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

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England. The band formed in 2000 when Jim Barr (bass guitar) and

Clive Deamer Clive Deamer is an English drummer and percussionist who has been the drummer for the jazz band Get the Blessing since 2000. He has worked with acts including Radiohead, Portishead (band), Portishead, Jeff Beck, Alison Moyet, Siouxsie Sioux, Roni ...

(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, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

. 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, Michael Gibbs (compose ...

. Their album ''Bristopia'' was released in 2018. WiKi GetTheBlessing20120524a

Style

Get the Blessing combine jazz and rock. 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 Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

'' 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".

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 ...

. * 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), established as the London Schools' Jazz Orchestra in 1965, is a British jazz orchestra. History The National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) was founded in 1965 by Bill Ashton. Based in the Royal Arsenal ...

. * 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 singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

and Portishead. *

(drums, vocals) is a session musician who has played with

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

, Portishead,

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

Alison Moyet Geneviève Alison Jane Ballard (; ; born 18 June 1961), formerly known as Alf, is an English singer. Noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice, she came to prominence as a member of the synth-pop duo Yazoo (band), Yazoo (known as Yaz in Nor ...

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), better known by her stage name Siouxsie Sioux (, ), is an English singer and songwriter. She came to prominence as the leader and main lyricist of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, who w ...

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 Mode'' 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. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

's Strange Sensation.

Discography

*2008 – '' All Is Yes'' (released as The Blessing) (Cake/ Candid) *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'' *2023 - ‘’Pallet’’

References

External links

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