Grid Mesh - Coordinates (FMR, 2010) ****½

Musical quality is often the result of a focused common vision on the musical project by the artists involved. This trio manages to do exactly that to the extreme: even if their universe is unusual and full of adventurous soundscapes, the coherence of the music is phenomenal, in the same vein as "Dans Les Arbres", albeit less weird, yet only by a little notch. The trio is Frank Paul Schubert on alto and soprano saxophone, Andreas Willers on electric guitar, and Rudi Fischerlehner on drums and percussion.

The music switches mood quite often, from light, open music, full of surprise and wonder : like a kitten watching a butterfly fly by, or like a baby enjoying its shadow, to the other side of the spectrum : intense and dark, full of emotions of distress and anguish. To their credit, they bring lots of variation without going too far from their basic musical concept : it can be jazzy, noisy, sweet improv, even with skronk guitar or fusion-like soloing, the end result is pretty unique. Some pieces are absolutely staggering, like the soft opening track "Shiva Attempting To Board", or the agonizing and nightmarish central piece, "Wooden Space", or the minimalist "Watertown, Waiting", and if the other pieces are not of the same superb level, they are not far below.

Quite adventurous stuff and a great listening experience.

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