In the early 1990s, Broun Fellinis embodied the best of San Francisco's thriving acid jazz scene. At clubs like Bruno's and Cafe Du Nord, the protean trio honed a swirling melange of dub and funk, prog rock and drum 'n' bass, Afrobeat and hip-hop, all laced together with jazz's improvisational imperative.

It's a bit ballsy to call an album visionary in this age of hyper-recycling but San Francisco's Broun Fellinis are just that on their new seasonal offering, December (Stylus Quo). This is like the John Coltrane Quartet's softly brilliant Ballads shot with a PixelVision camera.

Probably the Bay Area's best example of jazz edging toward psychedelia, the Broun Fellinis were firm endorsers of the term "Afro-futurism" long before it became trendy.

The album explores territory from mellow to fierce, moving from avant-garde jazz through funked-up dance floor grooves and into hypnotic chill-out. At the forefront of the Fellinis' sound, David Boyce's saxophone brings the spirit of '60s improv jazz to the group, his full-bodied tone drawing inspiration from players such as John Coltrane and Archie Shepp.

Early one Wednesday night at the Elbo Room, the "metabopilicious" groove of the Broun Fellinis is just beginning to "phlow." Sounding more like a funky, abstract translation of a Kandinsky canvas than like a standard jazz trio, the hypnotic "broun soun" has managed to enthrall a fickle San Francisco audience every week at the club for the past seven years (a remarkable feat in any town).

The Fellinis -- the street-jazz trio that has rocked the Mission District club since early 1993 -- formed Broundation, a nonprofit wing designed to share the band's success with the community. Every month, the Elbo Room gives up a night for a Broundation show.