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.

snobb Irish guitarist Mark O'Leary's "Astral Fishing" isn't avant-garde jazz album as some his previous works. Recorded in Helsinki in collaboration with two Finnish musicians - bassist Teppa Hauta-aho and drummer Olavi Louhivuori - this album contains ambient music,close to Robert Fripp's soundscapes.

Conceptual work is based on Helsinki architecture and described in liner notes as "architectural atmospheric ambience". This city is a place I discovered for myself somewhere in mid-80s and in which I am returning again and again. And it's really great how during his short visit Mark caught city's atmosphere!

Founded in 15 century Helsinki is quite young town (at least comparing with really old towns surrounding it in this part of Europe). It was a tiny place,far provincial corner of Swedish Kingdom for ages, and only in 18 century (when Sweden lost a lot of kingdom's eastern territories after unsuccessful wars with Russia)Helsinki started to grow as military for-post in North-West of Russian Empire). Still town got its recent face after Finland independence from Russia in 1918. Being a typical North European town means a lot of grey stone buildings and lot of water around.Winter time lasts almost half a year, with no sun in the sky week after week. Short and cool summer,nature almost has no bright colors at all. All you see around is not colored by different colors, but by hundred of half-tones of few ascetic basic colors (grey,brown,dark-blue, green - during short summer). Life goes a bit slower than in more southern places and doesn't show emotions in public. But it's far not a sad or depressive place - not at all!

I always reach Helsinki by same way - crossing the Bay Of Finland by ferry from thousand years old Tallinn. Few hours sea-travelling brings me from remembering early ages Tallinn's old town to the heart of Helsinki - lots of small islands and high dark Jugend-style buildings,facing the sea and coming and leaving seaboats. Vibrant open air market with fresh fish and souvenirs for tourists, small square with old cafe,children playing near city's fountain. Neo-classicist quarters are changing with more modern functionalist buildings, and you feel like you're in 30's or 50's, when technical progress and functionality looked like a civilization panacea from all troubles. The world is turned around from that time and what looked like panacea then looks like placebo now. But not in Helsinki.

Atmospheric,cold,liquid,rhytmless sound very slowly flows all album long. It's not dark or depressive, but ascetic, constructionist and has its own beauty, not in hordes,but in half-tones. Album's music is like Helsinki in wintertime - rational,never showing emotions, but optimistic and looking ahead. It's great to see how during his short visit O'Leary found out the spirit of the town!Yes, no mistake - it's true soundtrack to Helsinki's life, with ducks on clear first ice on city's lake, old trams, wooden building of winter botanical garden on the hill near lake with few red tropical flowers - the only bright points around and families,drinking hot coffee from paper cups inside... Just very few years before Robert Fripp recorded great live music one hundred kilometers south from here, in small Haapsalu church on Estonian coast. Similar soundscapes,but of quite different atmosphere - sacral and coming from early ages. O'Leary did in Art Nouveau Helsinki - and it works!

snobb Mark O'Leary is probably Ireland's best known modern jazz/experimental guitarist, travelling around the globe and playing with local musicians. His music covers wide areas such as jazz fusion, experimental improvisational music and Nordic folk songs.

From "Snow" titled album with blue mountain, covered by snow on the cover one can expect Nordic airy jazz with folksy tunes, but that would be a mistake. O'Leary's "Snow" is based on Turkish Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk's novel "Snow", a story about a journalist marooned in a small mountain area town, covered by snow. A story about personal freedom and herd brutality rules, so there is a lot of tension and drama in this album's music.

Recorded during the same Turkish sessions with local jazz trio as O'Leary's previous album, "Live In Istanbul", "Snow" sounds close to its predecessor. Terje Rypdal influenced slow, even lazy processed guitar sounds build ambient soundscapes, filled with ascetic percussion, bass and impressionistic touches of trumpet, scented by minimalist electronic effects. All six compositions sound more like one long soundtrack, full of silent sadness and tension.

Using the same dynamic structure formula as on the previous album - starting from a very laid back music and then increasing tension, sound and drama step by step, "Snow" demonstrates faster changes that makes it more alive and attractive. In combination with the nervous dark atmosphere this music is hardly a nice ambient-related lounge sound, more like the excellent soundtrack to a documentary from this tragedy's place.

js Mark O’Leary is an avant-garde guitarist who has played with a virtual who’s who of other avant-garde artists over the years, and since the beginning of this century, has been turning out a steady stream of recordings under his own name. “Live in Istanbul” features O’Leary fronting a quartet that includes Omer Can Uygen on trumpet and electronics, Murat Copur on bass and electronics and Senoi Kucukyildirim on drums. This recorded concert is split into four sections on the CD, with each section having its own sound and direction, but there is no discernable break between sections, they run together as one long improvised avant-garde jam.

This concert opens with low volume buzzing electronics and metallic sounds with Uygen’s trumpet occasionally floating on top, it sounds like a quiet Stockhausen piece back when his son Marcus would play trumpet with him. As they shift into the second section the drums enter with a quiet shifting abstract post-bop beat recalling Paul Motian. At this point O’Leary unleashes his formidable technique on guitar with a relaxed and distant reverb heavy sound. O’Leary sounds a bit like Terje Rypdal, and when Uygen joins him on trumpet, there is a similarity to Rypdal’s work with Palle Mikkelborg. As we move into section three, the band picks up in intensity, but still seems to have a certain laid back sound along the lines of the old ECM avant-garde sides. Everything breaks down for the last section and the band drops into a quiet exchange of atonal lounge riffs. Again the band builds on this idea before bringing things to a close.

“Live in Istanbul” is not your typical semi-free jazz blowout. Much of this concert is fairly quiet, and even at full tilt this band still seems to keep their cool. If you are looking for abstract free jazz with an almost lounge/chill room sensibility, this is it.