THE TRIO PROJECT: SPARK

The latest album from Hiromi Uehara's Trio Project largely finds the keyboard wizard continuing at what she does best - offering up technically adept, hooky jazz-fusion piano pieces with good command of mood and atmosphere. Gentler moments also get in here and there, with Wake Up and Dream being a particularly peaceful solo number. Simon Phillips gets some reasonable drum solos in on the title track and In a Trance, but isn't outright obnoxious about it so I'm inclined to let it slide. Though I prefer the earlier Trio Project releases somewhat, Spark still demonstrates that there's some creative juice left in the tank, though I can't put hand on heart and say that I don't think a lineup revision or expansion wouldn't help shake things up nicely.