Ubuntu Music Announces The Release of Trumpet Ace Sean Gibbs Big Band Project

Sean Gibbs / Confluence

Release Date: 25th November 2022

CD & Digital Formats / UBU0124

Sean Gibbs (Photographer Colin Black)

Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce the upcoming release of composer and trumpet player Sean Gibbs’ upcoming album, Confluence, featuring a 17-piece big band of exceptional musicians.

Sean Gibbs is a prominent jazz trumpet player/composer based in London. He leads a quintet, whose critically acclaimed debut album was released with Ubuntu Music and awarded Five Stars in BBC Music Magazine.

Helena Kay (Dan Redding video footage)

Sean explains the idea behind his latest project: “Confluence is without doubt my biggest project to date. The title refers to different aspects of my musical and personal life, which seemed to come together at the right time to make it happen. It also represents the joyous gathering of so many incredible musicians and friends. I’m immensely grateful to everyone involved.”

Left to right: George Millard, Tom Dunnett, Chris Maddock, Calum Gourlay, Jay Davis, Freddie Gavita, Riley Stone-Lonergan, Helena Kay, Rob Brockway, Sean Gibbs, James Gardiner-Bateman, James Copus, Kieran McLeod, Tom Walsh, Richard Henry, Richard Foote, James Davison. (Dan Redding video footage)

Sean continues, concerning the music and the musicians for the project: “I was fortunate enough to be able to put together my dream big band lineup and record at AIR Studios. I wrote with the specific players in mind, and it was incredibly rewarding to hear what they brought to my compositions. I wanted to stay true to the fundamentals that resonate with me - lyrical melodies, hearty grooves and a deep connection to the blues. Having a world class 17-piece band to work with brought these concepts to new heights and opened up so many more possibilities.”

The 17-piece big band ensemble includes some of the most sought-after musicians on the jazz scene today:

                        Sean Gibbs – solo trumpet

                        Tom Walsh - trumpet

                        James Davison - trumpet

                        James Copus - trumpet/flugelhorn

                        Freddie Gavita – trumpet

                        Tom Dunnett – trombone

                        Kieran McLeod – trombone

                        Richard Foote – trombone

                        Richard Henry - bass trombone

                        George Millard - alto/soprano saxophone

                        James Gardiner-Bateman - alto saxophone

                        Helena Kay - tenor saxophone

                        Riley Stone-Lonergan - tenor saxophone

                        Chris Maddock - baritone saxophone

                        Rob Brockway – piano

                        Calum Gourlay – bass

                        Jay Davis - drums

Sean Gibbs (Dan Redding video footage)

Sean shares his thoughts about his continued relationship with Ubuntu Music: “I’m delighted to be releasing a second album with Ubuntu. Martin (Hummel) shows such enthusiasm and drive in everything that he does, and it’s a privilege to be on a label alongside many of my favourite musicians. Long may our relationship flourish!”

Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, concludes: “It takes someone like Sean to be able to pull together a project of significant magnitude with such professionalism and quality. And the big band musician line-up is outstanding, with many of the individuals having appeared on previous Ubuntu releases. Sean’s been the star throughout. We are truly blessed to be a part of the project and can’t wait to share this music all over the world.”

For further information, please contact:

Sean Gibbs (Artist)                                                     seangibbs@hotmail.co.uk

Emma Perry (UK Publicity)                                       emmasarahperry@gmail.com

Martin Hummel/Ubuntu Music (Worldwide):           martin@ubuntumanagementgroup.com

Sean Gibbs Biography

Sean is a prominent jazz trumpet player/composer based in London. He leads a quintet, whose critically acclaimed debut album was released with Ubuntu Music and awarded Five Stars in BBC Music Magazine. He is a member of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, with which he has performed with guest soloists such as Kurt Elling, Joe Locke, Kenny Washington and Jazzmeia Horn. This has included appearances at some of the world’s most prestigious venues - New York’s Lincoln Center, Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan and London’s Ronnie Scott’s.

Other groups Sean is a member of include the Calum Gourlay Big Band, Young Pilgrims, Martin Kershaw Octet, Paul Towndrow’s Keywork Orchestra and Mike Fletcher Jazz Orchestra. He has freelanced with a wide range of artists, including the likes of Georgia Cecile, Eliza Carthy, Hannah Williams and Chris Dean’s Syd Lawrence Orchestra. Sean also recently appeared on Daniel Casimir’s celebrated album Boxed In.

Sean is a prolific composer of big band music, including commissions for the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and Greater Manchester Jazz Orchestra. His compositions have been performed as far afield as the USA, by the University of Miami’s Frost Studio Jazz Band.

“When I spot trumpeter Sean Gibbs in a band my spirits lift; I know there will be spot on ensemble playing and expertly-turned, beautifully toned solos.”

--London Jazz News

“These fellows—braced with the blues, steeped in the swing classics, burnished with modernity—are going places.”

JazzTimes Magazine (USA)

REVIEW: Secret Sessions Presents / 'Hoop'

The Jazz Rag’s Russell Corbett praises the horn section, led by Paul Booth.

REVIEW: Secret Sessions Presents "Hoop'

BBC Music Magazine’s Garry Booth writes, “it burns with the bright energy and intensity you want from the genre.”

VIDEO FEATURE: Secret Sessions Presents Hoop - 'Sinterval' Video

Jazzwise selests Hoop for Video of The Day.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: SECRET SESSIONS PERFORM

THEIR TRACK ‘SINTERVAL’ FROM

THE NEW 'HOOP' ALBUM

For the full article, please click on the image, above.

FEATURE: Hoop on Jazzed

The portal highlights the stalwarts of the London jazz scene.

REVIEW: Secret Sessions Presents 'Hoop'

Bebop Spoken Here’s lance Liddle writes, “A cooking rhythm section and a few guests dotted around made for a successful project - bring on number 3!”

Ubuntu Music to Release Second Secret Sessions Album

Secret Sessions Presents Hoop

5th November 2021

UBU0092

CD, Digital & Vinyl Formats

Left to right: Laurence Cottle, Chris Allard, Nichol Thomson, Paul Booth, Ian Thomas, Tom Walsh (Photographer: Tim Bray)

Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce its continuing relationship with the Secret Sessions series, for the worldwide release of Hoop on 5th November 2021.

Sax stalwart Paul Booth is the curator of the Secret Sessions project, which is an outlet for new music that is created, played, and ultimately recorded by grouping like-minded artists and friends together. It works like this…Paul carefully selects a range of highly talented musicians who turn up to the recording studio, only knowing the instrumentation of the music but not knowing who they will be recording with. The result is a dynamic cocktail of spontaneous, exciting, and highly rewarding music.

As Paul explains it, “The response has been staggering and proved just how passionate everyone is about making new music. I sifted through the top musicians available and picked a band utilising trumpet/trombone/tenor sax/piano/bass/drums. It dawned on me that it could be fun to keep them in the dark about who they were going to be recording with on the day…and ‘Secret Sessions’ was born. The only information they had was instrumentation, to aid them in their arrangements and what time and where they needed to be. We began the series with ‘Fragile Eagle’ and had a blast. Now we are onto our second release, ‘Hoop’, with an entirely different set musicians and we are absolutely delighted with the results of this ‘album in an afternoon’ session. We did some post-production work on the tracks, with additional instrumentation added later. However, the core of the music was seven people in a studio playing ‘live’. The music is vastly different from the first ‘Secret Sessions’ release and is reminiscent of the fusion/jazz funk/jazz rock era.”

The core band is as good as it gets: Tom Walsh (trumpet), Nichol Thomson (trombone), Paul Booth (tenor sax & bass clarinet), Chris Allard (guitars), Laurence Cottle (electric bass) and Ian Thomas (drums). They are joined on a handful of tracks by Steve Hamilton (keys), Miles Bould (percussion) and Ross Stanley (Hammond organ).

Left to right: Chris Allard, Nichol Thomson, Tom Walsh, Paul Booth, Laurence Cottle, Ian Thomas (video images).

Tom Walsh describes the project: “The germination of this album came from the core of the band wanting to explore some original music off the back of touring with various pop/rock artists. Having worked together in multiple musical line-ups as sidemen for multiple bandleaders, it made sense to come together and create some music under our own combined leadership! A lot of the players in this outfit are known for their work as top London session players but wanted to revisit their jazz and improvisational roots. ‘Hoop’ presents an album of synth-tinged fusion coming from a group of contemporary jazz musicians with wide musical influences and experiences. Expect everything from powerful horn-led prog rock elements all the way through to gutsy, soulful ballad and blues playing.”

Chris Allard continues: “It has been a huge pleasure and privilege for me to be a part of this album. Paul Booth is an immensely creative and productive force, and his open-minded, generous, and collaborative approach has led to this diverse and exciting recording. I had worked with and been rather awed by the immense talents and reputations of all the musicians involved, but had not recorded with them all, and certainly not together and in such an open, collaborative, and creative project. It has been a very positive and rewarding experience for me and listening back to the recording is deeply gratifying.”

Concerning their partnership with Ubuntu Music, each gave their view:

Tom Walsh--"It’s fantastic to be working with Martin (Hummel) and Ubuntu. As a huge supporter of genre-diverse contemporary music on this scene, there’s no-one we’d feel more at home with, in terms of understanding the music we’re creating, and we look forward to being on the same roster as a lot of our favourite players and colleagues.”

Chris Allard--"I’m thrilled to be involved with Ubuntu Music. I’ve been aware of Ubuntu since its inception, have admired its excellent work ever since, and been delighted to see how successful, prolific, and respected it has become. I find the range of music released by Ubuntu--though stylistically diverse--without exception shares the qualities of integrity, high level musicianship and artistry.”

Paul Booth--“On a personal note I feel privileged and thankful that Martin Hummel (Ubuntu) and Paul Pace (Spice of Life) jumped onboard this project with such fire and enthusiasm. This means a lot to each of these sessions as there is an outlet not only for our recorded music but also to play live.”

Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, summed things up: “This is the quintessential Who’s Who in UK jazz, with substantial international credentials. All of these guys have played with the biggest names in music…period. For Boothy to assemble this crew, who played their hearts out for the love of the music, this is about as good as it gets. The Ubuntu Music Family welcomes Hoop with arms wide open.”

For further information, please contact:

Emma Perry (Publicity):                                             emmasarahperry@gmail.com

Martin Hummel/Ubuntu Music (Worldwide):           martin@ubuntumanagementgroup.com

BIOGRAPHIES

(Photographer Monika S Jakubowska)

Paul Booth (saxes)

From his early acclaim as a prize-winning saxophonist, Paul Booth has continually refined and expanded his talents as a solo artist, composer, arranger, and bandleader, whilst establishing an elite reputation as a first-call sideman for major contemporary music artists.

He won a place at the Royal Academy of Music in 1993 at the age of 16, becoming their youngest student on a degree course. That year Paul also won the 'Best Modern Jazz Player’ category at the televised Young Jazz Player of the Year. One day, Paul received the call from the legendary Steve Winwood, and he’s been working with Steve ever since. Paul’s ability to blend into any musical surrounding coupled with his talents as a multi-instrumentalist has led to him being regularly chosen to perform with many well-known artists. Paul has toured, performed and recorded around the world with The Eagles, Eric Clapton, Steely Dan, Carlos Santana, Van Morrison, The Allman Brothers Band, Bonnie Raitt, Chaka Khan, Kylie Minogue, Jamiroquai, Gregory Porter, Barry Manilow, Warren Haynes, Marti Pellow, Derek Trucks, Eddie Henderson, Geoffrey Keezer, Clarence Penn and Ingrid Jensen.

(Photographer: Paul Booth)

Tom Walsh (trumpet)

Tom is based in London, where he graduated from the Jazz Course at the Royal Academy of Music with 1st Class Honours. In his first year at college, Tom was the inaugural recipient of the Humphrey Lyttelton Jazz Prize, an award for outstanding jazz performance.

Shortly after graduating, in 2013 Tom was appointed the lead trumpet chair in the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. He has worked with international jazz luminaries such as Benny Golson, Branford Marsalis, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer and Mike Stern. Tom has also played with a number of the UK's top big bands including The BBC Big Band, The Stan Sulzmann Neon Orchestra, The Laurence Cottle Big Band, The Gareth Lockrane Big Band, The Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra, NYJO and The Mark Nightingale Big Band. In the pop and commercial music world, Tom has played and recorded with the likes of Van Morrison, Blur, Mark Knopfler, Jessie J, Gary Barlow and Shirley Bassey.

(Photographer: Paul Booth)

Nichol Thomson (trombone)

Nichol is a highly sought-after trombonist. His list of who he has worked with proves the point. He's played with major artists and bands including Incognito, Tom Jones, Tina Turner, Robbie Williams, Grace Jones, Paloma Faith, Omar, Groovejam, Moloko, Duffy, Beverley Knight, Hope Collective, Mutya Buena, Sugababes, Sharleen Spiteri, Boyzone, Brand New Heavies, Olly Murs, INXS, Mel C, Jamie Cullum, Annie Lennox, The Drifters... the list goes on. 

(Photographer: Paul Booth)

Chris Allard (guitars)

Chris is regarded as one of the UK's finest contemporary jazz guitarists/composers. He has performed and recorded with Jacqui Dankworth, Gwilym Simcock, Omar Kamal, Charlie Wood, the BBC Big Band, and Jamie Cullum, amongst others.

He has performed around the world at prestigious places including the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Royal Albert Hall, the Pyramids, the O2 Arena, Ronnie Scott’s, and to huge audiences such as at the BBC Proms in Hyde Park to over 42,000 people.

Chris has recorded in iconic studios including Abbey Road, Maida Vale, Pinewood and Angel Studios, and has played live on television and radio many times. He is also a Professor of Jazz at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

(Photographer: Paul Booth)

Laurence Cottle (electric bass)

Laurence has played jazz with the likes of Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau, Peter Erskine and the Buddy Rich Big Band and rocked with Black Sabbath, Ian Gillan, Cozy Powell and Ginger Baker. A consummate performer and studio musician, he has recorded several albums under his own name and has led his own big band since 1998. He still continues to perform and record with some of the biggest names in entertainment across a myriad of musical styles. The bassist of choice for many, Laurence has recorded with Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Gary Moore, Brian Eno, Mike Oldfield and Procol Harum. He’s played with Bill Bruford’s Earthworks and Pee Wee Ellis’s Funk Assembly and is a regular part of Ronnie Scott’s All Stars. His jazz credentials are impeccable, including work with the likes of Jim Mullen, Django Bates, Gary Husband, Jason Rebello and Tim Garland. He is a remarkable musician with an international reputation. It is fair to say that he is one of the finest electric bass players ever to come out of the UK.

(Photographer: Paul Booth)

Ian Thomas (drums)

Over his career, Ian Thomas has worked in almost every musical style playing everywhere from basement jazz clubs to Madison Square Garden and has recorded with some of the most successful artists in the world. He was asked to play on his first major session in 1987. The track was Kissing a Fool by George Michael for the album Faith. His next major break was being asked to tour with Seal in 1990 and did so for two years playing live and recording.

Since then, Ian has gone on to tour with artists such as Mike Oldfield, Tom Jones, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler and his recording career has included albums with Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Robbie Robertson, BB King and Chrissie Hynde to name but a few.

Ubuntu Music Signs Dynamic Drummer Elliott Henshaw For All-Star Album Release

The Elliott Henshaw Band

Who’d Have Guest?

27th August 2021

UBU0090 / CD & Digital Formats

Elliott Henshaw (David Phillips photographer)

Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce the signing of accomplished drummer Elliott Henshaw for the release of his album, Who’d Have Guest?, on 27th August 2021.

Elliott has been an in-demand drummer for many years now, working with artists and bands that include Shirley Bassey, John Lord and Roger Glover (Deep Purple), Paul Anka, Michael Ball, Tony Christie, Leo Sayer, David Benoit, Russell Watson, Tony Hadley, The BBC Big Band, The Drifters, Gwen Dickie, Georgie Fame, Bob Mintzer, Mike Stern, Eric Marienthal, Beverley Knight and Phil Collins. He has played in over 20 West End shows that include Lion King, Come from Away, Dear Evan Hansen and Bat Out Of Hell. Alongside his own band, Elliott co-runs the 18-piece band Spice Fusion with Simon Niblock, who together have released two albums to date--Trying Too Hard and Trying Hard 2.

Elliott Henshaw (Harvey Clifton photographer)

“Being heavily influenced by the likes of Dave Grusin, The Yellowjackets, Al Jarreau and David Sanborn”, explains Elliott, “I wanted to release music that celebrates the importance of strong melody combined with solid groove. Every member of the band is encouraged to stretch out and be creative within these parameters. ‘Who’d Have Guest’ features original compositions that showcase horn sections, string sections and, as the album title suggests, some very special guests. It has been 10 years in the making due to everyone’s work schedules but for me it has been worth the wait. Producing an album that allowed me to make music not only with my friends, but my heroes as well has been a joy from start to finish.”

The core members of The Elliott Henshaw Band are some of the busiest musicians on the UK scene--Bass player Andrew McKinney (James Taylor Quartet/Jarvis Cocker), keys player Matt Steele (Brand New Heavies/Jersey Street), guitarist James Pusey (Beverley Knight/Paloma Faith) and saxophonist Simon Willescroft (Duran Duran/Joss Stone).

Elliott Henshaw (Mark Elvin photographer)

Elliott continues, “The idea behind this project was to take my existing 5-piece band and include different guest appearances on each track. The guests vary from a horn section featuring the likes of Tom Walsh, Simon Niblock and Chris Traves, vocalists such as Miranda Wilford and Noel Sullivan, or jazz heavyweights such as Gwilym Simcock, Bob Mintzer and Dave Weckl. I wanted to celebrate music and musicians that have inspired me over the years whilst at the same time document where I am creatively at this point in my life.”

Concerning his new relationship with Ubuntu Music, Elliott shares his thoughts: “I was first introduced to Martin Hummel by my good friends Matt Steele and Quentin Collins. After our first conversation I knew straight away that I wanted to work with him and his label, Ubuntu Music. Martin has an abundance of passion and commitment to music combined with a great respect for the musicians. He has been so helpful with his guidance and advice, all of which comes from a wealth of experience in the industry. I am very much looking forward to what I hope will be a long relationship with Martin and Ubuntu.”

Elliott Henshaw (Michael Palmer photographer)

Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, adds his perspective: “I’d been aware of Elliott for some time and, through mutual acquaintances, we had the opportunity to meet. Elliott kindly shared his project with me and the rest is history. I was floored by the richness and the depth of the music, all of which is firmly anchored in seductive melodies. Having Gwilym Simcock, Bob Mintzer and Dave Weckl appear on the album, along with other such standouts, is the icing on a very delicious cake. It’s great to welcome Elliott to the Ubuntu Music Family.”

For further information, please contact:

Martin Hummel (Ubuntu Music)                               martin@ubuntumanagementgroup.com

Rupert Burley (Dynamic Agency PR)                       rupert@dynamicagency.co.uk 

Countdown To Ecstasy: Royal Academy Big Band Pay Tribute To The Dan (Jazzwise Review)

“The evening underlined just how extraordinary and timeless the Dan repertoire is; and how it connects through the generations. “

For the full review, please click on the image, above.

For the full review, please click on the image, above.

For the full review, please click on the image, above.