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Mark O'Leary Irish Examiner Article Mark it down for Ireland’s jazz genius MARK O’LEARY has been described by Jazzwise Magazine as “Ireland’s best-kept secret” and “as both composer and player, the most creative jazz guitarist in the country”. He has attracted a string of international luminaries of contemporary and improvisational jazz to this country. For his latest concert series, he will be joined by Mats Eden and Anders Kjellberg in an eclectic mixture of Contemporary Jazz Improvisation and Swedish folk music. Last July, as a direct consequence of two concerts with pianist and giant of jazz innovation Paul Bley, O’Leary was invited to become part of The Paul Bley Trio for a concert series in Italy, Switzerland, France, Holland, Spain and Germany. They appeared at the La Villette Festival in Paris, The North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague and The Bayerischerhof in Munich. “The Paris and Munich concerts, in particular, were highlights for me, ” O’Leary says. “All the major guys from the States were there but we were the band to watch. Audiences gave me the stage. It was incredible, an unbelievable experience.” During that three week tour, O’Leary took time out to play two concerts in Poland using connections he had made through another former Cork visitor, renowned trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, and with financial assistance from Cement Roadstone Holdings. Last month, he travelled to the US for appearances at New York’s Tonic Jazz Club and The Kennedy Centre in Washington DC. For the latter, he was joined by Matt Shipp (piano) and Mat Maneri (violin and viola). It’s accessible on the Internet, as is an earlier January 2000 Kennedy Centre performance. Visit kennedycentre.org and follow the links. Why did Paul Bley choose O’Leary to work with him, taking the coveted place formerly filled by inspirational guitar figures such as Bill Frisell, John Abercrombie and Bill Connors? “I was originally recommended by Steve Swallow and Paul told me that he’d been particularly impressed by my technique and the originality of my music. He said that the best guitarists he’d heard around the New York clubs didn’t have that quality.” “Over the past three or four years, I’ve been moving away from mainstream jazz, exploring Nordic and European folk music. It’s got more space, more room to create and explore different ideas and territories. I’ve been fortunate that most of the major Scandinavian jazz innovators have come to Cork to perform with me and The Norwegian Foreign Ministry have helped make that possible. Going one step further and playing with Scandinavian folk musicians complements what I’ve already done.” Last year, accomplished Norwegian Hardanger fiddler Nils Økland joined O’Leary in Cork. Now it’s the turn of Mats Eden, a contemporary of Økland’s, who plays viola, violin and drone fiddle. One of Sweden’s premier folk/contemporary musicians, university lecturer and composer, his style is an eclectic mix of folk from western Sweden, contemporary Jazz, Indian and Fusion. Anders Kjellberg is one of Scandinavia’s premier percussionists. He has featured on many of the top contemporary jazz recording labels, and as sideman with Don Cherry, Bobo Stenson, Lars Jansson, Andres Jormin and Okay Temiz, among others. The concert series visits Nenagh Library on February 22 for a lunchtime Concert, Waterford Jazz Club at Greatfriars Church on that night and Cork’s Half Moon Theatre on February 24. Paul Dromey |
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