25 September 2009
The Guardian
John Fordham


When they emerged in 2007, Empirical made bigger waves and more column inches than any UK jazz ­ensemble since Courtney Pine's early bands. Their ­debut album swept across ­contemporary styles, including funk, gospel and R&B, although the motor that ran it was fuelled by classic bebop, particularly its ecstatic Art Blakey ­derivatives. In this session with guest tenor-saxist Julian Siegel, the American jazz tradition still energises Empirical, in a revised lineup in which the ­excellent Nathaniel Facey's alto sax ­remains dominant but is now in a more laid-back dialogue with Lewis Wright's vibraphone. Facey's fascination with the short-lived and often overlooked sax and bass-clarinet visionary Eric Dolphy shapes the set. Dolphy's edgy sound and bristling melodic lines ­feature on a series of ­ducking and diving tunes, on his own Hat & Beard and on ­Gazzelloni. Out'n'In might seem more of a purist venture than its predecessor, but it is full of sparky variety - from the ­boppish and then free-contrapuntal ­title track, through Facey's and Siegel's intertwining dialogues, the Third Stream-like precision of So He Left, and the freebop and time-switching of ­Dolphyus Morphyus.