Emprical

“Tabula Rasa”

(Naim Records naimcd193)

From the Latin for “blank slate” Tabula Rasa is Empirical’s fourth album and represents their most ambitious project to date. Now stabilised as four piece with a line up featuring founder members Nathaniel Facey (alto sax) and Shaney Forbes (drums) plus Tom Farmer on double bass and Lewis Wright on vibes the group has become a fiercely disciplined, close knit and interactive unit with all four members contributing to the writing process.

“Tabula Rasa” is a double set that sees the band collaborating on a number of pieces with the strings of the all female Benyounes Quartet featuring Zara Benyounes and Emily Holland on violins, Sara Thomas on viola and Kim Vaughan on cello. The two groups met through the Golubovich Jazz Scholars programme at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, a scheme designed to encourage cross departmental collaboration.  The members of Empirical enjoyed the experience and wrote a series of pieces designed to feature the two groups, attempting to achieve a real integration rather than just “jazz band and strings”. It’s an ambitious undertaking that moves the band’s music further away from the influence of Eric Dolphy which informed their two previous offerings “Out’n In” and “Elements Of Truth”. Indeed the writing on the new album builds on the narrative and storytelling aspects of the excellent “Elements”. The sound of the strings seems a little strange at first to those of us already familiar with Empirical’s sound. However repeated listening bring its own rewards and it soon becomes clear just how successful and sophisticated this collaboration is. Empirical are a band who demand a degree of work from their listeners, the title “Tabula Rasa” represents an invitation to approach the album with an open mind.

The first disc begins with Facey’s “The Simple Light Burns Brightest”, an expression of his Christian faith, which begins by combining the lushness of the strings with Forbes’ contemporary drum sounds. The strings are an integral part of the group sound and of the improvising process. Solos by Wright at the vibes and Facey on alto represent a more readily identifiable jazz element as does the complex M-Base influenced rhythmic interplay. 

Wright’s “Bellsonian Scales” is said to “depict an alter ego, outgoing and slightly mad”. With its jerky rhythms and incisive, hectoring alto sax it exhibits an air of edgy, restless energy and is played by the jazz quartet only.

The strings return for Wright’s “The Prophet”, a similarly intense piece of work combining percolating minimalist inspired rhythms, sweeping and swirling strings and Facey’s hard edged alto sax. At seven and a half minutes there’s an episodic feel to it with the composer’s vibes solo changing the direction of the music mid tune. Forbes also features strongly, his drumming often assuming prominence as he impresses throughout.

Farmer’s “Ascent” and “Descent” are thematically linked with the focus very much on the strings. One can’t fail to be impressed by the bassist’s writing in this area, the first piece broods and shimmers, the air of aching, arching melancholia making an effective use of space that is often chillingly beautiful.
The companion piece, “Descent” is shorter, spikier and more dramatic with harsher timbres and greater input from the jazz players. Individually and collectively these two pieces are highly effective.
Farmer explains that they are two sides of the same coin, “the notes are in the same order, one has a feeling of ascension, serenity and calm and the other one is like descent and anger and a darkness. They show two sides of a spiritual journey”. 

Forbes’ “Empiricism” is more obviously jazz, a paean to the band itself perhaps. The piece opens with a fiery dialogue between Facey and Forbes and maintains the intensity over the course of seven minutes with Facey stretching out on alto in saxophone trio mode. Forbes and Farmer then mesh together in almost tribal rhythm as Wright’s vibes trace spidery lines above the relentless rhythmic backdrop. Although very different in sound to Farmer’s pieces that same sense of narrative is still there.

So, too on Farmer’s “Studies In Time: The Healer” with Wright’s shimmering vibes intro giving way to a second section where Facey’s breezy, optimistic sounding alto skips over the interlocking rhythmic patterns of his colleagues, his tone increasing in intensity and darkening in mood as his solo progresses, the piece finally resolving itself as Facey winds down and the gentle shimmer of the vibes returns.

Disc one concludes with Forbes’ “Where Wisdom Is Found” which offers further effective integration between the jazz instruments and the strings with Facey and Farmer the featured soloists, the saxophonist stretching out at length above a backdrop of complex rhythms and layered strings.

The second disc begins with Facey’s “One For Bones Jones”, a dedication to martial artist John “Bones” Jones , the UFC heavyweight champion. It can perhaps be seen as a companion piece to “In The Grill”, Facey’s boxing inspired composition on “Elements Of Truth”. Facey combines Jones style of fighting in a confined space with Empirical’s working methods. The music isn’t quite as aggressive as one might expect but it is busy and claustrophobic with a lot going on both rhythmically and harmonically. Solos come from Wright and Facey amid some feverish rhythm work with Forbes’ drums prominent in the closing stages.

Wright’s elven minute plus “The World in His Mind” is arguably the album’s centrepiece, a fully integrated, highly narrative piece piece with the Benyounes Quartet fully involved and doing far more than providing mere textures. Indeed the strings often assume the lead in the early passages prior to the clarion call of Facey’s alto. Elsewhere Facey takes flight above a colourful rhythmic backdrop of hand drums and pizzicato strings, probing and stretching before handing over to Wright at the vibes. Inspired by Bobby Hutcherson and Gary Burton the brilliant young vibraphonist gets better with each release and this piece also represents his growing stature as a composer. 

“Scoffie (The Moody One)” is another “character tune” , this time written by Facey. It actually turns out to be rather fun, a perky bop inspired piece played by the jazz quartet with lively solos from Facey and Wright and some wonderfully propulsive bass work from Farmer.

Forbes’ near nine minute “Repentance” is another tour de force for the strings who achieve a near orchestral depth on the intro. Elsewhere there’s a stunning passage of solo vibes from Wright and then genuine dialogue between him and the strings. On what is essentially a showcase for vibes and strings the Benyounes play us out as elegantly as they ushered us in.

Farmer’s “Studies In Time:Relative” turns out to be a groove driven piece that reflects the influence of M-Base and the whole New York “Downtown Scene”. Played by the jazz quartet it has an agreeable buzz and sense of urban urgency that is slightly at odds (but in a good way) with the rest of the album. 

This ambitious double set closes with “Conflict In Our Time”, also by Farmer. It begins with the lonely musings of Facey on solo alto before Farmer and Forbes set up an ominous rolling groove above which the saxophonist emotes purposefully with Wright’s vibes filling in any gaps. It’s all reminiscent of the sixties “spiritual jazz” pioneered by John Coltrane. Eventually Wright takes over , his metallic vibes riding the waves of bass and drums before Facey makes his presence felt once more with some further hard edged soloing. It’s piece informed by the music and struggles of the sixties but forms an apposite musical comment on current circumstances.

“Tabula Rasa” may lack the instant appeal of some of Empirical’s earlier discs but it’s worth working at and sticking with. The band are aiming high here and largely they succeed on what is unquestionably their most ambitious recording to date. The pieces that deploy strings work well with the Benyounes Quartet buying into the Empirical vision and integrating superbly into the world of semi improvised music. Conversely Empirical’s experiments with classical forms work equally well with Farmer and Forbes in particular writing extensively for strings. A well programmed and admirably diverse set emphasises the narrative qualities of the group’s music.Empirical continue to mature and develop, now a well established presence on the UK jazz scene it is interesting to speculate on what they will attempt next. 

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