MARK O'LEARY — Waves III (with Jeff Gauthier & Alex Cline) (review)

MARK O'LEARY — Waves III (with Jeff Gauthier & Alex Cline) album cover Album · 2011 · Avant-Garde Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
snobb
"Waves III" is the third album from Irish guitarist Mark O'Leary's "Californian" series of recordings. The first two were released in 2007 ("Signs" on English fmr records, and the quite popular "On The Shore" on the Portuguese Clean Feed label). It took four more years until these recorded materials were prepared for release in Cork'c Hub Studio.

Different from O'Leary's more recent works, this 2011 release contains experimental jazz, not ambient. Two of Mark's collaborators in this trio are well-known West Coast jazz musicians; electric violinist Jeff Gauthier and drummer Alex Cline (twin brother of guitarist Nels Cline). Both of them (together with above mentioned Nels) are the main power of the renowned Jeff Gauthier Goatette.

This album's music contains slow repetitive processed guitar sounds and seascapes beautifully arranged by aerial, near classical percussion and sensitive violin. The guitar often sounds close to keyboards, building the compositions atmospheric body while the electric violin's voice-like soloing (and some sound effects time to time) input life in all of the musical constructions. From nature's beautiful soundscapes, the music moves to a more dramatic mood, sounding almost like a church organ. All of this album's music is influenced by classic music: sometimes in almost invisible touches, and other times - as the main composition's theme. I believe this musical trio has found a great balance between ambient liquidity, classical emotionalism and the modernity of improvisational experimentalism. As a result, the whole album sounds various, beautiful and quite unpredictable, which is a rare case in the world of ambient-related music.
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