Jazz breaking news: Empirical Give First Indication Of New Direction At Dorking Gig
Monday, January 24, 2011
After a remarkable year which culminated in them winning Best Jazz Act at the 2010 MOBO Awards, contemporary bop quartet Empirical used their first gig of 2011 at Dorking’s Watermill jazz club to preview an extensive selection of brand new music from a forthcoming third album, slated for recording in the spring and a September release.
Spruced up with new suits, shoes and haircuts, and with saxophonist Nathaniel Facey sporting a rakish new beard, the sax/vibes-led outfit embarked on a series of beguilingly complex new pieces from their ever-growing songbook – including several world exclusives – in a typically stylish display of creativity, virtuosity and band dynamic.
Facey, vibes-player Lewis Wright, bassist Tom Farmer and drummer Shaney Forbes were joined on stage by regular guest pianist George Fogel who is scheduled to perform with the quartet on the pending album.
Ranging from nervy numbers such as the choppy menacing ‘An Ambiguous State of Mind’ and the darkly grooving minimalist ‘Simple Things’ to more immediately appealing pieces such as all-out bop romp ‘Spitting Them Out’ and a joyously summery Facey composition (as yet unnamed), Empirical’s latest offerings maintain the band’s signature classic jazz sound with a sharp contemporary edge. The group presented their new material alongside a few choice cuts from their 2009 release Out ‘n’ In – a homage to the life and music of reedsman, Eric Dolphy.
Standout pick of the music from Out ‘n’ In was Facey’s poignant biopic of the last moments of Dolpy’s tragically short life, ‘A Bitter End For A Tender Giant” – Farmer’s lugubrious bowed bass and Wright’s melancholic vibe peals providing emotional depth and intensity while Facey’s sinuous sax floated exquisitely over Forbes’ shimmering percussion.
— Ben Davies
Empirical play the Vortex in London on Saturday as part of Evan Parker’s Might I Suggest series