If the bass guitar-led solo album has been cursed since its emergence in the mid-1980s by the diminishing returns of ever-increasing technical dexterity and ever-decreasing artistic or emotional content, then happily Gary Willis is the exception that proves the rule. Way above your average post-Jaco clone, an influence who still looms large some 25 years after his death, the now fiftysomething Willis has nothing left to prove, forging his own distinctive sound with a formative stint with Wayne Shorter (both live and on Phantom Navigator) and more pertinently his own hard-hitting cult fusion foursome, Tribal Tech.

With the latter quartet firing back into action with the release of last year's X, it was Willis' surging fretless bass work that was the core force on that energised set, and here he continues his current run of form with a compelling, back-to-basics ‘electric piano’ trio set. Now resident in Barcelona, moving to find more gigs outside of the US and take a teaching post at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya conservatory, he's teamed up with the fiery pairing of Catalan keys man Bover and Budapest-born drummer Borlai, who match the bassist's stream of ideas blow for blow. Modal opener ‘Change Agent’ sets out its stall with open modulating chords and a laid back groove, a perfect launch pad for Willis' keening sustained notes that often take on a vocalised, singing quality, before exploding into some fast and fluid sax-like lines. It's not long before the threesome's artful barrage of high-end technique kicks in, but what saves this from overkill is the group's ability to ramp up the frenetic levels of interactivity before dropping back to almost nothing. Stretching out on funk, swing and ballad originals – plus wonderfully airy takes on The Beatles' ‘Norwegian Wood’ and Milton Nascimento's melancholic ‘Tarde’ – Retro rates among Willis' finest work, and showcases a swaggering power-trio tempered by intelligence and taste.