Jazz breaking news: Space Is The Place For Empirical As The Band Play Music From Elements of Truth At Laban
Friday, September 30, 2011
Empirical, new Golubovich artists-in-residence at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music, last night in Deptford at the Laban Theatre played songs from their soon to be released third album Elements of Truth.
Simon Purcell, head of the Trinity Laban jazz department, introduced the band which then performed.
A student contemporary jazz ensemble led by Polar Bear’s Mark Lockheart had opened as support playing reconfigured Ellington repertoire including a recomposed ‘Creole Love Call.’
The new “spacier” Empirical album which comes out next month was recorded in April and features alto saxophonist Nathaniel Facey, vibes player Lewis Wright, bassist Tom Farmer and drummer Shane Forbes joined on the album by old friend George Fogel on piano as guest (he was absent last night). Forbes and Wright both studied at Trinity.
Empirical opened with ‘Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say’ from Elements of Truth followed by other album tracks including ‘Yin And Yang’ and ‘Simple Things’, as well as Dolphy’s ‘Gazzelloni’, from Out ’n’ In. The Empirical sound is a remarkable collision of retro and contemporary jazz styles that was completely formed from day one but which is now fully seasoned. Facey, talking to the audience, referred to “spatial awareness” in terms of the “sweet science” of boxing and if anything their performance last night was characterised by this, but also containing a certain inspired autoscopy. They're hitting hard.
– Stephen Graham
Empirical play the London Jazz Festival at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 17 November