In the early 1990s no CD collection was complete without a copy of the band's debut album Dummy, but just as the music industry was reaching fever pitch, the trip-hop outfit decided it was time for a break.

Thankfully they returned earlier this year, and with Portishead's former drummer Clive Deamer and bassist Jim Bar also out on the road with The Blessing, the distinct Bristol sound looks set for a welcome resurgence.

The freewheeling group, The Blessing, completed by trumpeter Pete Judge and saxophonist Jake McMurchie have been enhancing their reputation one of the most original and exciting bands around by playing the Jazz-World Stage at this year's Glastonbury and performing at the Big Chill Festival.

Deamer, who has also played with the likes of Roni Size and Robert Plant is more than a safe pair of hands, and critics have been falling over themselves to heap praise on the band, who describe their common interests as a "pathological distrust of chords and a passion for north-African cuisine", describing the sound as everything from "spine-tingling" to "gloriously powerful".

While the summer jazz festival circuit beckons, The Blessing will be warming up with two performances in Yorkshire, taking their genre-bending music to Fibbers in York tonight and the Wardrobe in Leeds tomorrow.

Tickets for the York event, which features support from Grinny Grandad, cost £6 on the door and entry to the Wardrobe will be £10 on
the night.

The band will also be returning to York in November as part of their autumn UK tour.

For more information and a full list of dates and venues log on to www.the blessing.co.uk