Debut release from one of the most talked about jazz groups on the UK scene.

Empirical are a young quintet signed to Courtney Pine's Destin-E Records label. Their music encompasses a wide range of music while remaining within the tradition of modern jazz - which in the case of this their debut album means broadly the styles of playing developed by Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and others in the 1950s and 60s, but with a definite finger on the pulse of the contemporary world.

The programme is made up of original compositions by individual members of the quintet plus a piece by the late Ali Farka Touré titled, "Tulumba". Courtney Pine and Dennis Rollins appear as guests.

Personnel: Nathaniel Facey (alto saxophone, voice), Jay Phelps (trumpet, voice), Kit Downes (piano), Shayney Forbes (drums, percussion), Neil Charles (double bass). Special guests: Courtney Pine (bass clarinet), Dennis Rollins (trombone)