Quintessence (English band)

Quintessence
Origin	United Kingdom
Genres	Psychedelic rock, progressive rock, raga rock
Years active	1969–1980 (Reunion: 2010)
Associated acts	Shpongle, Blurt, The Mystery of the Yeti, The Infinity Project, 1200 Micrograms, Kala
Past members	Sambhu Babaji Jake Milton Allan Mostert Raja Ram Maha Dev Shiva Shankar Jones

Quintessence was a rock band formed in April 1969 in Notting Hill, London, England. Their style was a mixture of jazz, psychedelic rock and progressive rock with an influence of music from India.

The original line-up included Sambhu Babaji (bass guitar), Maha Dev (rhythm guitar), Shiva Shankar Jones (vocals, keyboards, percussion), Jake Milton (drums, percussion), Allan Mostert (lead guitar), and Raja Ram (flute, percussion).

They rehearsed in All Saints Hall which was a converted church near Portobello Road, and recorded three albums for Island Records between 1969 and 1971, with two further albums recorded in 1972 for RCA. The first of the latter set, Self, featured studio material on side one, with the band recorded playing live at Exeter University, on 11 December 1971, on side two.

They built a reputation on solid club work. Besides appearing at the first two Glastonbury Festivals (then called 'Fayres'), in 1970/71, they also were invited to play the Montreux Jazz Festival.

On 18 September 1971, Quintessence played a benefit concert for Bangladesh at The Oval, Kennington. They appeared on a bill that included The Who, Mott the Hoople, Lindisfarne, Atomic Rooster, The Grease Band and America.

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