Empirical
Wednesday 25 January : 8pm
£12.00 : £10.00 concessions : seated
Empirical should really need no introduction, the project of four young, British Jazz musicians, who aim to expand on the traditions of Jazz, their unique music manages to be both timeless and totally now, inside and out. In just a few short years they have carved out a place as one of jazz’s most exciting young bands, touring from New York to Molde, London to Montreal, and they have won numerous awards including the 2010 MOBO for best jazz act and Jazzwise and Mojo albums of the year.
Elements Of Truth is their third album, and second with the current line-up of Julian Siegel (who replaces the injured Nathaniel Facey) on alto saxophone, Shaney Forbes on drums, Tom Farmer on bass and Lewis Wright on vibes. They perform compositions and improvisations that express ideas taken from beyond music in a uniquely democratic style. Each member is given equal responsibility for the direction of the music in composition and in the moment of improvisation. It is this mixture of shared responsibility and openness that gives their music such a unique edge as they draw on influences from Film and TV, proverbs and sayings and even sports!
So while collectively they will acknowledge musical influences from the oblique sounds of Andrew Hill and Eric Dolphy’s sublime Out To Lunch, to the more contemporary stylings of Vijay Iyer or name check Wayne Shorter and Branford Marsalis it is their unique ability to express what they thing and feel on a range of ideas through the collaborative trial and error process of Jazz improvisation that makes them such a powerful group.
“The coolest of Britain’s young jazz bands” Daily Telegraph
“Empirical could turn out to be one of the most important bands in UK jazz history” Jazzwise
Say What You Mean
