Get the Blessing (previously known as the Blessing) are a jazz rock quartet based in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England. The band formed in 2000 when Jim Barr (bass guitar) and Clive Deamer (drums), who had played with Portishead, joined Jake McMurchie (saxophone) and Pete Judge (trumpet) over their appreciation of

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

. Get the Blessing have released six albums; their debut '' All Is Yes'' won best album at the 2008

BBC Jazz Awards The BBC Jazz Awards were set up in 2001 and had the status of one of the premier jazz awards in the United Kingdom (among those presenting the awards were Denis Lawson, Sue Mingus, Humphrey Lyttelton, Ian Carr, Clive James, Mike Gibbs, Julian Jos ...

. Their album ''Bristopia'' was released in 2018.

Style

Get the Blessing combines

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

. Most of their songs are instrumental, although there have been guest singers such as Tammy Payne on "The Unnameable" and "Music Style Product" and Deamer on "Bugs in Amber". For promotional pictures and record covers, they often cover their heads with orange cellophane. The ''Guardian'' wrote that the band's music contains "horn laments and full-on free thrashes". The ''Times'' described their live performances have been described as "technically audacious, mysterious and droll".

Band members

* Pete Judge (trumpet) has composed music for soundtracks and has worked with three cane whale, Alex Vann of Spiro, Paul Bradley of Me band, and Eyebrow with Paul Wigens of

Blurt Blurt is an English post-punk band, founded in 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Background Blurt was founded in 1979 in Stroud, Gloucestershire by poet, saxophonist and puppeteer Ted Milton along with Milton's brother Jake, formerly of p ...

* Jake McMurchie (saxophone) leads the band Michelson Morley and has played with Portishead and the

National Youth Jazz Orchestra The National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) is a British jazz orchestra founded in 1965 by Bill Ashton. In 2010. Mark Armstrong took over as Music Director of the flagship performing band, and Artistic Director of the organisation; Bill Ashton becam ...

. * Jim Barr (bass guitar) – Barr is a session musician who has worked with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

and Portishead. * Clive Deamer (drums, vocals) is a session musician who has played with

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

, Portishead,

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

Alison Moyet Geneviève Alison Jane Ballard ( ; born 18 June 1961) is an English singer noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice. She came to prominence as half of the duo Yazoo (also known as Yaz), but has since mainly worked as a solo artist. Her ...

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

Roni Size Ryan Owen Granville Williams (born 29 October 1969), better known by his stage name Roni Size, is an English DJ and record producer. He came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and frontman of Roni Size & Reprazent, a drum and bass collective. ...

, and

Reprazent Roni Size & Reprazent (stylised as Roni Size / Reprazent) are a British drum and bass group fronted by Roni Size. Their debut album ''New Forms'' won the Mercury Music Prize in 1997. Their follow-up album ''In the Møde'' featured artists inclu ...

. He has been a member of

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

and

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

Strange Sensation Strange may refer to: Fiction * Strange (comic book), a comic book limited series by Marvel Comics * Strange (Marvel Comics), one of a pair of Marvel Comics characters known as The Strangers * Adam Strange, a DC Comics superhero * The title cha ...

Discography

*2008 – '' All Is Yes'' (released as The Blessing) (Cake/

Candid Candid may refer to: * Candid (app), a mobile app for anonymous discussions * Candid (organization), providing information on US nonprofit companies * Candid Records, a record label * Ilyushin Il-76, NATO reporting name ''Candid'', a Soviet aircraf ...

) *2008 – ''Bleach Cake''/''The Unnameable'' (released as The Blessing) (Cake/Candid) *2009 – '' Bugs in Amber'' (Cake/Candid) *2012 – '' OCDC'' ( Naim Jazz) *2014 – '' Lope and Antilope'' (Naim Jazz) *2015 – '' Astronautilus'' (Naim Jazz) *2018 – '' Bristopia''

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2000 English jazz ensembles English rock music groups 2000 establishments in England Candid Records artists Musical_groups_from_Bristol