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Empirical: Wonder Is The Beginning
BySo 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.
Track Listing
The Naitoku; She Moves; True Cost; Ursa The Minor Major Bear; Saha World; As The Eagle; Wonder is The Feeling.
Personnel
Nathaniel Facey
saxophone, altoLewis Wright
vibraphoneTom Farmer
bass, acousticShaney Forbes
drumsAlbum information
Title: Wonder Is The Beginning | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Whirlwind Recordings
Comments
About Nathaniel Facey
Instrument: Saxophone, alto
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