Empirical: Wonder Is The Beginning

London's Empirical quartet, which first recorded in 2007 as a quintet, has had a steady lineup since 2009's sophomore album, Out 'n' In (Naim): Nathaniel Facey on alto saxophone, Lewis Wright on vibraphone, Tom Farmer on double bass and Shaney Forbes on drums. A stable lineup has given the group a certain consistency of sound, though a changing cast of featured guests has bounded it somewhat. That practically all the tunes the group plays are originals contributes to the consistency. For instance, on Out 'n' In, which was a tribute to Eric Dolphy, only two tracks were written by Dolphy, with the other nine by Farmer and Facey with occasional input from bass clarinet and tenor saxophone guest Julian Siegel.

So although the band has resisted codifying itself rigidly, one knows, broadly, what to expect from an Empirical album. And that is post-hard bop, mostly high impact, avant-garde jazz. Something decades on but not a thousand miles away from Jackie McLean's piano-less One Step Beyond and Destination Out (both Blue Note, 1964) with Bobby Hutcherson, though without the McLean group's trombone (played by Grachan Moncur). And with Facey's lighter, though still tough and astringent, tone rather than McLean's bluesy vocalisations. So, maybe not a million miles away would be a more accurate way of putting it.

Anyway... Wonder Is The Beginning is Empirical's sixth full-length album and its first since 2016's Connection (Cuneiform). This time the guests are pianist Jason Rebello, a star of the London scene for some thirty years, and tenor saxophonist Alex Hitchcock, in 2024 a fast-rising new star. (A review of Hitchcock's 2023 album Dream Band Live In London, also on Whirlwind, which featured Lewis Wright extensively, can be read here.) Five of the tracks on the new album were written by Farmer and one each by Facey and Wright. There is a little less high-impact than usual, a noticeably gentler approach on several tracks. It goes down well. Check "Wonder Is The Feeling" on the YouTube below.