The arrival of the radio.string.quartet.vienna with an unlikely album of compositions from one of the loudest bands in jazz history, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, was like a breath of fresh air in 2007. They quickly discovered that like the fiction writer whose debut novel becomes a big hit, coming up with a follow-up is fraught with problems – which way to go? More of the same? Or a new direction? With Calling You they brought in vocalist Rigmor Gustafsson for a set of Esbjörn Svensson originals and on Radiotree they called on accordionist Klaus Paier to join them, and on both occasions it had the effect of diffusing the intimate and unique sound world they had created for themselves since their guests appeared to intrude into the whole concept of a string quartet, especially one attempting to navigate the often treacherous waters of jazz. With Radiodream they return to the quartet setting, and are all the more impressive for it. With new recruit Igmar Jenner replacing Johannes Dickbauer, this impressive set inspired by Sigmund Freud is in essence a musical expedition into the realm of dreams – “What would a whole night of dreams sound like,” says Bernie Mallinger. Casting their net wide, from Thom Yorke of Radiohead's ‘Nice Dream’, to ‘Strange Fruit’ to Liszt's ‘Liebestraum’ to Mancini's ‘Moon River’ and a version of ‘I Loves You, Porgy’ inspired by Keith Jarrett's version from his moving The Melody, the Night, With You plus nine well conceived originals, this album has the feel of a minor masterpiece from start to finish. RSQV bring precision, polish and depth through the wide range of sounds they draw from their instruments through a variety of bowing techniques as well as plucking the strings that achieve a surprisingly effective percussive effect and they do it all without once losing the essence of jazz feeling rooted in swing. This is vital, interesting and absorbing band is one of the “must see” ensembles in European jazz today.