Empirical: Nathaniel Facey (alto saxophone), Shaney Forbes (drums), Lewis Wright (vibraphone) and Tom Farmer (bass). For the Jazz Hastings session Jonny Mansfield stands in for Lewis Wright on vibes. (Photo: Tim Dickeson)

Sophisticated jazz from Empirical at Jazz Hastings’ December gig

For their Tuesday 3 December session, Jazz Hastings is welcoming one of Europe’s top jazz ensembles. Founded in 2007, Empirical is “still a reliable touchstone of contemporary British jazz at its most sophisticated” (Jazzwise 2022). Julian Norridge explains why.

Featuring Nathaniel Facey (alto sax), Tom Farmer (double bass), Lewis Wright (vibraphone) and Shaney Forbes (drums), the band has kept the same line-up for the last 16 years, though for this session Jonny Mansfield will be standing in for Lewis Wright on vibes.

The quartet bonded through a sense of common purpose: “I’d never met guys who took it so seriously. The process of studying together is really what brought us together, and we just carried on doing it,” recalls Tom Farmer.

Collective study and exploration has remained the bedrock of Empirical’s creative process and has seen the band assimilate influences from right across the rich history of jazz. Oblique harmonies, translucent textures and jagged, quick-shifting rhythms are the signposts of Empirical’s musical territory.

Alongside their ceaselessly fearless creative fervour, Empirical have succeeded in establishing an instantly recognisable group sound that is rife with raw energy and roiling emotion. That’s why the band have won numerous awards as Best Jazz Ensemble.

“Empirical are among the most admired and individual-sounding bands in contemporary jazz,” wrote The Observer. “As anyone who has heard the band live will know, their approach is so fresh and their sound so appealing that there’s never a dull moment.

“Much of this is down to the instrumentation of alto saxophone, vibraphone, bass and drums, which has the lightness and clarity to convey quite adventurous ideas without losing the listener along the way.”

Playing intense runs of gigs, including a six-day residency at Foyles bookshop and numerous pop-up projects, has also been a way of fulfilling the band’s continued ambition to develop music through experimentation during live performance.

But for Empirical, it’s ultimately all about moving, rather than impressing, their audience. As Nathaniel Facey sums it up: “It’s nice having people realise that they don’t have to ‘understand’ what we’re doing. That it’s really about what the music is communicating. Can I hear some honesty and some depth? Does it mean something to me? Does it move me?”

Empirical Jazz Hastings, Tuesday 3 December, East Hastings Sea Angling Association (on the Stade behind the lifeboat station). Doors open 7.45pm for 8.30 start, tickets £15 on the door, £3 for under 18s.

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