Orrin Evans is a young pianist and composer, well known for his work in the Captain Black Big Band and his solo work as a leader. On this trio album, he is accompanied by Ben Wolfe on bass and Donald Edwards drums. There are echoes of past masters like Andrew Hill and McCoy Tyner on this album, but Evans is definitely his own man and his own spirit and vision shines through on this recording. “Question” opens the recording with the trio achieving a bright uptempo sound of rippling piano over taught bass and drums. Strong Tyner-ish piano is the hallmark of “Clean House” where Evans’ muscular piano offsets a subtle dynamism that pervades the music. The deep nature of the music continues on “Flip the Script” where strong dark chords mix with propulsive bass and drums to make a fast and potent brew. The highlight of the album for me was the storming composition “A Brand New Day” which shows the trio firing on all cylinders. Strength, speed and power all come together here in a very potent performance. Another excellent performance was “T.C.’s Blues” which has a dynamic start-stop feel with strong piano and drums buoyed by by elastic bass with space for self-expression.
Tag: Ben Wolfe
SomethingElse Reviews on Orrin Evans “Flip the Script”…
With a new album release imminent, the productive, peaking pianist Orrin Evans again demands our attention with another bread-and-butter trio event, named Flip The Script. Supported this time Ben Wolfe (bass) and Donald Edwards (drums), Evans produces a no-nonsense program of mostly originals with a few choice covers in another solid outing for this product of Philly.
Flip The Script isn’t a sharp departure or great leap forward from his recent works, but that’s because his recent fare has been uniformly superb. What I can detect with this go around is that his focus is sharper than ever, with each track an entity onto itself, not a single one feeling as if he’s going through the motions. There’s also a conciseness you can’t miss: all but three of the ten selections run less than five minutes, a veritable sprint for improvisational jazz. The long tracks don’t go on much further than that.
As for Orrin’s playing style, the way I portrayed it for the Faith In Action is still appropriate: “The direct way Evans attacks the keys, the playful way his right hand plays a cat and mouse game with the left, and an eccentric portrayal of the blues tradition, Evans effectively evokes the specter of (Thelonious Monk).” There are attention-grabbing little eccentricities, but mostly in the abrupt tempo changes on cuts such as “Question,” “Flip The Script” and especially “TC’s Blues,” a three-part mini-suite that maintains his trio’s strong commitment to swing throughout the changes.
Even on a bouncy, highly melodic tune such as “A Brand New Day” (see YouTube below) Evans is stretching it out to a spritely modern jazz song. However, “Clean House” is the track to go for to hear Evans and his little band cook with intensity, and the “Answer” is not far behind.
The softer numbers portray another side of Evans, one who is as capable of grace and impressionistic motifs as another Evans: Bill. On “When” he sprinkles out notes like a gardener watering his flowers, and takes a blues tact for “Big Small,” working effectively with Wolfe, who lumbers around authoritatively for his bass solo. Evans’ melancholic portrayal of “Someday My Prince Will Come” creatively turns the song inside out into a minor chord dirge, virtually indistinguishable from the other versions, but very appealing in its own way.
The album ends on a somber note: a quiet, solo piano take on “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia),” a farewell to the just-deceased Soul Train impresario Don Cornelius. This early theme song to the show is also a salute to Evans’ hometown and the brilliant song craft of composers Gamble & Huff, who wrote this first #1 disco song with a very endearing melody with which Evans slowly entangles himself.
More than any of his other recent outings, Orrin Evans poured in heaping doses of his heart as well as his head in making Flip The Script. Evans is obviously not content to rest on his laurels, making yet another record that tops his prior ones.
Peter Margasak previews Orrin Evans “Flip the Script” for the Chicago Reader…
For nearly two decades Philadelphia’s Orrin Evans has been one of the most reliable, impressive, and overlooked pianists in postbop. He’s not a revolutionary, but his music always pushes forward while embracing the best of the past. Thelonious Monk, Herbie Nichols, and Elmo Hope all inform his charged, lucid playing, but he also embraces hip-hop and soul without compromising the rigor of his improvisations. He’s a founding member of the excellent Tarbaby—with drummer Nasheet Waits and bassist Eric Revis, who share his broad sensibilities and quiet progressivism—and his latest recording is with his own steely trio, which features bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Donald Edwards. Today’s 12 O’Clock Track, “Big Small,” is a blues from the excellent new Flip the Script (due June 12 on Posi-Tone), which also includes a solo interpretation of the MFSB classic “The Sound of Philadelphia.” There’s no missing the overtones of Monk, Duke Ellington, and Randy Weston, but the way Evans complements the halting groove with his wonderfully jagged phrasing and angular lines is all his own.
Orrin Evans “Flip the Script” gets a mention on the i dig jazz blog…
Jazz piano player Orrin Evans has never received the press his peers Jason Moran and Cyrus Chestnut have. Evans, a swing savvy musician, deserves the same attention. To support that opinion, I point to Evans’ new trio album “Flip the Script,” which Posi-Tone Records will release the 12th of June. Evans plays mostly originals, and he tosses in “Someday My Prince Will Come” and Luther Vandross’ “A Brand New Day”. On fast tempo numbers such as “Clean House” and “Flip The Script,” Evans sounds like bop icon Bud Powell, zooming through the changes. Throughout his career, Evans has consistently put out stellar jazz albums.
Step Tempest reviews Orrin Evans “Flip the Script”…
Pianist-composer Orrin Evans makes music that can be confrontational, hard-edged, and vigorous yet has a melodic side that, like Charles Mingus, allows his pieces to go in many and varied directions. Evans has released a series of CDs on Posi-Tone Records that displays his many talents, from the forceful Captain Black Big Band to the trenchant sounds of Tar Baby (with the dynamic rhythm section of bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits) to his celebration of Philadelphia on “Freedom” to his tribute to saxophonist Bobby Watson on “Faith in Action.” His new CD, “Flip The Script“, leans more towards the aggressive (in a good sense) nature of Tar Baby, thanks (in part) to the work of bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Donald Edwards. Evans, to me, is a 21st Century Jaki Byard, someone who knows his history, understands the roots of jazz and is not a slave to tradition. At times, I hear the influence of Bud Powell in the forward motion of his solos (especially on the faster songs.) And, on ballads, such as “Someday My Prince Will Come“, there is a “painterly” touch to his delicate phrases, a sensitivity that embraces the quiet side.
Like Byard, all music is fair game to Evans. There is an elegiac solo piano reading of “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)”, the theme of “Soul Train” composed by the hit-making machine of Gamble & Huff. Although there is nothing in the notes, this bluesy and touching piece has to be a dedication to the late Don Cornelius. The Trio dances through a hard-bop adaptation of Luther Vandross’s “A Brand New Day“, with Wolfe’s furious “walking” bass and Edward’s percussive barrage driving the pianist forward. The title track barrels forward with Evans matching the intensity level of the rhythm section while creating memorable melodic lines. “Big Small” is an original blues tune, thick piano chords and short melodic phrases over the rock-solid bass lines and Edward’s fine drum work (he sounds as if he’s talking back to the piano during Evans’ solo.)
“Flip The Script” might just refer to a concept in which a person gives equal weight to the good and bad things in his life and chooses to take a positive attitude. Not easy for a musician to make his or her way through the world yet there is so much creativity to be found, not only in the world of jazz but also in classical, hip hop and folk. Orrin Evans creates music that can make you dance, make you sit back and get lost in the quiet melodies; it should make you see that there are so many possibilities if you allow your creativity to flow.
Bruce Lindsay reviews Orrin Evans “Flip the Script”…
In the wrong hands, the contemporary piano trio can sound like a retread of piano trios since the dawn of popular music. In the right hands it remains a potent force: exciting, engaging, full of imagination and capable of flights of invention. The hands of Orrin Evans are the right hands. The Philadelphia-born pianist is approaching 20 years as a recording artist and, by the sound of Flip The Script, he’s in one of his most creative periods to date.
Evans’ other projects include the Captain Black Big Band—whose eponymous 2011 Posi-Tone debut was a full-on big band blowout—and Tarbaby, a small band with an edgier, darker, sound whose End Of Fear (Posi-Tone) was one of 2010’s finest releases. Flip The Script is a more straight-ahead recording, but it still shines with an inventiveness and an emotional directness, heightened through the strong interplay between Evans, bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Donald Edwards.
Much of the music on Flip The Script is characterized by a high-energy drive, with tunes such as “Clean House” and “Flip The Script” utilizing a fast-paced, aggressive and breathtaking approach. “The Answer” shares the drive of the faster numbers, thanks especially to Edwards’ drums, but the pace is reduced a little on this swinging tune.
The slower tunes are equally inspiring: speed and strength give way to control and emotional engagement from all three players to form a set of resonant and powerful melodies. “Big Small” is a very slow blues on which Evans’ percussive lines and Wolfe’s fat, lowdown, tones contrast with Edwards’ lighter patterns. “When” is more downbeat—a romantic, flowing, ballad.
Evans includes four contrasting cover versions. The slightly fractured rhythms and repeated phrases of “Question,” by Tarbaby bassist Eric Revis, give the tune a strong bebop feel as well as a sense of fun. Evans invests “Someday My Prince Will Come” with a bluesy mood, an air of uncertainty that eschews the swing and optimism of Dave Brubeck or Bill Evans’ versions to hark back to the tune’s first appearance on the soundtrack of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs(1937).
Two soul tunes also put in an appearance. Luther Vandross’ “A Brand New Day” swings strongly, Edwards and Wolfe driving the rhythm as Evans opens up with hard-hitting but melodic piano. Evan’s solo performance of Gamble and Huff’s “The Sound Of Philadelphia” (the theme tune toSoul Train) is exquisite. Another slow, almost funereal, tempo finds Evans exploring new avenues within the song, drawing out a reflective melancholy, a longing for times past, that is genuinely affecting.
Evans already has an exceptionally strong discography, so to describe Flip The Script as one of his finest is to give it high praise indeed, which is exactly what it deserves. It’s going to take a lot of pushing and shoving to get Flip The Script out of the 2012 Best Of lists.
Sounds of Timeless Jazz reviews Orrin Evans “Flip the Script”…
Flip The Script
Orrin Evans
Pianist Orrin Evans’ Flip the Scriptis a confident display of his trio’s musical interplay that features bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Donald Edwards on ten great tracks. This straight-ahead session offers some daring swing, audacious hard-bop, and forward-thinking avant-garde improvisations in an evocative program. The recording includes six of Evans’ original compositions and four unique covers including “Question,” by the GRAMMYAward-winning bassist/composer Eric Revis, Luther Vandross’ “Brand New Day,” (from the Broadway musical The Wiz), “Someday My Prince Will Come,” and Gamble/Huff’s “The Sound of Philadelphia.”
The set opens with Eric Revis’ “Question,” a composition that references several elements of Thelonious Monk’s work but is a priceless vehicle for Evans’ creative piano chops. This set really burns and sets the tone for the entire recording. Next the trio finds more creativity in Evans’ own “Clean House” in which they mine their souls for more stunning straight-ahead success. “Flip The Script” is a daring work of genius that reveals Evans’ self-assured piano playing and compositional integrity. It is an example of what today’s jazz pianists should strive for when attempting to connect with their audiences. This piece is brilliant. By contrast, the quiet simplicity of “When” shows Evans’ introspective side and is a thing of pure beauty.
The transcription of “Brand New Day” has a free-spirited, joyful arrangement for piano while Evans’ unique and refreshing cover of “Someday My Prince Will Come” has an abundance of exploratory highlights that help to redefine his version. Overall, this recording is among Orrin Evans’ best work and should be in your jazz collection right alongside other great piano trios. Buy Flip The Script today.
The first review is in for Orrin Evans “Flip the Script”…
In the days of the digital download and advanced ordering of new releases there are some records simply too good to wait for – this is one.
When we last heard from Orrin Evans the release was Freedom. Evans pays homage to some of the Philly greats that influenced his sound and fueled his passion. Now we have Flip The Script which is simply Evans not reinventing the musical wheel or tossing out the stereotypical release of standards in an attempt for a quick and easy payday. Flip The Script is a brilliant and in some ways semi-autobiographical release highlighting the prolific talents of a pianist that may be still flying under some listeners radar.
Evans is a man of passion and there is some interesting back story as to the original intent of the release. Never wavering from his stand on certain aspects of the industry is certainly admirable and in some ways a driving force behind this intoxicating release but in this case the music simply outshines anything else related to this story. One standard, three older Evans tunes never recorded and three brand new tunes work in perfect harmony to paint an artistic self portrait of beauty and elegance.
One major change is the addition of Ben Wolfe who is one of the finest lyrical bassists working today. Wolfe and drummer Donald Edwards are the rhythmic glue that allows the lyrical swing of Evans to take center stage without ever boarding on the self indulgent. “Clean House” is a delightful odd metered harmonic swing and has the trio firing on all cylinders. Evans is clearly driving the musical train and has never sounded better. Wolfe’s lyrical flow is a welcome addition and Edwards doesn’t play in the pocket – he is the pocket. “TC’s Blues” is another Evans tune and a personal favorite from the release. A groove you can use. Music you feel with your hips and hear with your feet. Evans walks an effortless harmonic tightrope while again never falling pray to the self indulgent nature some piano trios immediately find. “Someday My Prince Will Come” is an exquisite ballad showing the emotional depth of Evans translated into his performance with grace and sensitivity eerily similar to that of the great Bill Evans. Flip The Script may arguably be Orrin Evans finest release to date.
While Evans celebrates his passion and our views on what is right and what is wrong are polar opposites it does not matter. Evans intention is to push the music forward. Evans has a desire to educate the younger listener and by doing so hopefully bring more and certainly some much needed attention to more traditional or straight ahead jazz in general.
How can you argue with that?
A magnificent ebb and flow with a lyrical swing and shifting harmonic base that is on point every step of the way.