Empirical announce Wiltshire Music Centre 2020 Residency
Mike Flynn
Thursday, November 28, 2019
The fearless foursome will collaborate and create new music as Nimmo Artists in Residence at leading South West arts venue
Award-winning Brit-jazz four-piece Empirical have announced a major new yearlong residency for 2020 at the Wiltshire Music Centre (WMC), which will include concerts, collaborations and a newly commissioned suite of music.
Featuring saxophonist Nathaniel Facey, bassist Tom Farmer, vibist Lewis Wright and drummer Shaney Forbes, the band also take their renowned pop-up jazz lounge project to Bath Festival in May in partnership with WMC. They follow the likes of Claire Martin, Jason Rebello and Adriano Adewale as Nimmo Artists in Residence, and kick things off on 8 February with a special concert with another former WMC resident, pianist Gwilym Simcock, performing original material by the band and keyboardist.
This is followed by a concert with the Wiltshire Youth Jazz Orchestra on 15 March, with special arrangements of jazz standards and Empirical originals, while the band’s tenure will conclude with the premiere of their commissioned piece in October, which the band plan to record and release in 2021. For their pop-shows in Bath, the group will be joined by guest local musicians, and perform a ‘formal’ concert at the Old Theatre Royal on 20 May 2020. The band also plan to record and release a live album in 2020, featuring fresh takes on songs from their extensive back catalogue.
For more info visit www.empiricalmusic.com and www.wiltshiremusic.org.uk