How many prizes can a jazz quintet win with its debut album? The British band Empirical must by now believe that the sky is truly the limit. Both Jazzwise and Mojo, two leading music magazines, named the debut album Empirical the Jazz Album Of The Year 2007. Last year at the North Sea Jazz Festival they also won the EBU European Jazz Competition. Empirical consists of Jay Phelps (trumpet/vocals), Nathaniel Facey (alto sax/vocals), Kit Downes (piano), Tom Farmer (double bass) and Shane Forbes (drums/percussion) - musicians who despite their youth have been playing together for years. To get an idea of what their music sounds like, you have to think of Ornette Coleman, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, Ali Farka Touré and Steve Coleman. All great masters who have played a role in building the music that Empirical performs on the foundations of jazz.
