George Cables at The Firefly
BY LARS BJORN
The veteran pianist George Cables played the Firefly Club in Ann Arbor on February 9 and I was privileged to catch the second set.
 Cables is a master of the keyboard with superb technique and his own conception of the standard repertoire. His treatment of "Round Midnight" was a veritable tour de force. In a  long free-tempo solo introduction he passed through what seemed like every conceivable harmonic take on Monk's best known standard. He did so with stunning runs and abeautiful touch. The full trio joined in as he elegantly segued into "I Mean You." Another personal statement of a standard was a playful version of "I Thought About You."
On his own "Spookarella," Cables was generous with the space given to his accompanists, Kurt Krahnke on bass and Sean Dobbins on drums. I have seen the two work together well in a number of local groups and they handled the challenge of playing with one of the masters with great aplomb. Krahnke's walking was as solid as ever and Dobbins was tasteful, yet driving with brushes as well as sticks. Let us hope they get a chance to play with Cables on future gigs.
photographs by Lars Bjorn
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