SUPPLY DEMAND & CURVE

Another one of the lesser known Canterbury jazz bands of the 1970s, SUPPY DEMAND & CURVE stuck it out for quite a while having formed in 1970 Dublin, Ireland and then disbanding in 1977, therefore a veritable contemporary in the prog rock scene of the classic era. Unfortunately despite this band's talent and ability to craft music that was distinct as well as sounding like no other. SD&C only managed to release this sole eponymously titled album in 1976 on the Mulligan label. Due to a renewed interest in all things progressive from the golden years of prog, the album has luckily found a remastered CD reissue on the German Paisley label in 2018.

This was and remains a true underground act with virtually no remaining info regarding its activities during the majority of its existence although there is plenty of evidence of regular live gigs from 1970-75 before its album finally hit the scene which emerged unfortunately a bit late for the prog boom. While Ireland was piratically devoid of Canterbury sounds, it makes more sense once you learn that the band leader Jolyon Jackson was born in Malaysia, schooled in England and finally moved to Ireland where his father originated.

The roots of the band go back to 1968-69 when Jackson played with Brian Masterson (bass, engineer, producer, vocals) in a band called Jazz Therapy before the two formed SD&C and slowly accumulated new members that would finally appear on this album. The lineup for this album included Jackson (cello, vocals, keyboards, melodica, recorder), Michael Ward (drums), Brian Masterson (bass), Paul McAteer (bongos, percussion), Greg Boland (guitar, whistles, bells, backing vocals) and Rosemary Tayler (piano, vocals). All of the musicians and vocalists were talented and eclectic leaving one of the most dynamic traces of prog from all of Ireland, a nation that somehow didn't warm up to the prog scene in a way that it's British neighbors did.

SD&C were more than just a Canterbury wannabe band. By far. There were many influences from Gentle Giant with knotty adventurous guitar riffs, keyboard gymnastics and overall compositional fortitude. Adding a bit of traditional Celtic sounds, SD&C adopted some homegrown sounds that Horslilps, Roy Harper and Peggy's Leg had ventured into. Tracks vary between knotty piano driven instrumentals to sensual vocal performances with both male and female leads. While steeped in English jazz-rock fusion, the Canterbury elements permeate throughout and exhibit the soft breezy style as heard on Hatfield & The North's classic albums. Generally speaking the tempos range from slow to medium paced and the album is on the mellower side of the spectrum.

The tones and style of the keyboards also evoke Chic Corea, a tribute paid with the title of the third track "Corea Guidance." While Camel references could also be made, this music is more angular and has many more hairpin turns than Camel ever dared attempt however if you cross-pollinated Camel's tones and timbres with Gentle Giant's musical delivery then you're on to something. Due to the fact that the band had this one shot to record and release its music, the album does seem like an attempt to stuff in as many ideas as possible that had come together over the band's by then six year existence. It's apparent from the dexterous and effortless musicianship that this band had plenty of time to hone and polish its Canterbury flavors to perfection.

While not the pinnacle of Canterbury splendor, SUPPLY DEMAND & CURVE was extraordinary excellent at what they did in their unique fusion of the Canterbury jazz sounds with the more demanding side of English progressive rock and by incorporating homegrown Celtic flavors and American jazz influences, this band succeeded in crafting a very unique and varied album that Canterbury stalwarts and adventurous progheads will salivate over. It's really too bad that this band did not have the opportunity to release more albums because this is not only competent but unique and there isn't a track on here that's not enjoyable. While still somewhat obscure in the big scheme of things, this album deserves a bit more attention for its brilliant menagerie of ideas seamlessly sewn into a larger tapestry.