Get the Blessing
Encyclopedia
Get the Blessing is a jazz rock
quartet based in Bristol
, England
, active since 2000. They were formed when Jim Barr (bass
) and Clive Deamer (drums
), the rhythm section
from the trip hop
group Portishead, teamed up with Jake McMurchie (saxophone
) and Pete Judge (trumpet
) over their mutual appreciation of Ornette Coleman
. To date, they have released two albums, their debut All is Yes
won best album at the 2008 BBC Jazz Awards
.
and rock
, which also includes Esbjörn Svensson Trio
, Led Bib
, Polar Bear
, and Acoustic Ladyland
. The music is mainly instrumental, although there have been guest singers (specifically Tammy Payne on "The Unnameable" and "Music Style Product"), and Deamer sings a vocal version of "Bugs in Amber", entitled "Moot", live.
Their live performances have been described as "Technically audacious, mysterious and droll, the Blessing also provided an evening of instrumental entertainment that was unfailingly tuneful and readily accessible." Also as "coupl[ing] hard-hitting, high-volume rock with wailing jazz-horn choruses. The group's flat-out drive, fiery virtuosity and strong, anthemic tunes certainly grabbed the audience" although "...it's the improvisational element that is the difficulty for the more hardcore of jazzers".
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
quartet based in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, active since 2000. They were formed when Jim Barr (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) and Clive Deamer (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
), the rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
from the trip hop
Trip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
group Portishead, teamed up with Jake McMurchie (saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
) and Pete Judge (trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
) over their mutual appreciation of Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
. To date, they have released two albums, their debut All is Yes
All Is Yes
All Is Yes is the 2008 debut album by Get the Blessing , the jazz rock quartet based in Bristol, England...
won best album at the 2008 BBC Jazz Awards
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 UK. There were awards for Best Musician, Best Vocalist, Rising Star, Best Album, Jazz Innovation, Radio 2 Jazz Artist, Services to Jazz, Best of Jazz amongst others....
.
Music style and reception
The group have been widely received as part of a new generation of groups that blend jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, which also includes Esbjörn Svensson Trio
Esbjörn Svensson Trio
Esbjörn Svensson Trio was a Swedish jazz piano trio formed in 1993 consisting of Esbjörn Svensson , Dan Berglund and Magnus Öström . Its music has classical, rock, pop, and techno elements. It lists classical composer Béla Bartók and rock band Radiohead as influences...
, Led Bib
Led Bib
Led Bib are a modern jazz group from London, England. Their fourth album, Sensible Shoes, was shortlisted for the 2009 Mercury Prize.- History :...
, Polar Bear
Polar Bear (British band)
Polar Bear is a British experimental jazz band led by drummer Seb Rochford with Pete Wareham on tenor and baritone saxophone, Mark Lockheart on tenor saxophone, Tom Herbert on double bass and Leafcutter John on mandolin and electronics....
, and Acoustic Ladyland
Acoustic Ladyland
Acoustic Ladyland are a London based jazz/punk band consisting of Pete Wareham on vocals, tenor and baritone saxophone, Seb Rochford on drums, Chris Sharkey on Guitar and Ruth Goller on bass guitar....
. The music is mainly instrumental, although there have been guest singers (specifically Tammy Payne on "The Unnameable" and "Music Style Product"), and Deamer sings a vocal version of "Bugs in Amber", entitled "Moot", live.
Their live performances have been described as "Technically audacious, mysterious and droll, the Blessing also provided an evening of instrumental entertainment that was unfailingly tuneful and readily accessible." Also as "coupl[ing] hard-hitting, high-volume rock with wailing jazz-horn choruses. The group's flat-out drive, fiery virtuosity and strong, anthemic tunes certainly grabbed the audience" although "...it's the improvisational element that is the difficulty for the more hardcore of jazzers".
Image
The band dress uniformally in white shirt and dark grey suits and, for promotional pictures and record covers, often cover their heads, most notably with brown paper bags. Interaction between the group and live audience is channeled through Barr's "comically cryptic introductions in the deadest of deadpan drones".Band members
- Jake McMurchie – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
– McMurchie is a jazz musician. He fronts his own jazz group, as well as featuring as a sideman in other groups. He has played with Portishead and the National Youth Jazz OrchestraNational Youth Jazz OrchestraThe National Youth Jazz Orchestra is a British jazz orchestra founded in 1963 by Bill Ashton.Based in Westminster, London, NYJO started life as the London Schools' Jazz Orchestra and evolved into becoming the national orchestra...
. - Pete Judge – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
– Judge is a jazz and experimental musician and movie soundtrack composer. - Jim Barr – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
– Barr is a session musician, who has sessioned for Peter GabrielPeter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
. He is best known for his contributions to the Bristol based trip hopTrip hopTrip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
scene, specifically Portishead. - Clive Deamer – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
– Deamer is a session musician, who has sessioned for RadioheadRadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Portishead, Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Alison MoyetAlison MoyetAlison Moyet , is an English singer, songwriter and performer noted for her bluesy voice.Her UK album sales have reached a certified 2.3 million, with 800,000 singles sold, all in the UK, where all seven of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the Top 40 UK Album Chart,...
and Siouxsie SiouxSiouxsie SiouxSiouxsie Sioux is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the critically acclaimed rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees and of its splinter group The Creatures . The Banshees produced eleven studio albums and a string of hit singles including "Hong Kong Garden",...
. He is best known for his contributions to the Bristol based trip hopTrip hopTrip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
and drum and bassDrum and bassDrum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
scenes, specifically Portishead and Roni SizeRoni SizeRoni Size is a British record producer and DJ, who came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and leader of Reprazent, a drum and bass collective...
and ReprazentReprazentReprazent is a British drum and bass act formed by Roni Size. Their debut album New Forms won the Mercury Music Prize in 1997. Their follow-up album In The Mode featured artists including Rahzel, Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine and Method Man.Roni Size resurrected Reprazent in 2008...
, although he has also been a member of more conventional rock groups, such as HawkwindHawkwindHawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
and Robert PlantRobert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
's Strange Sensation.
Guests
- Adrian UtleyAdrian UtleyAdrian Francis Utley is an English musician and a member of the band Portishead.-Biography:Utley is self-taught on guitar, bass and keyboards, and played professionally from the age of 18 in working men's clubs, night clubs, holiday camps, and in cabaret, backing soul artists...
– electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
(All is Yes: "That Ain't It", "Equal and Opposite", "Small Fish, Small Pond"; Bugs in Amber: "Music Style Product", "The Unnameable", "Einstein Action Figure") - Tammy Payne – backing vocals (All is Yes: "Loubia"; Bugs in Amber: "Music Style Product")
- Gina Griffin – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
(All is Yes: "Loubia") - Beth Porter – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
(Bugs in Amber: "The Word for Moonlight is Moonlight", "The Unnameable") - Jeff Spencer – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
(Bugs in Amber: "Music Style Product")
Discography
- 2008 – All is YesAll Is YesAll Is Yes is the 2008 debut album by Get the Blessing , the jazz rock quartet based in Bristol, England...
(released as The Blessing) (Cake/Candid RecordsCandid RecordsCandid Records was founded as a subsidiary of Archie Bleyer's Cadence label in New York City in 1960. The jazz writer and civil rights activist, Nat Hentoff, worked as the label's A&R director, aiming to create a representative catalog of the jazz of the day...
) - 2008 – "Bleach Cake"/"The Unnameable" EP (released as The Blessing) (Cake/Candid Records)
- 2009 – Bugs in AmberBugs in AmberBugs in Amber is the second album by the Bristol based jazz rock quartet Get the Blessing, released in 2009 .The tracks are all instrumental, although other versions of "The Unnameable" and "Bugs in Amber" have been performed with vocals live, and recorded in session for the BBC 6Music Freakzone...
(Cake/Candid Records)
External links
- theblessing.co.uk – official band site.
- myspace.com/thisistheblessing – official band myspace page.
- Cake Music – Record label through Candid RecordsCandid RecordsCandid Records was founded as a subsidiary of Archie Bleyer's Cadence label in New York City in 1960. The jazz writer and civil rights activist, Nat Hentoff, worked as the label's A&R director, aiming to create a representative catalog of the jazz of the day...
.