Bristol based The Blessing are made up of bassist Jim Barr, drummer Clive Deamer, trumpeter Pete Judge and saxophonist Jake McMurchie. Jim Barr and Clive Deamer of '90s trip-hop superstars superstars Portishead formed The Blessing in 2000 to share a fascination with improvised music, a pathological distrust of chords and a passion for north-african cuisine. The idea was to “get stuck into 'proper' improvisation rather than to rely upon a coasting rhythm section” explains Jim Barr.

The Blessing out playing the music of Ornette Coleman but began slowly to make a noise of their own. They began to write tunes and a turning point came in 2006 when they finally got in the studio and a new sound emerged almost overnight.

Each band member is also involved in various other projects such as Ultrasound (Jake McMurchie), Mopti (Pete Judge), Goldfrapp (Clive Deamer) and Marc Gauvin (Jim Barr) as well as non-music ventures like Bristol's Friends of the Earth resulting in a unique mix of styles.

Their combined new approach has much in common with the current crop of trailblazers, bands such as EST, Polar Bear and Acoustic Ladyland. Their music also draws from influences as diverse as the Kings of Leon, Morphine, Elvis Castello and Albert Ayler. The Blessing's catchy, rocking tunes and arrangements create a genrebending blend of sounds that is all their own.

The Blessing have already established a fan base with numerous performances in Bristol and London over the last few years and are now to storm onto the UK and European scene with their debut studio album “All is Yes” released on Cake Music, an imprint within Candid Records, on 11 February 2008. The release of “All is Yes” in
conjunction with UK and European tours will certainly confirm the Blessing's reputation as “jazz-informed art-rock at its finest” (Venue Magazine).