Even savvy jazz fans may be puzzled upon first hearing the beautifully sparse and melodic “Sky and Country,” the second record by the trio Fly. While detecting a musical difference, listeners may not at first pinpoint what specifically makes the combination of bassist Larry Grenadier, saxophonist Mark Turner and drummer Jeff Ballard stand out from more traditional groups. However, when Fly launches the 2009 Athenaeum Jazz at The Neurosciences Institute spring concert series this Saturday, the audience will likely notice fewer exchanges of show-off solos and a more unified musicianship, with the trio members deeply in tune with each other, literally and figuratively. “It’s like tossing a ball around or having an intense conversation with more than one person,” said Ballard, describing the trio’s interaction. “It’s like a team riding in the Tour de France, each member taking turns taking the lead or offering total support to the one who is in front at the moment… this is not a sax-led trio; it is a collective trio, a pure democratic music group.” In 2004, Fly made a promising area debut in the Athenaeum Jazz at the Studio series in San Diego’s University Heights, around the time of its first album. Ballard and Grenadier are also two-thirds of the acclaimed Brad Mehldau Trio and each have collaborated with Pat Metheny and Danilo Perez, among many others. Turner, now recovered from a post-recording power-saw accident last November that damaged his left hand, has garnered much praise over the years for making his tenor saxophone’s higher registers sound especially sweet and clean. He also has performed with pianist Mehldau, as well as guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, drummer Paul Motian and San Diego’s sax master, James Moody. Fly’s three versatile members have created a special dynamic, partly because they’ve been friends for years — Californians Grenadier and Ballard hooking up in the early 1980s, heading to the East Coast and meeting New York-based Turner in 1990 — and partly because the group doesn’t have one leader. “What three people make together as a team adds up to something more than the three,” Ballard said via email. “Maybe more than if it’s just one leader, with the band supporting him or her… When the music is equally and fluidly juxtaposed alongside of itself, pointing back towards and relating to itself in equal parts, where everything is connecting and contributing equally, it gets very deep.” “Sky and Country,” which was released last month, leads off with two Ballard tunes, including the title track, and has two Grenadier and four Turner compositions. This second Fly effort is an ECM release, so the trio worked with the label’s legendary Manfred Eicher. “Manfred is a very hands-on producer, offering ideas, trying to see what else the songs had to offer,” Ballard said. “The man has been doing this for many, many years and that experience showed. It was great working with him. I look forward to doing that some more.” Another experienced musical veteran with whom Ballard worked was Ray Charles. In the late ’80s, Ballard was the drummer in the late R&B star’s touring band. “Ray Charles taught me something about completeness in playing,” Ballard said. “For him, it was like playing a song for the very first time, and it felt, too, like it could be the very last time, because of the crucial importance he placed on every aspect of playing. “It is being fully in the moment. And that moment was on fire with Ray… and that was every time we played! That example made me realize the importance of consistency and the tremendous importance of hearing and knowing every little nuance in the music.” This seems to have rubbed off nicely on Ballard. Turner and Grenadier share with him that knowledge of nuance and the importance of hearing each other, which should make the performance of Fly an aural treat. Fly starts off this year’s Athenaeum Jazz at The Neurosciences Institute series on Saturday, April 18 at 8 p.m. The Neurosciences Institute is at 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive. Tickets for the series are $69 for Athenaeum members and $84 for non-members. Single tickets are $25 for members and $30 for non-members. For tickets, call (858) 454-5872; for more information, go to www.ljathenaeum.org.