THE ADVANCEMENT

The little-known group The Advancement released just one album during their brief time together, blending the jazz-rock of Nucleus with a touch of psychedelic rock to create this obscure but utterly compelling self-titled 1969 release. Fans of Miles Davis, Ian Carr's aforementioned group and Soft Machine will be familiar with the material on offer, but what makes 'The Advancement' so interesting is the way the band have blended the complexities of jazz with the more straight-forward elements of rock, eschewing vocals and instead presenting a sound that is noticeably different from their peers with throbbing bass-lines, jazzy breaks and moments of wonderful soloing from the band's six full-time member forging a sound that seems to respect the rock ingredients in a way that bands like Soft Machine didn't. Why they were ignored is a question for the ages(just ask May Blitz, Maxophone or Yatha Sidhra), but how they were ignored is a much more difficult question. Surely their brand of psych-tinged jazz was one made for the late-sixties? Whatever the reasons, there is no denying that this is a carefully-crafted and cleverly-played album that deserved better. Jazz fans should be in for a treat. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010