MY MUSE

Having absorbed a huge variety of sounds and styles and incorporated them into his playing -- from harmonically adventurous post-bop to gospel-tinged blues -- pianist George Cables mines the mother load of jazz elements on his 2012 HighNote release, fusing Bud Powell's feeling, Fats Waller's juke joint geniality and Art Tatum's quick wit into his own persuasive utterances. Cables' searching and intense interpretations use the source material as a jumping-off point for his unique and quirky improvisations, and his writing is more profound and more expressive than ever.