Empirical
Connection

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CD
EMPIRICAL has become one of Europe's top jazz ensembles by creating a bracing sound rife with roiling emotion. The quartet builds on the extroverted improvisational ethos of the 1960s New Thing, embracing oblique harmonies, translucent textures and jagged, quick shifting rhythms. CONNECTION is the fifth Empirical album, the first to feature only the quartet with no guests, and the first released outside of their home base of England. It captures the ensemble at its most pure and potent.
'Each of our previous albums was an experiment, where we included various guests from a string quartet to a pianist to bass clarinet,' Farmer says. 'This time we went into a great sounding studio with just the four of us. It's an accurate representation of what we're doing now, what our gigs sound like. This is our expression.'
The band's interactive group approach is built on Farmer and Forbes highly kinetic rhythm section tandem, while Facey possesses an instantly recognizable alto tone. But in many ways Wright's vibes define the group's sound. From the moment he joined the band, he catalyzed a new way of writing and arranging material. 'We all loved the transparency,' Farmer says. 'You can hear exactly what everyone's playing. Lewis is quite a unique player. He gets this warmth on an instrument that can sound quite harsh and metallic. I love having all this room on the bottom, without having to think about a pianist's left hand.'
Recommended if you like: Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Bobby Hutcherson, Sam Rivers, Dewey Redman.
Jazz