Orrin Evans’ thoughtful and well-programmed piano trio album is partly a round up of the cutting-edge mainstream and partly a showcase for rising bass talent. Ben Wolfe joins twice as an extra voice, Curtis replaces Revis on the spiky blues romp ‘Dorm Life’ and Claffy rounds off the set with a slow and soulful duet on ‘Tribute’. At the core, Revis is a powerful anchor and driving force, while Edwards whips up the pulse on a set that varies from tempo-bending freedom to spiky modern riffs and an achingly slow ‘Rocking Chair’. Evans welds it all together with a strong personal vision, a brilliant touch and an acute sense of history. He gets to the sonic heart of modern jazz piano, adding the percussive bite of Herbie Nicholls and Andrew Hill to the standard piano lineage. And each track has something new to offer. ‘Black Elk Speaks’ is a fast swinger; ‘Blues Connotation’ comes with a pedal; and ‘Ellipsis’ switches time and borders on the abstract. And the twin basses on ‘African Violets’ and ‘Commitment’ are a standout. Wolfe adds high register flutters on the first and echoes the multi-time pulse of Coleman’s double quartet on the second. Best piano trio CD so far this year.