Few jazz ensembles can be identified as instantaneously as The Bad Plus. There are even fewer that can replace a seemingly unreplaceable band member yet still retain their strong signature. The change occurred two years ago with Orrin Evans replacing Ethan Iverson, but it wasn't dramatic and last year's debut Never Stop II was a refreshing relaunch of a significant force in contemporary jazz that had gone a little stale in recent years. What Evans has brought to the equation with his traditional yet boundary-pushing jazz is a sense of balance in contrast to Iverson's wayward tightrope-walking style with the band. Minus as well the untried pop-rock cover versions for which they were once famous, there's a more serious, less ironic air about The Bad Plus Mark II. That doesn't mean the playful element has disappeared totally and the usual quality control on original material is apparent on this new release, a significant addition to the roster of Dave Stapleton's UK label Edition. The hummable, less-is-more approach to writing tunes is evident, mostly from bassist Anderson, but with King and Evans contributing too. Evans writes tunes of a less epic quality than his comrades: he's Monk-ish on the nursery-rhyme-like simplicity of ‘The Red Door’ and reflective on the romantic country-ish twang of ‘Looking in Your Eyes’. A mellow-toned version of ‘Love is the Answer’, a tune that featured on the band's ground-breaking debut Motel on Fresh Sound New Talent all of two decades ago, still sticks to the sound that's served The Bad Plus so well over the years. Activate Infinity is evidence of a band still going strong.