THE TRIO PROJECT: SPARK

Hiromi is an incredibly gifted pianist and songwriter. This is her tenth studio solo release and her fourth with this killer trio that also includes Anthony Jackson (bass) and Simon Phillips (drums). What makes this different from any other jazz trio is that Hiromi sprinkles influences of Latin, blues, pop, rock, classical, and R&B throughout her music. Her playing can be fierce, delicate, emotional and all out shredding on one song. Simon's rock influence and Anthony's spot on playing carry the music to greater heights than could be achieved with any other musicians. Standout tracks for me are "Spark" ? a progressive jazz monster that sounds more like a fireball than a spark (this tune cooks), "In a Trance" has many different sections that work well together and an excellent drum solo to boot, and I love how Hiromi tinkles the chords (in a Monkish dissonant off-beat way) on the exquisite and calming "Indulgence".

The audio on this is pristine and in this age of crappy recording/mastering this stands out as a breath of fresh air; a reference disc of how it should be done. The drums sound like you are in the same room with Simon, the cymbals shimmer and decay as they should, the bass is fat and punchy and the piano has power - kudos to Michael Bishop for the fantastic engineering work. Overall, this is a great release that any music fan should enjoy.