet Bluiett, Peewee Ellis, Steve Turre, Fred Wesley, Frank Lacy, Kiane Zawadi, Bucky Pizzarelli, Diane Schuur, Joe Lee Wilson, Kevin Mahogany, Nnenna Freelon, Greg Bandy, Ben Dixon, Winard Harper, Leopoldo Fleming, Russell Gunn, Nicolas Payton, and Randy Brecker and many more. He served as music director, pianist, and arranger for The Celebration of Lionel Hampton Big Band and The New York City Ska Orchestra. In addition to playing the piano, he is also a prolific composer and arranger.
Join us for a special night of jazz with Trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra!
The Side Door
85 Lyme St Old Lyme, CT 06371
In 2007, NEA Jazz Master and Grammy Award winning trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis formed the Uptown Jazz Orchestra (UJO) for the purpose of keeping important jazz music traditions alive; such as riff-playing, spontaneous group improvisations, and collective New Orleans instrumental polyphony. At the time, Marsalis realized that the New Orleans music community was lacking the infusion of young homegrown talent outside of the great brass band tradition, and chose to form an orchestra that could present traditional, classic, and modern compositions with authenticity. Since that time, UJO has grown into one of the premier large ensembles in the world, releasing three CDs to critical acclaim, and touring locally, nationally, and internationally.
In 2008, Marsalis founded the educational program, “Swinging with the Cool School” (a soft introduction to jazz for hip tots and adults), which was used as an experimental form of music therapy at the New Orleans Children Hospital. The Cool School has since expanded to introduce live instrumental jazz to students around the country, with the intent of helping young people develop a relationship with music that has gradually disappeared from mainstream radio and media at large. Through these performances, UJO is able to introduce students (and adults) to the wide emotional range of instrumental music.
Since 2021, UJO has produced the annual Jazz at Congo Square Festival (JACS) to celebrate New Orleans culture by presenting live performances of musicians, poets, dancers, and Black Masking Indians to local and visiting audiences. JACS Festival also features local food, arts & craft vendors. Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra plan to continue using the great legacy of American music to engage and hopefully inspire the younger generations for many years.
Join us for a special night of jazz with clarinetist/saxophonist Ken Peplowski and his Quartet!
The Side Door
85 Lyme St Old Lyme, CT 06371
Ken Peplowski – Clarinet
Tardo Hammer – Piano
Martin Wind – Bass
Phil Stewart – Drums
There can be few readers of The Clarinet who are unfamiliar with the outstanding artistry and career of Ken Peplowski. He is one of the finest jazz instrumentalists on the scene today. Russell Davies of BBC Two hailed him as the greatest living jazz clarinetist. The Siletz Bay Music Festival in Oregon referred to him as “the living Benny Goodman.”1
Ken is also one of the most recorded jazz players to date, with over 50 CDs as soloist and nearly 400 as a featured sideman. He has performed with Charlie Byrd, Mel Tormé, Rosemary Clooney, Hank Jones, Peggy Lee, Bill Charlop, Woody Allen, Benny Goodman and many other legendary musicians. Centered in New York City, Ken travels about half the year playing in clubs, colleges, jazz societies, parties, concert halls and festivals. He is a longtime performer on and consultant to The Jazz Cruise, and in 2013 was elected into the Jazz Cruise Hall of Fame. In addition, Ken is the artistic director of the Newport Beach (California) Jazz Party and the Sarasota (Florida) Jazz Festival, where he was awarded the “Satchmo” award for his “unique and enduring contribution to the living history of jazz.”2 Much of his work on the road is done with his big band or his quartet. Wherever he plays, Ken is received with great admiration by his audiences.
Immediately noticeable at a Ken Peplowski performance or on his recordings is his amazing technical fluency. He has complete command of the instrument at every tempo and a rock-solid sense of rhythmic drive in ballads, standard songs, and up-tempo traditional jazz tunes. His sound is full, rich and warm in all registers. When students come to him with an interest in learning how to become jazz players, he starts with the importance of breath and air support and works with them on the rudiments of a pure classic sound and even finger technique.
Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1960s he heard Robert Marcellus in the Cleveland Orchestra and on recordings, and studied for three months with Ted Johnson, a member of the clarinet section in the orchestra. Ken’s main teacher at this time was Alan Blazer. He also “practiced like crazy.”3 His career in performance started with professional jobs at age 9 in the local polka band that he formed with his brother. This is where he honed his technique and trained his ear. A defining moment in his early musical life was when he bought his first jazz record with money he made playing in the polka band: Stan Getz, More West Coast Jazz (Verve Records, 1956). In 1978, Ken joined the Tommy Dorsey Band led by Buddy Morrow and went to work on the road. Three years later he moved to New York to begin a career of studio dates, concerts, recording sessions, and international touring. Recognition quickly followed.
What sets Ken apart from many other jazz players is his abundance of ideas and an abiding interest in exploring all types of music in performance. Jazz players know that brilliant virtuosity is only part of a rewarding performance, and that collective improvisation is at the heart of jazz music and has been since the earliest years. Ken is a catalyst for much of the dazzling interplay that occurs in his great ensemble jazz. He has a very quick mind and a telepathic rapport with the other musicians on the stand. The result is a rich collaboration that is the hallmark of every performance he gives. In any musical performance, the interaction of the performers is a critical component of a successful musical experience. With a defining emphasis on improvisation, jazz is perhaps explicitly reliant on the spontaneous interaction of the musicians, and, when performed by Ken Peplowski and the musicians in his groups, the results can be transformative. His duo albums with Howard Alden (Concord, CCD-4556, 1993; CCD 4654, 1995 and Pow-Wow on Arbors Records, ARCD 19340, 2007) and Dick Hyman (Live at the Kitano, Victoria Company, 2013) attest to the musical intelligence of two superb musicians playing off each other’s musical ideas.
In his performances, Ken has embraced a huge breadth of styles and periods of jazz. For him the entire century of jazz music has become an endless well of possible tunes to play and record. His albums contain traditional jazz tunes, selections from the Great American Songbook, bebop, big band styles, third-stream and avant-garde jazz and even ethnic folk and dance music. There is always a fresh variety of textures and styles. The quintet and quartet albums often include a few duet pieces and even some tunes performed on clarinet unaccompanied. These require a harmonic structure that can be realized and communicated by a single instrument. Occasionally the decision to record a work for clarinet alone happens in the recording studio. Ken likes the spontaneity of the moment and the challenge of creating something special at the moment the recording is made.
Join us for a special night of jazz with bassist Dezron Douglas and his Quartet!
Lummie Spann – Saxophone
George Burton – Piano
Dezron Douglas – Bass
Joe Dyson – Drums
New York-based composer, bandleader, sideman, educator, and 2019 DownBeat magazine “Rising Star” bassist Dezron Douglas has established himself as a musician’s musician. One of the most in-demand young bassists in jazz today, Douglas is respected not only for his talent but also for his dedication to the authenticity of the music. Having recorded on more than 100 records as a sideman, he has six solo recordings, and his most recent EP, “Black Lion,” was released in 2018. As a sideman, Dezron has performed and recorded with jazz luminaries including Pharoah Sanders, Cyrus Chestnut, George Cables, Keyon Harrold, and Makaya McCraven and is a member of the Ravi Coltrane Quartet, Louis Hayes Groups, Enrico Rava/Joe Lovano Quintet, Steve Turre Quartet/Sextet, and the David Murray New Octet.
The Side Door
85 Lyme St Old Lyme, CT 06371
George Cables – Piano
Essiet Essiet – Bass
Jerome Jennings – Drums
When George Cables was going to school in New York City he used to walk the streets at night, taking in the cosmopolitan sights and sounds, mentally recording his encounters with “so many different kinds of people.” In his musical career as well, Cables has prowled sidestreets and main thoroughfares in relative anonymity, absorbing countless influences into his personal style.
Born in New York City on November 14, 1944, Cables was classically trained as a youth and when he started at the “Fame” worthy High School of Performing Arts, he admittedly “didn’t know anything about jazz.” But he was soon smitten with the potential for freedom of expression he heard in jazz.
The young Cables was impressed by such keyboardists as Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. But, he points out, “I never really listened to pianists when I was coming up. I would probably say I’ve been more influenced by Miles or Trane and their whole bands rather than by any single pianist. The concept of the music is more important than listening to somebody’s chops, somebody’s technique, The Way Miles’ band held together, it was just like magic. You were transported to another world.”
Cables attended Mannes College of Music for two years and by 1964 he was playing in a band called The Jazz Samaritans which included such rising stars as Billy Cobham, Lenny White. and Clint Houston. Gigs around New York at the Top of the Gate, Slugs, and other clubs attracted attention to Cables’ versatility and before long he had recorded with tenor saxophonist Paul Jeffrey, played on Max Roach’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and earned a brief 1969 tenure at the piano bench with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
A 1969 tour with tenor titan Sonny Rollins took Cables to the West Coast. By 1971 he became a significant figure in the jazz scenes of Los Angeles, where he first resided, and San Francisco, where he also lived. Collaborations and recordings with tenor saxophonists Joe Henderson and Sonny Rollins (“Next Album:), trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw (“Blackstone Legacy”), and vibist Bobby Hutcberson made Cables’ wide-ranging keyboard skills, often on electric piano, amply evident. Demand for his sensitive accompaniment increased and by the end of the 1970s, Cables was garnering a reputation as everyone’s favorite sideman.
Perhaps the most pivotal turn came when hard-bop legend Dexter Gordon invited Cables into his quartet in 1977. The two years he spent with the reappreciated tenor giant ignited Cables’s passion for the acoustic piano and rimmersed him in the bebop vocabulary. “I don’t feel that one should be stuck in the mud playing the same old stuff all the time, trying to prove that this music is valid,” Cables says. “We don’t need to prove anything. But I think you really have to be responsive to your heritage and then go on and find your own voice.”
The longest standing relationship Cables developed in the late seventies was with alto saxophonist Art Pepper. Cables, who Pepper called “Mr. Beautiful,” became Art’s favorite pianist, appearing on many quartet dates for Contemporary and Galaxy, and joining Art for the extraordinary duet album, Goin’ Home, that would be Pepper’s final recording session. “I’ve been able to play with some of the greatest musicians in the world,” Cables says, ..but it’s funny, if you’re not seen as a bandleader, doing the same thing alot of times, it’s easy to wonder, `Well, who are you really? What do you really feel?’ And sometimes I have to ask myself that, because every time I play with somebody different I have to put on a different hat.”
He has performed and recorded with some of the greatest jazz musicians of our time, including: Joe Henderson, Roy Haynes, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Sarah Vaughn, Tony Williams, Bobby Hutcherson and Dizzy Gillespie.
George Cables has emerged as a major voice in modern jazz. He is currently performing and recording as a soloist, with trio and larger ensembles, and as a clinician in college jazz programs. In addition to composing and arranging for his own albums, George Cables has contributed to recordings by Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson and many others. He is noted for his fresh Interpretations of classic compositions and for his innovative style of writing.
Jazz Haven, Inc.
P.O. Box 3011
New Haven, CT 06515
info@jazzhaven.org