George Cables at the piano
Photo by Roberto Cifarelli CABLES IN CONCERT Composer and pianist George Cables, now 80, first performed in Healdsburg in 1995, 30 years ago. He will play with Essiet Essiet and Jerome Jennings on Aug. 2-3 at The 222.

There were doubters aplenty when art curator Paul Mahder hatched a plan to turn his double-Quonset gallery at 222 Healdsburg Ave., which he had opened in 2013, into a performance space. After all, the city had an annual jazz festival already, and a venue in the Raven Theater that staged not only drama but music—how much appetite would there be for another?

Apparently, more than enough.

The nonprofit “The 222: Healdsburg Performing Arts” was established in 2019, but not until August 2021 was its first public program offered: a concert by piano legend George Cables, presented by Jessica Felix. So it’s with a sense of rebirth that Cables is once again the season opener for this, The 222’s fifth full year of offering performance art in Healdsburg.

“In spite of government and state funding cutbacks for the arts, The 222 with the support from our local community is forging ahead with an even more robust fifth season,” Mahder told the Tribune by email. “We have over 200 events this season, including 9 theatre productions—a big expansion for us, more than any Bay Area company—with something of interest for everyone…” 

Cables Connection

The return to Healdsburg of Cables is especially poignant for Felix, one of 20 programmers who help produce and promote the venue’s many events. Off the record, she recalled meeting Cables in the early 1980s at the Keystone Korner; they’ve been constant friends since.  

“George is a real trooper, you know. He was the first person that I had to play jazz here in Healdsburg, on Jan. 14, 1995—I remember it was my brother’s birthday,” Felix said. That concert was held at the former Dancing Goat coffee house at 324 Center St. (the current location of Black Oak Coffee, while the Dancing Goat has since become the Flying Goat).

Cables has had multiple health challenges over the years which would debilitate a less committed man, but the pianist and composer recently celebrated his 80th birthday and got the old band together and is coming back to town.

Cables will appear with his trio, bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer Jerome Jennings. They play twice—the season opening party at 6pm on Saturday, Aug. 2, complete with champagne reception and hors d’oeuvres, and again at 7pm on Sunday, Aug. 3.

“He’s just amazing,” Felix said. “It’s not easy for him to do all this, but he’s so dedicated to playing and he loves to play so much.”

Interior of The 222
TABLE SETTING Audiences for performances at The 222 are seated in a club atmosphere at small, candle-lit tables. Seen here is Gerald Clayton during the 2022 season.

Jazz Plus

The 222 uses several other programmers, such as Gary McLaughlin for classical music, Sanford Dole for choral, Eleanor Nichols for film and Aldo Billingslea for theater, among others. So Cables isn’t the only jazz artist in the new 222 program for 2025-26: Alan Broadbent and Harvie S return to town on Sept. 6, Malian performers Awa Sangho and Yacouba also play in September, a Bobby Hutcherson homage takes place in December (with the celebrated jazz vibraharpist’s son Barry leading the tribute) as well as several others.

But such is the diversity and sheer quantity of shows at The 222 in the coming 10 months, until June 2026, that the jazz offerings only scratch the surface. Just in the next two months, events include a poetry workshop in the Japanese Zoka style with Dave Seter; the black comedy Laundry and Bourbon by James McLure, staged live for two weekends; classical pianist Henry Kramer playing Haydn and Debussy on the 222’s Yamaha CFX nine-foot concert grand piano; plus the little-seen film Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, a literary conversation about John Muir, a Mozart “pocket opera” …

The idea should be clear by now. Variety is not just the spice but the flavor that The 222 delivers throughout its performance year.

The new program for The 222 has been posted as a flip-through digital doc on the website for about a month, but now the 60-page perfect-bond full-color version is available by walk-in at Paul Mahder Gallery, 222 Healdsburg Ave.

More information about upcoming programming is available at the222.org

Previous articlePlanning Commission looking for applicants
Christian Kallen has called Healdsburg home for over 30 years, and has worked in journalism since the Santa Cruz Good Times was started. After a career as a travel writer and media producer, he started reporting locally in 2008, moving from Patch to most other papers in Sonoma County before joining the Healdsburg Tribune in 2022.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here