When Orrin Evans was making records for Criss Cross in the late-1990s, you always felt there was potentially something very different to other pianists of the period in his approach. For some time he didn't make many leader dates, but a while ago Posi-Tone signed him and albums by his big band and, most recently, last year's excellent Freedom set showed that he was still a vital, positive creative force. (His own label TarBaby projects meanwhile showed how adventurous – even edgy – he had become). Flip the Script is the follow up to Freedom and is arguably even better, and you can see why the label has rush-released it. It is possibly the darkest record he's made to date. The stumbling, rumbling, harmonically challenging, somewhat Monkish ‘Question’ by Orrin's TarBaby bassist Eric Revis is only the first of a diverse set of mainly originals, six by Evans, each with a character of its own. ‘Clean House’, very up-tempo, mixes metre and melodies cleverly, with a repeated long riff-laden fade over an Edwards drum solo. The even faster title track, with its spacious rhythm vamps and Bud Powell-ish piano solo, is followed by the almost funereal theme of ‘When’, with an introverted contemplative Evans solo backed by mallets. You could just about hear a penny drop at the end! The slow bluesy funk of ‘Big Small’ features (as by Ben Wolfe before Evans enters with a timeless but harmonically different, down and dirty solo. Later, ‘TC's Blues’, is by contrast, a highly complex, twotempo affair, with interesting charges, with a wistful Wolfe solo before Evans returns with a dazzling outburst. ‘The Answer’ has alternating stages of child-like melodic innocence and hard swing. The three covers are equally striking. Luther Vandross’ ‘Brand New Day’ develops into energetic swing. ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’, completely reharmonised and almost unrecognisable at times, is taken at an ultra-sensitive slow tempo and the closing heartfelt tribute to ‘Soul Train’ presenter Don Cornelius, Gamble and Huff's legendary theme ‘The Sound of Philadelphia’ ends a simply superb record by a pianist who (dare it be said?) deserves as much attention as, say, Vijay Iyer or Jason Moran.