Empirical are among the most admired and individual-sounding bands in contemporary jazz, so it’s strange that this, their fifth album, should be the first to feature just the four of them, without guest players added. 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. All four have a hand in the compositions and, rather like the revered Modern Jazz Quartet of the 1950s, they seem to anticipate one another’s thoughts.
