Pete Malinverni has become appreciated worldwide as an important voice on the Jazz Piano scene. Best-known for his trio work, "The Spirit" is Malinverni's only quartet date, recorded in 1995 at Rudy Van Gelder Studios. The album features the tenor saxophonist Ralph Lalama and it is the last recording of master drummer Mel Lewis before his untimely death. Along with covers of two standards, "The Spirit" features several Malinverni originals bearing the trademark stamp of his creative compositional style.