Mark O'Leary 2

Mark O’Leary is a Cork born Guitarist, Author, Artist, Composer, Video producer and Electronic Music composer.

He was educated at Musicians Institute in Los Angeles where his class mates included John Frusciante.

In the early-mid 1990’s, Mark O’Leary had the privilege of teaching music and guitar to 2024 Academy Award winning best actor, Cillian Murphy which was instrumental in his primordial and epistemelogical development as a musican and actor.

Since, he has performed in over 30 countries and worked with some of the main voices in contemporary music culminating in touring Europe as a member of Paul Bley’s last trio. 

Mark was featured on the cover of the most widely circulated periodical in the Munster region, the ‘’Hollybough’’ at two years of age. As Chrissy Murray in Jazzwise Magazine alluded to in an article, ”Mark O’Leary, Ireland’s best kept secret.” 

Mark performed with Louis Stewart at eighteen and was invited to become a full time member of Louis embryonic jazz combo the “Five Guitars”.

He also performed with several of Ireland’s leading Jazz artists as well as teaching guitar and performing in a multitude of diverging groups, including the innovative Mark O’Leary Trio, which performed Pop, Rock, Fusion, Jazz and Free Jazz. 

Mark was actively involved in the Cork music scene of the late eighties to early nineties, the apex of which was a concert project as a member of the Kenny Wheeler quartet, performing Wheeler’s austere, stirring compositions, the aesthetic which highly influenced Mark’s future compositions.

He has also worked with former members of Thin Lizzy, Jonny Greenwood’s band and performed in Duo with Tomasz Stanko in the Titanic bar, the final sailing destination of the RMS Titanic and in several successful concerts with iconic Norwegian drummer Jon Christensen and in trio with King Crimson/Yes/Bruford drummer, Bill Bruford and in concert project in trio with Peter Erskine and Palle Danielsson. He has also performed with all the members of the iconic Ganelin group.

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