This avant garde instrumental jazz trio consists of Frank Paul Schubert - alto & soprano saxophone; Kazuhisa Uchihashi - e-guitar, electronics; and Klaus Kugel - drums, gongs. 'Black Holes Are Hard To Find' appears to be the first collaboration between these notable European and Japanese musicians, an album of 7 instrumental tracks in 73 minutes. Opening with "Needle's Eye," Uchihashi provides some gentle chords (at first) backing Schubert's sweetly riffing sax while Kugel fills in the gaps with mild percussion. It isn't long before things turn chaotic, the guitar wails right along with the sax and Kugel roils over his kit urging the others on to a caterwauling state that mellows like a melting candle in its conclusion. The titular track sounds like mewling kittens at first, but it isn't long before it turns into a psychedelic cat-fight. Damn, that's wild! It does get beyond the fighting stage turning spacey and riffy at the same time. Uchihashi throws in a bit of syncopated pizzicato to keep things interesting causing Schubert to expand on it and now we have a swingin' tune!

"Explosive Past" is somewhat fragmented and sounds at first like a camping trip on an alien planet. (Gotta love that electronic cricket!) It turns out to be somewhat of a fever dream that meanders all over the map into unexpected terrain. Some of Uchihashi's guitar stylings reminded me of Fripp's more avant garde playing. "Internal Structure" didn't seem to have any, and both the calm and the chaos were completely lost on me. I liked "New KInd Of Terrain" because FP was exploring tonguing and trilling techniques he hadn't quite unleashed on this album yet. It is episodically experimental but doesn't devolve into total chaos until the end. There is an aura of mystery running through "Additional Rendezvous" and it is perhaps the least contentious piece on the album. It sounds like a theremin was used on "Supersonic Interaction," the final track on the album but it just could have been a stray oscillator. Kazuhisa seems to be given a bit more time to stretch out on this piece and he really sets the tone for it. While Schubert's saxes always seem to take the lead, it's nice to hear someone else controlling the vibe now and then. It's a very controlled sort of cacophony that ends this piece, and consequently, 'Black Holes Are Hard To Find' When these guys are in sync, they're magic, but sometimes they struggle to find their footing. You know just once I'd like to hear a free jazz ensemble take a standard with a few bars "as written" then deconstruct the hell out of it. Not here, maybe next time.