Mark O' Leary / Cuong Vu / Tom Rainey: Waiting

He commences the gala with pensive, Ralph Towner-like twelve-string acoustic guitar voicings on the opening title track. Then Vu follows with dark-toned lines atop Rainey's colorific cymbal swashes. During most of this session, polytonal contrasts play a vital role; the pieces are designed with mood-evoking triads and multidirectional exchanges.

On electric guitar, O'Leary intermittently kicks into full throttle with scorching, rapidly ascending single-note flurries. And when Vu isn't sculpting raspy notes and linear phrases, he injects an ethereal muse into key movements with various EFX-based treatments. O'Leary also delves into the electronics arena with a fusion of sound-shaping sequences and airy background treatments. Yet it's Rainey who fuels the proceedings with snappy off-beats and swiftly generated polyrhythms.

O'Leary blazes forth on "Mr. Krapps Neurosis, where Rainey and Vu soar towards the cosmos, sparking a free-form jazz/rock effect. However, the loose-groove vamp on "Happy Days offers a disparate scenario, awash with odd-metered pulses and counterbalancing riffs by O'Leary and Vu. The guitarist's latest offering boasts great depth and wiliness, seemingly motivated by his ability to venture towards brazen frontiers with self-assurance and monstrous chops.