Originally from Ukraine/Poland, ALINA BZHEZHINSKA has become one of the most innovative international harpists, based in London. 

She has created imaginative concert programmes and recorded with leading classical and jazz musicians: such as Django Bates, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and the Glasgow String Quartet. Alina’s London appearances include Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, live on BBC Radio 3, the London Jazz Festival and the London Film Festival. Her duo with award-winning jazz vocalist Niki King recently performed as a support act for Gregory Porter. Alina’s critically acclaimed Quartet with Tony Kofi (Saxophones), Larry Bartley (Bass) and Joel Prime (Drums/Percussion) has appeared at Jazz Legend Festival in Birmingham and leads the celebration of Alice Coltrane 80th Birthday at many venues around the country, including top London jazz clubs, such as The Crypt and The Vortex. Alina Bzhezhinska Quartet appeared at the London Jazz Festival 2017 in a triple bill performance along with Coltrane’ s specialist Denys Baptist and the legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders.
 

TONY KOFI Having 'cut his teeth' in the “Jazz Warriors” of the early 90’s, award-winning saxophonist Tony Kofi (www.tonykofimusic.com) has gone on to establish himself as a musician, teacher and composer of some authority. Tony’s playing has also been a feature of many bands and artists including “US-3” World Saxophone Quartet, Courtney Pine, Donald Byrd, Eddie Henderson, The David Murray Big Band and Sam Rivers, Andrew hill, Ornette Coleman, Nu-Troop and Jazz Jamaica. His fluent and fiery hard-bop soprano/ alto/ tenor playing is constantly in demand.

LARRY BARTLEY is a bassist / composer who has been a staple of the London & international jazz scene for the past 20 years as a side man and as a leader. His 2003 debut album, "ALONG THIS WAY" was nominated for 'best new work" in the BBC JAZZ AWARDS.
 

Larry has also played & recorded in various bands including Abdullah Ibrahim, Tony Kofi, Denys Baptiste, Ingrid Laugbrock, Stanley Turrentine, Steve Grossman, Donald Brown (of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers), David Murray, Orinn Evans & Gary Bartz.
 

Australian drummer JOEL PRIME has become an important addition to British jazz. He was awarded most outstanding percussionist at Generations in Jazz by James Morrison, received a prestigious performance award from Downbeat magazine (USA) as a member of the Adelaide University Big Band 1. Joel also received the Helpmann Academy Award for Jazz Drums at the Elder Conservatorium and received the 2010 Helpmann Academy Award for most outstanding Honours graduate.

Since bursting on to the scene in 2006, pianist and composer Andrew McCormack has been a driving force behind A-list jazz artists Kyle Eastwood, Eric Alexander, Denys Baptiste and Jean Toussaint, as well as a host of home grown talent including Jamie Cullum and Jason Yarde. His talent as a composer has also seen him work for different genres of classical and film scores globally.
In 2006 his debut album, Telescope, was released on Dune Records to critical acclaim and picked up the BBC Jazz Award that year in the Rising Star category. 2009 saw the release of his duo project with saxophonist Jason Yarde, M Y DUO, which features compositions from both Yarde and McCormack. This was followed by Places And Other Spaces in 2011 on the Edition Records label, which received accolades internationally for its development as a project and the achievements made in the duo format. More recently, McCormack has released two trio albums, Live in London in 2012 and his latest, First Light in 2014, which was recorded in New York (where he spends some of his time) and which again received considerable critical acclaim throughout the world.
As a composer and having studied privately with Mark-Anthony Turnage, McCormack has written for many different classical ensembles including the Heritage Orchestra, Linos Wind Quintet, G Project and the London Symphony Orchestra, which selected him to participate in their Panufnik Young Composer Scheme in 2008 and, in turn, commissioned from him ‘Incentive’, a 10 minute work for full orchestra, which premiered at the Barbican in Londscores 2009.
His film scores include orchestration and additional music and performances for Clint Eastwood in a number of his productions, which include ‘Flags Of Our Fathers’, ‘Letters From Iwo Jima’, ‘Changeling’, along with the John Cussack movie, ‘Grace Is Gone’.
McCormack has worked and performed with many great artists including Quincy Jones, Jamie Cullum, Manu Katchè, Till Broner, David Arnold, Eric Alexander and Courtney Pine. As a well-known collaborator, McCormack has been consistently linked  with a number of long standing groups which include the Denys Baptiste and Jean Toussaint quartets, and as a pivotal member of the Kyle Eastwood Band, touring extensively worldwide for the last decade. Eastwood’s 2011 release, ‘Songs From The Chateau’, which reached Number 2 in the U.S radio play Jazz charts, saw McCormack heavily involved in the writing and performing of the material. He has remained consistently involved with Eastwood, which includes the latest release, ‘Time Pieces”, in 2015.

For Website, Click HERE.

Chosen in the ‘Shape of Jazz to Come in 2018’ in Jazzwise, Bonsai (formerly known as Jam Experiment) are an award-winning band that are based in London, UK. Formed in 2014, they have appeared on BBC Radio 3 and Jazz FM numerous times and played at leading jazz festivals and venues across the UK including London Jazz Festival, Love Supreme Festival, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, and Ronnie Scott’s.

 Bonsai's sound is dynamic jazz fusion balanced with intricate compositions and adventurous improvisations negotiated through mutual admiration for each other. The band has no leader or rather, each member is the leader; through this process they've challenged their own musical boundaries. Given that the Ingham brothers have been playing together for nearly 20 years, when the unusual frontline of trombone/violin/vocals is met with the ferociously “high- octane” rhythm section, the ensemble has an electric synergy that results in “pure musical gold”.

 The line-up includes the winner of Rising Star in the 2017 British Jazz Awards, trombonist Rory Ingham, his brother Dominic Ingham on violin/vocals, Toby Comeau on piano/keyboard, Joe Lee on bass, and Jonny Mansfield (Kenny Wheeler Jazz Prize winner) on drums.

 As the band explains, “’Bonsai Club’ is an album of compositions by Bonsai. This is a group where everyone is the leader, and the music is written to be played by each other, with each other. The long-standing relationships between Jonny, brothers Rory and Dom, and childhood best friends Toby and Joe mean that Bonsai are able to work cohesively and freely as a collective, resulting in total synergy. For this record Bonsai have explored breaking down boundaries between genres, whilst developing a sound that is driven by a myriad of ingredients: expressive vocals, a plethora of synths, and groove fuelled improvisations.”

 “Bonsai are bouncing with excitement (like a dog with two tails!), to be releasing ‘Bonsai Club’ on Ubuntu Music”, trombonist Rory Ingham continues. “We’re overjoyed that Martin Hummel has decided to provide us with the platform to release this brand-new music; Martin is one of the most supportive, forward-looking and open-minded individuals on the UK jazz scene. I am truly hopeful that we reach an audience that enjoys all kinds of music, as this album has something for everybody.”  

 “When I first heard and then saw these guys perform, I was completely knocked out”, said Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music. “And others certainly agree. Bonsai has a very bright future ahead of them. Watch this space…”.

For Website, Click HERE.

Born in Perth, Western Australia, Brandon started playing the piano at the age of 10, then played classical guitar for a year before taking up the saxophone at age 13. And this became the start of his journey as a professional artist.

Since arriving in the UK, he has worked with many artists and groups/ensembles within the jazz, funk, R&B, hip hop, soul, big band, classical and pop genres.

He is also an accomplished session musician, composer and arranger for commercial music and films.

Brandon has performed with a broad cross-section of artists, including Eric Clapton, Mica Paris, Jools Holland, Neil Diamond, Kyle Eastwood and Liane Carroll.

Brandon regularly hosts the Late Late Show at Ronnie Scott’s with his quartet.

Brandon has appeared at many festivalsand venues around the world, including the Oslo Jazz Festival, Reading Rock Festival, Edinburgh Jazz Festival, Isle of Wight, Brecon Jazz Festival, Marsiac Jazz Festival (France), Copenhagen Jazz Festival, the London Jazz Festival and various jazz festivals throughout Italy. The list of venues where Brandon’s performed are equally impressive: The Royal Albert Hall, Birdland, the Blue Note (Milan, Tokyo and Nagoya), Millenium Stadium in Wales, Duc de Lombards (Paris), The Bimhuis (Amsterdam), Birmingham Symphony Hall and Ronnie's Scott's in London.

QCBA, a brilliant swing/bop quartet, is the brainchild of Brandon on sax and Quentin Collins on trumpet. Completing the line up are the masterful Ross Stanley on Hammond organ & Enzo Zirilli on drums. Since their inception in 2008, QCBA have taken the contemporary jazz scene by storm, having performed across the UK and Europe at many top venues and festivals including Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Dean Street, Bravo Caffe Bologna, Jazzino in Cagliari, Duoro Jazz Festival in Portugal and The Scarborough Jazz Festival. They are also noted for collaborating with a broad range of artists such as Liane Carroll, Omar, Paloma Faith, Hamish Stuart & Natalie Williams. This has enabled them to develop the eclectic sound that is so evident on their second studio album, "Beauty in Quiet Places", released September 2015 on Ubuntu Music, which brings together a melting pot of Jazz, Brazilian and Funk and, crucially, non-stop swinging.

For Website, Click HERE.

Camilla George is a London based saxophone player, improviser, composer and teacher.

She began playing when she was 11 years old where she won a music lesson and as a result, won saxophone lessons. Camilla has studied with many jazz greats such as sax giant, Jean Toussaint (of Art Blakey fame), Tony Kofi, Christian Brewer, Julian Siegal and Martin Speake. In 2012 she graduated with a Masters in Jazz from Trinity College of Music where she also won the Archer Scholarship for outstanding performance.Since 2004

Camilla has been working with both Tomorrows Warriors and the Nu Civilisation Orchestra (including a UK tour performing at many prestigious venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall), as well as leading workshops for the younger members of The Warriors family.

In 2009 she joined award winning band, Jazz Jamaica whose alumni have included Jason Yarde, Soweto Kinch and Nathaniel Facey. In October 2009 she performed with Jazz Jamaica and Ernest Ranglin at London’s Ronnie Scotts jazz club. In 2013 Jazz Jamaica were nominated for a MOBO award for Jazz Performance. Most recently in October 2014, Camilla performed at Ronnie Scott’s for 3 consecutive nights with Jazz Jamaica. The performance received rave reviews and was a sell out performance.

In 2014 she also joined Courtney Pine's Venus Warriors, an all female super group who had their debut gig at The Hideaway jazz club.

Camilla's debut album, 'ISANG', with special guest Zara McFarlane on vocals, was released on Ubuntu Music in late 2016, to exceptional critical acclaim.

For Website, Click HERE.

Chesney Henry “Chet” Baker Jr. was raised in a musical household in Oklahoma (his father was a guitar player), and coming of age in Southern California during the bebop era of jazz, Baker found success as a trumpet player in 1951 when he was chosen by Charlie Parker to play with him for a series of West Coast engagements.
In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which was an instant phenomenon. Baker became famous on the strength of his solo on their recording of “My Funny Valentine” a piece he was later said to “own”. The Quartet, however, lasted less than a year because of Mulligan's arrest on drug charges.
In 1954, Baker won the Downbeat Jazz Poll, beating Miles Davis among others. Over the next few years, Baker fronted his own combo, playing trumpet and singing. He became an icon of the west coast “cool school” of jazz, helped by his good looks and singing talent. By the early 1960s, Baker had begun playing the fluegelhorn, as well.
In 1966, Baker allegedly was severely beaten after a gig in San Francisco, sustaining severe cuts on the lips and broken front teeth, thus ruining his embouchure. Accounts of the incident vary, largely because of his lack of reliable testimony on the matter. From that time he had to learn to play with dentures, an almost impossible process for a brass player.
Between 1966 and 1974, Baker mostly played flugelhorn, with its wider mouthpiece, and recorded what must be considered slick mood music. He eventually moved to New York City and began recording again in earnest with other well known jazz musicians such as Jim Hall.
Baker recorded extensively throughout his career. As a result, his discography is considered widely uneven. However, some of Baker's European recordings, made near the end of his career, reveal a more mature and, at times, brilliant talent with simplicity and depth beyond his previous work.
Near the end of Baker's life, he resided and played almost exclusively in Europe, returning to the USA about once a year for a few performance dates.
Ubuntu Music has been granted the exclusive rights to releasing a series of recordings from 1983 that Chet made in London, at the Canteen Club. He is accompanied by the John Horler Trio, with Horler on piano, Jim Richardson on bass and Tony Mann on drums. This is one of the only known series of Chet performing live in London. The aptly titled, 'Live in London', is a two CD set and was released in late 2016 to worldwide critical acclaim. A follow-up two CD release is scheduled for Autumn 2018.

For Website, Click HERE.

Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce the signing of The Darius Brubeck Quartet (DBQ), led by pianist Darius Brubeck. The album, Live in Poland, was recorded at the prestigious Blue Note in Poznan and will be released on Ubuntu Music in Spring 2020.

 Born in San Francisco, Darius grew up in the artistic milieu of his famous father Dave and has enjoyed a lifetime of varied international experience as bandleader, composer, teacher and broadcaster.

“I was invited to Poland three times in 2018, the 60th anniversary of the 1958 classic Dave Brubeck Quartet’s tour of this country. With the end of World War I in 1918, it was also the 100th anniversary of Polish independence. Szczecin (where I played on stage for the first time when I was 10 years old) was the first stop on the 1958 tour and the first city visited during my initial trip. I appeared for one number, inevitably “Take Five”, with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra as part of the celebrations”, Darius explains.

“I was deeply moved to find that my father’s tour was associated in the Solidarity Museum with the beginning of the movement that liberated Poland from Soviet domination. Szczecin Jazz invited me back with my London-based quartet to perform at an arts festival the following month. The third time was for a tour of the six cities where the Dave Brubeck Quartet had performed; the first American jazz group to play behind the ‘Iron Curtain’, starting in – you guessed it – Szczecin.  Suffused with political meaning for the audience and my boyhood memories of witnessing the devastation left by war with my late brother Michael and my parents, this was no ordinary concert tour.”

Darius continues by explaining the formation of his quartet and the creation of this recording project. “The Darius Brubeck Quartet features Dave O’Higgins (sax), Matt Ridley (bass) and Wesley Gibbens (drums) and has been together for 12 years. The four of us, along with Cathy, my wife and manager, make important decisions together. The plan was to record every night of the tour and choose the best takes but, in the end, we decided that the last night at the Blue Note in Poznan (the only Jazz Club we played) was it. You might say the album should’ve been called ‘Live in Poznan’.  However, this performance was the culmination of a tour of sold out concert halls and standing ovations.  The band was at a peak, especially in terms of communication with each other and the audience. As the saying goes, the music speaks for itself.  I want to thank Dave, Matt and Wesley for their great playing, professional attitude and artistic wisdom, Cathy for her excellent management and Sylwester Ostrowski (OS Jazz), a great Polish saxophonist, for his concept and organization.”

In terms of joining the Ubuntu Music Family, Darius says, “Cathy and I released four Darius Brubeck Quartet albums on our own Gathering Forces label, which have done well for us and the band, but there are limits to this. All of us believe that signing with Ubuntu Music for ‘Live in Poland’ is significant and will take things up a level. Working with Martin Hummel and his Ubuntu team will give us access to marketing, media promotion and distribution we haven’t had until now. Martin understands where we’re coming from as artists and how far we can go.  We are delighted with this transition as we would like as many people as possible to hear ‘Live in Poland’. Being with a prestigious label increases our reach and, as a result, I will now have more time for writing. Interestingly, Dave O’Higgins also has a deal with Ubuntu, so we’re in the same boat. May it sail on successfully!”

Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, describes his passion for the project. “It’s difficult to know where to start. I grew up as a kid with Dave Brubeck’s music playing in our house all the time. I fast-forward to the multiple occasions I’ve heard Darius Brubeck play live in London, with his brothers and with his Quartet—both of which feature Dave O’Higgins on sax, who ranks as one of my favourite tenor players on the jazz scene. And here we are now, commemorating Dave Brubeck’s historical 1958 Poland tour with Darius following his father’s footsteps 60 years later, and a recording that captures this timeless musical magic. It just doesn’t get much better than this. We are delighted beyond words to be working with Darius and the Quartet. We simply cannot wait to release this exceptional live recording next year.”

For Website, Click HERE.

 Dave O’Higgins’ tenor and soprano sax sounds are highly personal and recognisable, with a clear sense of melodic development and adventure. A popular performer with the public, with an excellent sense of pacing and presentation, he has a wide palette from Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Joe Henderson through to Stanley Turrentine and Michael Brecker.

 Dave is a highly regarded educator at the LCCM, where he is the Jazz Pathway Leader.

 He also runs a small specialist jazz recording studio (JVG), in search of the optimum way of recording jazz musicians through a combination of old techniques (á la Rudy Van Gelder) and newer innovations.

 Dave has worked with some of the world’s finest musicians, including: Joey Calderazzo, Joe Locke, Dave Kikowski, Eric Alexander, Grant Stewart, Max Ionata, Phil Dwyer, Adam Nussbaum, Joe Lovano, Phil Woods, Jimmy Smith, Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, Kurt Elling, Wayne Shorter, Eddie Gomez, Billy Childs, Abdullah Ibrahim, Chico Chagas, Stephane Grappelli and Michel Legrand. He wrote and produced the last Matt Bianco album, “Gravity”.

For Website, Click HERE.

A fine straight-ahead jazz saxophonist, Eric Alexander grew up in the state of Washington. He initially attended Indiana University, studying classical music as an altoist. However, he soon discovered jazz, switched to the tenor, and transferred to William Paterson College in New Jersey. After graduating, he moved to Chicago and gained important experience touring with Charles Earland while also becoming a fixture in local clubs. Influenced by Dexter Gordon and George Coleman, but gradually developing a more original sound, Alexander has also worked with Mel Rhyne, Cecil Payne, Kenny Barron, and Eddie Henderson, among others.

In 1991, Alexander placed second at the Thelonious Monk Institute's saxophone competition, finishing just behind Joshua Redman. In 1992, he relocated to New York and made his recording debut as a leader with New York Calling on Criss Cross. Alexander recorded two additional sets as a leader for Criss Cross, was part of their Tenor Triangle session, and cut several heated CDs for Delmark, including one that he co-led with veteran tenor Lin Halliday. His 11th album, Man with a Horn, was licensed for U.S. release in 1999 by Milestone, which also issued the follow-up, The First Milestone, in 2000.

Also during this period, he co-founded the jazz supergroup One for All with trumpeter Jim Rotondi, trombonist Steve Davis, pianist David Hazeltine, bassist John Webber, and drummer Joe Farnsworth. A hard-swinging ensemble in the mold of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, One for All toured often, and released a bevy of albums since the late '90s including Too Soon to Tell, Wide Horizons, and What's Going On?

On his own, Alexander has kept busy releasing a steady slew of his own albums including Summit Meeting in 2002, Dead Center in 2004, Battle: Live at Smoke with alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, Temple of Olympic Zeus in 2007, Prime Time: In Concert in 2008, Revival of the Fittest in 2009, and Don't Follow the Crowd in 2011. In 2012, Alexander once again paired with equally adept saxophonist Herring for the concert album Friendly Fire: Live at Smoke. Two years later, he paid homage to his adopted hometown of Chicago with the album Chicago Fire.

Real Thing, featuring his long time band with Harold Mabern, Joe Farnsworth, and John Webber, appeared in 2015. A year later, he paired with the Bernd Reitem Quintet for a live album on Steeple Chase, followed by another guest session on Federico Bonifazi's You'll See, also on Steeple Chase. The saxophonist also reconnected with One for All for 2016's The Third Decade. Alexander then returned to his own session work with 2016's Second Impression, which once again showcased octogenarian bassist Bob Cranshaw. In 2017, he delivered Song of No Regrets, featuring appearances by percussionist Alex Diaz and special guest trumpeter Jon Faddis.

Eric's first album on Ubuntu Music,  'The New York All-Stars--'Burnin' in London'', also features Harold Mabern on piano. It will be released in September 2018.

For Website, Click HERE.

FLYING MACHINES play emotive and dramatic music, drawing upon influences as diverse as jazz, progressive rock and metal to create an utterly unique and modern sound.

Formed by guitarist Alex Munk in 2014, Flying Machines features some of the most innovative young musicians to emerge in recent years from the UK jazz scene, Matt Robinson on piano/keyboards, Conor Chaplin on electric bass and Dave Hamblett on drums. Centred on Alex's unique compositional approach, the band fuse visceral  improvisation with anthemic melodies and lusciously textured soundscapes. It's a sound shot through with the here and now of London's cutting-edge music scene, a decadent mash up of free-wheeling improvisations, prog rock energy and ambient meditations that never detract from the emotive lyricism at the music's core.

Having released their self-titled debut album to critical acclaim in October 2016, with glowing reviews in the likes of Guitaristmagazine and The Guardian, Flying Machines went on to complete a 24 date UK tour supported by Arts Council England which ended with a sold out, headline performance at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. The band went on to perform on the BBC Introducing stage at Latitude Festival. 

Having recently finished off a breakthrough year with performances at London Jazz Festival and Cambridge Jazz Festival, Flying Machines have recorded their second album with the Grammy, MOBO and Mercury nominated producer Sonny Johns at the world class Livingston Studio 1 recording studio. Entitled ‘New Life’, it will be released on Ubuntu Music in October 2018.

Gwen & Tiana" is an Afro-jazz and soul duo. Their music is cadenced by the union of their two remarkably powerful soulful voices. A blend of numerous styles, their hybrid music is an alchemy between an energetic African rhythmic and Afro-European Jazz sounds.

DÉBUTS ET CARRIÈRE

In 2012, Gwen and Tiana officially became a duo. It was organic, evident, as if the tandem were destined to shine under the spotlights. 

The general public discovered the two artists on the stages of various gospel and soul concerts across Europe, where they performed both as backing vocalists and lead singers. Those tours led them to share the stage with renowned artists such as Derrick McKenzie (drummer for Jamiroquai), Ledzek Mozdzer and Martha High (ex- backing vocalist for James Brown) and to sing on the musical stages of the Cannes Film Festival.

2014 was a turning point in Gwen & Tiana’s career. The duo sought to create a repertoire reflecting its image and its identity. It was the beginning of a process of reflection, of research and experimentation that led them to become, a year later, musically mature and to affirm a shift to an Afro-jazz and soul repertoire.

« We wanted to go beyond soul music, which has always been an important part of our artistic expression. Exploring African culture enables us to create connections, to build bridges between Africa and Europe, throughout our musical mixture that has the taste  of our own influences ».

Africa is a continent that Gwen & Tiana know very well. Gwen, who is from Gabon and Togo and Tiana, whose roots are in Cameroon and Madagascar, both left their countries over ten years ago to develop their knowledge of music – respectively in a prominent jazz school in Montpellier and at the Conservatoire de Musique in Lille – and to start an artistic career on stage.

A RETURN TO THEIR ROOTS

In 2015, Gwen & Tiana crossed the path of the jazz guitarist Femi Temowo – whose references include Amy Winehouse, Gregory Porter or even George Benson – and their career gained new momentum. Familiar with Afro-European sounds, the Nigerian/British artist had no difficulty to understand the spirit of the duo and where Gwen & Tiana wanted him to take them in terms of expression and experimentation.

An artistic collaboration started and it was dynamic. A few weeks later, Gwen & Tiana decided to go to Poland, a country they knew pretty well, in order to find a work space where they could produce their first EP.

« We discovered Poland during a Gospel tour back in 2014. It was love at first sight! During that tour, we met excellent Polish musicians and they are now working with us  on our first EP. » 

Throughout 2015, Gwen & Tiana travelled back and forth between Switzerland, where they lived, and Poland, where they worked on the songs of their debut album.

« During that period, we were working with Femi Temowo and Polish musicians who helped us in the creative process. Our goal was to create a music that is entertaining,  simple, warm and most importantly, heart-warming ».

The EP is a poetic and melodious break with an unusual Afro-soul rhythm and it should be released in September 2016. It is a foretaste of the upcoming album produced by Femi Temowo and that should be presented in spring 2017. Its songs will be disclosed to the publics of the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, and during the duo’s French tour in October 2016.

For website, please click HERE.

Hakan Başar (Jr.), who was born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2004. He began playing piano when he was eight years old. After some private lessons he continued his studies with his father, who is a guitarist.

Hakan was 10 when gave his first concert, within 5th Pera Music Festival, with transcription and repertoire of Michel Petrucciani, Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett, Kenny Barron, Hank Jones, Bill Evans and Tommy Flanagan.

He has performed at events such as Cercle d'Orient, Caddebostan Cultural Center, Istanbul Hilton, BBVA (Esma Sultan), Akbank Syndicated Loan Signing Ceremony (Raffles Hotel), AkçanSA (Sabancı Center) with projects like "Tribute Michel Petrucciani", "Tribute Oscar Peterson & Keith Jarrett".

Hakan has met with a number of international jazz superstars, including Chick Corea, Ron Carter, Russell Malone and Eddie Gomez. Hakan even got the chance to workshop with Chick Corea before Corea's concert in İstanbul.

Hakan began recording in 2018. İmer Demirer, Halil Çağlar Serin, Engin Recepoğulları, Kağan Yıldız and especially Ferit Odman have taken part in these recordings.

Hakan’s debut album, ‘On Top of The Roof’, will be released on Ubuntu Music in late 2019.

For Website, Click HERE.

Harold Mabern (born March 20, 1936 in Memphis, Tennessee) is a hard bop and soul jazz pianist.

Mabern was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee – a city that’s a capital of 20th century American music. Like fellow Memphis jazz artists George Coleman, Booker Little, and Frank Strozier, Mabern attended Manassas High School, and after an early attempt at playing the drums, he taught himself piano and fell under the spell of pianist Phineas Newborn Jr., an influence that would shape and linger with Mabern for the rest of his life.

Along with some other Memphis musicians, Mabern moved to Chicago in in 1954 where he soon found work backing up tenor sax players Johnny Griffin, Gene Ammons and Clifford Jordon. He also gained further influence from studying with pianist Ahmad Jamal and played in the hardbop group MJT + 3, before going on to New York City in 1959. “Chicago gave me the stuff I needed—and the confidence,” he recalled in 1987. “New York refined my stuff and it’s still doing it.”

One of his earliest significant gigs was an 18-month stay with Art Farmer and Benny Golson’s Jazztet. After the Jazztet disbanded, Mabern worked with Jimmy Forrest, Lionel Hampton, Donald Byrd and did a brief stint with Miles Davis in 1963.  He worked with J.J. Johnson (1963-65), Lee Morgan(1965) and Hank Mobley- recording the album, Dippin’. Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Williams (1966-67)  Mabern also played in a quartet with guitarist Wes Montgomery. Decades later Mabern praised the joyous quality of Montgomery’s playing and personality and told an interviewer:

The music was challenging. He’d just start playing. He’d say “Mabern, play this with me.” Now, if he had a specific thing he wanted me to play, like say maybe he wanted me to play a figure with him in unison, ok, and I’d pick it right up because of the fact that I’m self taught, always had to use my ears anyway… Then there’d be times when he’d say, “Mabern, you play this with me,” and it might be the harmony part to what he’s playing…whatever way, it was always a challenge. He always said, “Mabern, you’re a bad cat.” And I’d say, “Oh, I’m just trying to keep up with you.”

Between 1968-70,  Mabern led four albums for Prestige, the first being A Few Miles From Memphis with a lineup that featured two saxophonists, one of them fellow Memphis native George Coleman. As the 1970s began, Harold Mabern became a key member of Lee Morgan’s working group and appeared on several live and studio recordings made by the trumpeter before his death in 1972.

In 1971, he played on Stanley Turrentine’s The Sugar Man and Don’t Mess With Mr. T. album in 1973. In 1972 he recorded with  Stanley Cowell’s Piano Choir.

In more recent years, he has toured and recorded extensively with his former William Paterson University student, the tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander. To date, Mabern and Alexander have appeared on over twenty CDs together. A longtime faculty member at William Paterson University since 1981, Mabern is also a frequent instructor at the Stanford Jazz Workshop.

Harold Mabern has recorded as a leader for DIW/Columbia and Sackville and toured with the Contemporary Piano Ensemble (1993-1995).

For Website, Click HERE.

Tenor saxophonist Helena Kay (Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year 2015, winner of Peter Whittingham Jazz Award 2017) leads a trio comprising some of the most in demand young musicians on the London jazz scene. Joined by Ferg Ireland (Kansas Smitty’s House Band, Soweto Kinch) and David Ingamells (Kate Williams), the trio play a mixture of Helena’s originals and tunes from the jazz canon, inspired by greats such as Sonny Rollins and Antonio Carlos Jobim, and contemporary names like Melissa Aldana and Larry Goldings. Their debut album Moon Palace is released on 7th December 2018 on Ubuntu Music.

Helena grew up in Perth, Scotland and moved to London in 2012 to begin studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2016 with a First Class in BMus Jazz (Hons) and also awarded the Anjool Malde Jazz Prize for the highest jazz final recital mark that year. In 2015 she won the Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year, and in 2017 she won the Peter Whittingham Jazz Award, the prize of which she is using to record and release her debut album.
Since graduating, Helena has performed with bands such as Barry Green/Helena Kay Quartet, Calum Gourlay Big Band, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, Issie Barratt Dectet, Helena Kay/Peter Johnstone Duo, Ryan Quigley Big Band, EuroRadio Jazz Orchestra.

David Ingamells has been performing in the UK and abroad for many years. He has participated in several album projects, in addition to numerous festival, concert and club performances. A versatile musician, he has appeared in large ensembles such as orchestra and big band, as well as intimate groups of duo and trio.
Recent highlights include Kate Williams’ album Four Plus Three, Birmingham Jazz Festival, and appearances at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Pizza Express Soho and the Vortex Jazz Club.

Ferg is a founding member of the Kansas Smitty’s House Band and a first-call bassist for some of the leading jazz musicians in the UK (Soweto Kinch, Zhenya Strigalev, Jay Phelps, Ruby Rushton, Nathaniel Facey, Reuben James, Ashley Henry, Empirical) as well as for visiting US luminaries such as Johnny O’Neal (Art Blakey) and Leroy Jones.
He now performs regularly in the UK at leading Jazz venues such as Ronnie Scotts, The Jazz Cafe, Pizza Express Dean Street, the Vortex and the 606, has performed at The Barbican, Kings Place, The Cadogan Hall, Glastonbury Festival, the Royal Albert Hall, The Hackney Empire and The Shoreditch Town Hall, and frequently performs Internationally at festivals and venues across the world.

Helena Kay’s KIM Trio’s debut album, ‘Moon Palace’, will be released on Ubuntu Music in December 2018.

For website, please click HERE.

Jessica Radcliffe was originally classically trained as a pianist and clarinettist at the prestigious Wells Cathedral School, which she attended as a music specialist from the age of 11. She was first introduced to jazz through big band music, singing as a young teenager with Bristol-based big bands, and playing flute and saxophone with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. She later began singing with the ensemble and was offered a place as a jazz vocalist at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where she graduated with First Class Honours in 2014.

Since moving to London 2010, Jessica has appeared regularly at the capital's array of jazz clubs and venues, such as Ronnie Scott's Bar, The Spice of Life, The 606 Club and The Vortex, as well as regional and international venues, with a wealth of well-reputed jazz musicians. Recently she performed alongside Jiggs Wigham with the Latvian Radio Big Band and, as a member of the London Vocal Project, travelled to New York to debut Jon Hendricks' fully lyricised "Miles Ahead" to the man himself. She was a featured soloist alongside Michelle Hendricks, Kevin Burke-Fitzgerald and Anita Wardell.

As a composer, Jessica is musical director of "The Remembrance Project", which was featured in the London Jazz Festival 2016. The project is made up of 2 sets of Jessica's original compositions and arrangements based on her in-depth study of the First World War. To be her debut album (due to be released 2018), the music has just been recorded at Curtis Schwartz Studios by the group with featured guest saxophonist Mark Lockheart. In order to fund the recording, Jessica applied to be a contestant on ITV's The Chase, and beat chaser Mark "The Beast" Labbett.

For website, please click HERE.

Jazz pianist, composer, arranger, producer, Yamaha® artist and Grammy® winner Laurence Hobgood has enjoyed a 30+year career. Highlights include: three consecutive Fellowships to the Aspen Music Festival (1990, '91, '92), being chosen as a 1995 Chicagoan of the Year in the Arts, a 2003 Deems Taylor Award given by ASCAP for the year’s outstanding music journalism, multiple Grammy® nominations and a 2010 Grammy® Award. He's played at many of the world’s most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the White House, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Tanglewood, Hollywood Bowl, and the Sydney Opera House.

For almost 20 years he served as pianist/arranger/collaborator/co-producer for singer Kurt Elling during which time he wrote virtually all of the material on Elling's first ten albums, all of which received Grammy® nominations.

His 2009 CD, “When The Heart Dances”, featured duets with iconic bassist Charlie Haden.

His "Christmas" CD was chosen by both the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune as one of the best Holiday CDs of 2013.

He’s currently involved in an ongoing recording/performance project, "Poemjazz", with 3-time U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky; their second CD, "House Hour", was released in 2015.

His 2016 trio CD, "Honor Thy Fathers", features bassist John Patitucci and drummer Kendrick Scott. JazzTimes' Michael West praised the work, saying:

"It’s easy to hear similarities between Laurence Hobgood’s piano and that of Brad Mehldau . . . The album is a sublime statement—perhaps the first of 2016."

In Spring 2016 he was the Artist in Residence at Jazz Camp West, held annually at a redwood retreat south of San Francisco.

Laurence's newest project is called "tesseterra"; Hobgood combines his love of jazz trio and writing for string quartet with uplifting arrangements of what he calls the "expanded songbook" -- repertoire ranging from Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Hoagie Carmichael to Sting; Joni Mitchell; Michel Legrand; Antonio Carlos Jobim; Crosby, Stills & Nash and Stevie Wonder among others.

The writing embodies the signature style of composing and arranging Hobgood has become known for: imaginatively innovative yet fun and thoroughly accessible to audiences. He's reunited with the celebrated, New York-based string quartet ETHEL and at the core lies the ebullient playing of his trio which features Jared Schonig on drums and Matthew Clohesy on bass.

“tesseterra” will be released on Ubuntu Music in Spring 2019.

For website, please click HERE.

Leo Richardson is the son of veteran jazz double bassist Jim Richardson and is widely recognised to be one of London's leading Jazz Tenor Saxophonists.

In 2009, Leo was awarded a scholarship to study Jazz at the prestigious Trinity College of Music. Whilst at Trinity, Leo studied with world class saxophonists including Jean Toussaint, Julian Siegel, Martin Speake, Mark Lockheart and Mick Foster.

In 2012 Leo was awarded the Trinity College of Music Jazz Achievement Award and in 2013 graduated with a 1st class degree with honours in Jazz Performance.

Since graduating, Leo has been making a name for himself on the London Jazz scene. He has become an in demand side man and has collaborated with many well renowned musicians at acclaimed venues such as Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, The Royal Albert Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Cadogan Hall, The Vortex Jazz Club and Glastonbury Music Festival. In 2015 Leo was nominated in the London Music Awards for Rising Star in the Jazz catergory.

Some notable performance and recording credits include: Kylie Minogue,  Jamie Cullum, Gregory Porter, Submotion Orchestra, Anne-Marie, The BBC Proms, Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra, Blue, Peter Andre, Mulatu Astatke, The Pete Long Big Band, Clare Teal, Jack Pack, Il Divo, Gillespiana, The Heliocentrics, Elaine Delmar, Jamie Davis, Vula Malinga, The Hackney Colliery Band, Dave Stewart, Alan Skidmore, Dick Pearce, Gene Calderazzo, Gareth Williams, Jim Mullen, Roman Holiday, Nina Ferro, Niamh Mcnally, Theo Jackson, Teotima Ensemble, Iain Mackenzie.

Leo's debut album, 'The Chase', features his quartet and special guests Alan Skidmore (tenor sax) and Quentin Collins (trumpet). It will be released on Ubuntu Music in late 2017.

For Website, Click HERE.

Mar Vilaseca is a 20 year old Singer, Pianist and Composer. She is a special musical talent hailing from Barcelona, Spain.

She was introduced to Ubuntu Music by Scott Cohen, the co-founder of The Orchard distribution company, which is owned by SONY Music.

Mar has recorded her first EP, ‘Find the Way’, which will be released on Ubuntu Music later this year.

When Mar’s not singing her heart out on stage to starry-eyed listeners, you can find her composing her own songs and collaborating with fellow musicians.

Born and partly raised in Uganda, Mark Kavuma is a prominent young Trumpet player on the British jazz scene. Leading his own Quartet, the 'Floor Rippers' house band and his main outfit 'The Banger Factory'. As well as, playing with Jean Toussaint's Young Lions, Jazz Jamaica, Nu Civilisation Orchestra and also one of the brass leaders at London based carnival band Kinetika Bloco. 

In 2012 Mark was featured as Guest soloist with Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra having been voted best soloist at the very first 'Essentially Ellington' competition in the UK. 2013 saw Mark involved in the national theatre's production of the Amen Corner, got the opportunity to play with the great Mulatu Astatke, played a support slot for Wayne Shorter at the Barbican (London jazz festival) with A quintet Mark co-leads with Ruben Fox(sax) and also featured on trumpet in the 'El Train', Hoxton Hall (directed by Sam Yates and Ruth Wilson).

In 2014 Mark toured the world featuring in Peter Brooke's production of 'The Suit' and in 2015 he went on the road with the legendary Salif Keita and Les Ambassaduers.

In 2016 Mark got another opportunity to play as guest soloist with Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra performing the Gershwin songbook at the Barbican, before resuming his studies at Trinity College of music. He Featured in Hoagy B Carmichael's production of 'This Joint Is Jumpin' at the Other Palace Theatre (2017) before starting to work on his debut album which was released on Ubuntu Music, in summer 2018.

For Website, Click HERE.

Citing Lee Konitz, Charlie Parker, Warne Marsh, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Ornette Coleman, Steve Coleman, Rabi Abou Khalil, and Paul Motian as major influences, Martin has developed a personal musical voice that expresses a deep understanding of the history and language of Jazz with individuality as an improviser that is intelligent, melodic, cool, complex, direct, beautiful and profound.

Born in Barnet, North London in 1958, Martin was inspired to take up the saxophone at the age of 16. From 1977-81, he studied Classical Saxophone at Trinity College of Music, where he was awarded the prestigious Dame Ruth Railton prize for woodwind playing. He first came to public attention as a founder member of the award winning Saxophone Quartet ‘Itchy Fingers’ during the height of the UK’s so called ‘80’s Jazz Revival’ when a host of young musicians including Courtney Pine, Andy Sheppard, Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and the big bands of the Jazz Warriors and Loose Tubes were acclaimed as the leaders of an emerging generation of UK jazz talent.

2004 saw the release of three different cds including The Exploring Standards Trio (33 Records) with bassist Mick Hutton and drummer Tom Skinner, a ballad album My Ideal (Basho Records) with American pianist Ethan Iverson (The Bad Plus), and The Journey (Black Box) with Indian musicians Dharambir Singh and Sarvar Sabri. Autumn 2004 he toured with Sam Rivers in his UK big band on a Contemporary Music Network tour. In 2005 he celebrated the music of Charlie Parker with a newly formed group and touring throughout the country promoting a cd release of the project.

With Itchy Fingers, Martin toured Europe, South America, Africa, Britain and the USA, and recorded two albums. In 1988, he left the group to develop his own projects, and establish himself as a composer and improvisor.

His studies at Canada’s renowned Banff Centre for the Arts in 1990, under the artistic direction of Steve Coleman, and alongside peers that included keyboard players Andy Milne and Ethan Iverson, and trumpeter Ralph Alessi, proved to be pivotal and catalytic in Martin’s subsequent development as a creative musician.
Martin is as comfortable and fluent playing personal interpretations of the music of Charlie Parker with his quartet, or with free improvising drummer Mark Sanders, in a duet with Ethan Iverson of the Bad Plus, or with Indian musicians Dharambir Singh and Sarvar Sabri.

In 1999 he received the Peter Whittingham Award to help fund a tour of the UK with The Martin Speake Group. In 2000 he was commissioned to compose music for an international project featuring American drummer Paul Motian, Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson and English bassist Mick Hutton. This group toured in May of that year with funding from the Arts Council of England and toured again in Autumn 2001. Their first cd Change of Heart was released on ECM in April 2006. 

He started his own record label Pumpkin in 2007. The first release was a duo with free improvising drummer Mark Sanders and in 2008 Generations with Barry Green, Jeff Williams and Dave Green.

Current projects being developed include a saxophone quartet with Phil Bancroft, Martin Hathaway and Tony Kofi and a trio with Canadian musicians Duncan Hopkins and Anthony Michelli.

Martin is a committed, inspiring, and sought after jazz educator and currently teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and the Royal Academy of Music in London, and on numerous international Jazz summer courses.

For website, click HERE.

Miguel Gorodi is a London based composer, teacher and trumpet player performing across a broad spectrum of jazz and improvised music.

He currently leads and writes for the Miguel Gorodi Nonet, and co-leads the Gorodi/Ingamells duet ensemble and the Gorodi/Braysher Quartet. He is a member of the Barry Green Sextet, SEED Ensemble, the London City Big Band and the Dixie Ticklers, as well as regularly playing for the London Jazz Orchestra.

Born in Spain in 1990, Miguel also grew up in Saudi Arabia and Thailand before moving to England in 2006 upon winning a music scholarship at Wells Cathedral School in Somerset. Miguel moved to London in 2008 to study Jazz Trumpet at The Guildhall School of Music & Drama, graduating in 2012 with a first class honours degree and a Concert Recital Diploma, and stayed at Guildhall for a further two years as the Jazz department’s fellow.

Since moving to London, Miguel has become one of the city’s leading young jazz trumpet players. He was first picked up at the age of 19 by singer Ian Shaw to record his album The Abbey Road Sessions (featuring Peter Ind and Gene Calderazzo) in 2010. Miguel has continued a freelancing career as a sideman and featured soloist ever since, performing in Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Hungary, Ireland, Russia, and across the UK.

Miguel’s Nonet debut album, ‘Apophenia’, will be released in Spring 2019 on Ubuntu Music.

For website, please click HERE.

Pianist Mike LeDonne started playing piano at the age of 5 and was raised in his parent’s music store. By the age of 10 his father, a jazz guitarist, began booking him on gigs. He is now an internationally renowned pianist and organist with the unique experience of having played with a wide spectrum of jazz masters from Benny Goodman to Milt Jackson and Sonny Rollins. He has won praise not only from critics but from master musicians: Oscar Peterson picked him as one of his favorite pianists of today.

At age 21, Mike graduated from New England Conservatory in 1979 and moved to New York City with the Widespread Jazz Orchestra. In 1981, he left Widespread to travel to the UK with Panama Francis and the Savoy Sultans. On returning, he began a two-year stint as the house pianist at Jimmy Ryan’s, then one of New York’ s oldest jazz clubs. It was there that he came under the influence of and played with many old masters such as Roy Eldridge, Papa Jo Jones and Vic Dickenson. He spent 1982-1983 with the Benny Goodman sextet and went on to play with Buddy Tate, Al Grey, Ruby Braff and many others. Later he worked 1 year with the Art Farmer-Clifford Jordan Quintet, went to Paris with Grady Tate, and played with more modern masters like James Moody, Dizzy Gillespie, Stanley Turrentine, Charles McPherson, Sonny Rollins and Bobby Hutcherson. He also spent time as accompanist to singers Ernestine Anderson, Annie Ross and Etta Jones.

In 1988 he started playing with the Milt Jackson Quartet (along with Mickey Roker and Bob Cranshaw). Mr. Jackson recorded Mike’s compositions and arrangements. Mike also became the band’s musical director. In the fall of 1992, Mike was chosen to be part of a group of top young musicians for the Phillip Morris Superband World Tour. Mike served as musical director for that group, which featured Ryan Kisor on trumpet, Joshua Redman on tenor saxophone, Jesse Davis on alto saxophone, Christian McBride on bass and Lewis Nash at the drums. Around this time, Mike toured with the Newport All-Stars in lineups that featured Harry “Sweets” Edison and Clark Terry. Mike has been playing and recording with Benny Golson since 1997. He has also been leading trios that have included greats like Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb, Billy Hart, Pete LaRoca and Louis Hayes.

Mike is on over 100 CD’s as a sideman and starting in 1988 recorded his first of 16 CD’s as a leader. Five on Criss Cross Jazz, three on Double Time Records, seven on Savant and one on Cellar Live. Many of hem award winning and include the greatest musicians around today including Tom Harrell, Gary Smulyan, Dennis Irwin, Kenny Washington, Steve Nelson, Ryan Kisor, Jim Rotondi, Joshua Redman, Lewis Nash, Peter Washington, Peter Bernstein, Eric Alexander, Jeremy Pelt, Joe Farnsworth, John Webber, Bob Cranshaw, Mickey Roker and Ron Carter.

In 2003 Mike recorded his first CD as a leader on the Hammond Organ, an instrument he’s been playing since he was 10. It documented the music of his organ band The Groover Quartet with Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein and Joe Farnsworth. The CD went to #1 and together they’ve held down a now legendary gig on Tuesday nights at Smoke in NYC. He has since released 3 more CD’s of this band, on the Savant label, which he calls The Groover Quartet. They’ve toured in Europe and Japan as well as the States. Mike also caught the ears of George Coleman, Lou Donaldson and David Fathead Newman who all hired him to play organ in their bands. The Jazz Journalists Association nominated Mike for Best Keyboards 2012 for his “Keep The Faith” CD. Also in 2012, Mike won the Downbeat Rising Star Award for Organ.

Mike is the co-author of Jim Snidero’s Jazz Conception for Piano and Piano Comping books, on Advance Music. In Sept. In 2002 he joined the faculty at the Juilliard School of Music and spent 4 years there. He is also one of the founders of the Jazz For Teens program at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J.

For Website, Click HERE.

Bass player Moyses Dos Santos is best known as co-founder, along with Incognito and Level 42 drummer Pete Ray Biggin, of the exceptional band, Lola’s Day Off.

Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Moyses showed an aptitude for the instrument from a very early age. His first public performance was at the age of eight, when he appeared with his local church band, and he continued to perform within the church environment right through to the age of 18. Once in his teens, the word soon got out and it wasn’t long before Moyses found himself touring Brazil with established gospel and pop artists. 

Moyses’ international career really took off, though, with his move to London in the late 2000s. It didn’t take long for his talent to be recognised, and he has been touring Europe and his native South America with various high profile bands, in addition to working regularly as a successful studio musician. His long awaited debut album will be released later this year.

The New York All-Stars play energetic and swinging music on the highest level, presented with the utmost professionalism and uninhibited enthusiasm, which has given them the title of “Jazz at its Best”.

New York tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander is one of the most important soloists of the current modern straight-ahead jazz world. His accolades are many and he has appeared on over 75 albums--as leader, collaborator and sideman--with big names like Steve Davis, Jim Rotondi, Vincent Herring, Pat Martino, Jimmy Cobb, Cedar Walton and McCoy Tyner.

In the quartet, New York All-Stars, Alexander performs with a true jazz legend, the American piano player Harold Mabern.

The 82-year-old pianist Mabern has been a part of the top New York jazz scene since the 1950s. He’s partnered with many of the greats, including Lionel Hampton, Wes Montgomery, Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughn, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Sonny Rollins and Freddie Hubbard, to name just a few. Special guests on his last album included Gregory Porter, Norah Jones and Kurt Elling.

Philly bassist Darryl Hall is one of the most accomplished bass players on the international scene, working with many renowned artists from around the world, in a wide variety of genres. His virtuosity, warm sound and impeccable beat makes him one of most sought-after jazz bassists in the business.

Since 2012, Alexander and Mabern have worked in various projects with Austrian drummer Bernd Reiter, who studied in Graz and New York and lives now in Paris, always delivering a rock-solid beat. He has worked with many international jazz stars such as Kirk Lightsey, Don Menza, Steve Grossman, Charles Davis, Claudio Roditi and many more.

Ubuntu Music is extremely proud to be releasing the first live recording of The New York All-Stars, Burnin’ in London on September 7th. The release will be supported by an extensive European Tour.

Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce the re-signing of The New York All-Stars (NYAS), featuring tenor sax monster Eric Alexander, along with the exceptional Seamus Blake (tenor sax) and the incomparable Mike Le Donne (piano/organ). The live album, recorded in London, will be released in November.

 Although these world class musicians have a deep, mutual respect for each other, they had never played together. A series of unique circumstances made this possible and the result is breath-taking.

 The New York All-Stars play energetic and swinging music at the highest level, presented with the utmost professionalism and uninhibited enthusiasm, which has given them the title of “Jazz at its Best”.

 The Financial Times jazz critic, Mike Hobart, having seen one of the shows, wrote, “Both tenor players follow form precisely, articulate closely, and play to the limits of exceptionally fluent techniques.”

Dave Gelly, The Sunday Guardian/Observer jazz critic, wrote, “For sheer intensity and overflowing invention, both individually and together, they’re in a class of their own.”

Eric Alexander is one of the most important soloists of the current modern straight-ahead jazz world. His accolades are many and he has appeared on over 75 albums--as leader, collaborator and sideman--with big names like Steve Davis, Jim Rotondi, Vincent Herring, Pat Martino, Jimmy Cobb, Cedar Walton and McCoy Tyner.

Joining the line-up is saxophonist and composer Seamus Blake, who is recognized as one of the finest exponents of contemporary jazz. His music is known for its sophistication, bold improvisations and ‘sheer swagger’. Seamus has performed with exceptional artists, including John Scofield, Antonio Sanchez, John Escreet, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chris Cheek, David Kikoski and Alex Sipiagin. Seamus has also appeared on more than 75 albums.

Pianist/Hammond organist Mike LeDonne has played with many of the greats in jazz, including Benny Goodman, Sonny Rollins, Bobby Hutcherson, Milt Jackson, Stanley Turrentine, Dizzy Gillespie and many others. He has performed with Eric Alexander for years and appeared on more than 120 albums.

Rounding out this one-of-a-kind line-up is Erik Söderlind (guitar), Aldo Zunino (bass) and Bernd Reiter (drums). In 2015 Erik received The Guitar People Prize Sweden, an award given to the best guitar player in the country. Aldo’s virtuosity, warm sound and impeccable beat makes him one of most sought-after jazz bassists. And Bernd is the go-to drummer in Europe’s straight-ahead jazz scene.

Eric Alexander explains the background to the project: “This recording project was particularly special to me as it afforded the opportunity to share the bandstand with Seamus Blake, a saxophonist of the highest calibre for whom I have the utmost respect.  Although we haven't had the chance to work together much in the past, this not only made it possible for us to hit together, but also documented the music and captured the joy we had competing with one another out of mutual admiration.  In addition, the rest of the ensemble-Mike, Bernd, Aldo, and Erik--was absolutely top shelf! Martin Hummel and his label Ubuntu Music deserve tremendous credit for having the foresight to see this project through and for trusting the musicians to put together a program that is engaging and in the tradition of the great live jazz recordings that fans so adore.  Mr. Hummel and Ubuntu are going to be a powerful force in the record business for years to come.”  

Seamus Blake continues: “It was a great and pleasant surprise to be invited by Eric Alexander to play and record live with him at Pizza Express. I have been a fan of Eric for many years. It was also a pleasure to work with Martin at Ubuntu Music. He helped us make a great recording.”

And Mike LeDonne concludes: “The combination of Eric Alexander and Seamus Blake playing in a two-tenor front line is perfect because it fits the classic “sax battle” format while at the same time bringing it forward with their unique and complimentary styles. I truly enjoyed every minute of participating in, and contributing to, the music captured on this recording. It was a pleasure getting to meet and work with Martin Hummel on this project because he is not only committed to putting out great music, but he also truly respects the musicians he’s working with and is humble enough to allow them to be included on the sound and production of the recording.  When this kind of synergy takes place the quality of the performances is allowed to reach the highest level.”

Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, had the last word: “In 2018, we released the first live recording of the New York All-Stars, featuring Eric Alexander and Harold Mabern. And one of my significant ambitions for the Label came true. When Eric and I began planning for the next project the following year, Harold’s health precluded his joining us and we needed to come up with something magical. Seamus was living in Paris and Mike just so happened to be available for the tour dates, so we were there. The ultimate magic of this live recording is that these three guys had never played together, although they knew each other and had great respect for each other. Without even a single rehearsal, they got up on the first night, literally blew the roof off the place and got progressively tighter over each of the three nights. The last night was the night of the finest music, which is captured on the upcoming album. Eric’s long-time friend, Ian Shaw, interviewed Eric that day and, with a nod and a grin, Eric invited Ian to guest on the last night. Ian graciously accepted the invitation and they performed Lionel Richie’s ‘Still’, to an adoring audience and which will appear on the album. ‘Live Encounter’ captures the unadulterated improvisation, the unabashed raw energy and terrifying excitement of three main international superstars who challenged each other with each and every note, pushed each other to the absolute max. They sailed so high with the unwavering support of their brilliant band that, by the end of the night, you had to scrape the musicians off the ceiling and pry the audience out of their seats. And ultimately, isn’t that what jazz is all about?”

Leading British guitarist Nick Costley-White releases his debut album, Detour Ahead, this summer. It features some of the UK’s finest improvising musicians – Matt Robinson on piano and Fender Rhodes (Reuben Fowler), Conor Chaplin on double bass (Norma Winston) and Dave Hamblett on drums (Ivo Neame). The album portrays the quartet’s musical journey, beginning with performances that draw from the American Songbook tradition and travel through to a more modern aesthetic, inspired by the surroundings of London’s exciting jazz scene. “The diversity of people playing and writing at such a high standard in London is very inspiring to me and I feel really lucky to have three such musicians in my band,” explains Costley-White. “What’s crucial for me in this group is that the musicians play in a contemporary style that is routed in the fundamentals of playing traditional jazz harmony and rhythm. The melding of these two aspects is what I try to balance when writing music specifically for these players and during this process I hope to express my own voice and experiences with this idiom which I find endlessly inspiring.”

 Costley-White combines his love and deep understanding for the jazz tradition with a fresh and contemporary approach, his six original compositions exploring sounds from many perspectives simultaneously. Forms, harmonies and rhythms are superimposed and abstracted but still retain their essential function, whilst the improvisations express the excitement and beauty of these frameworks. ‘Thinky Pain’, a tribute to the wonderfully neurotic comedian Marc Maron, reflects this blending of styles and paints a haunting portrait in three parts. “The solo intro explores an open palette of clustered chords. The rhythm section (augmented now with bass clarinet played by Sam Rapley) join the guitar with a steady travelling pulse whilst the polytonal theme is slowly unwrapped and explored through further improvisations,” explains Costley-White. “The final section strips us back down to just the double bass and gradually all the instruments, harmonies and rhythms are stacked on to one another, building a rich and beautifully dissonant sound world. As if from nowhere, the final chord is struck, peacefully resolving all tensions.”

 ‘Just One of Those Things’ by Cole Porter & ‘Detour Ahead’ by Herb Ellis have been arranged with a subtle new flavour that is fresh and personal to the quartet’s own sound. ‘Just One of Those Things’ is a wonderfully witty and clever song by the great Cole Porter,” says Costley-White. “Further twists and turns in the arrangement keep the listener on their toes whilst the soloists dig into every corner of this beautifully harmonic song.”

Born and raised in New York from Italian descent, Noemi Nuti is a jazz and Latin singer and composer currently residing in London.
 She studied classical harp at Brunel University and jazz improvisation and composition at Trinity College of Music as a vocalist in 2009 with Anita Wardell, Nia Lynn, Pete Churchill, Simon Purcell, Liam Noble, Julian Siegel, Martin Speake and Barak Schmool, graduating with an MA in Jazz Performance in 2012.
 In 2008 and 2009, she performed with the Tomorrow’s Warrior’s project “Jazz Alive” and, in 2010, appeared at the London Jazz Festival alongside Norma Winstone.
 A former member of the London Vocal Project led by Pete Churchill and lead singer of British Samba Band Rhythms of the City, Noemi has performed at numerous London venues, including Ronnie Scott’s, The Crazy Coqs, the 606 Club and Islington Assembly Hall, and toured the UK as well as further afield in Brazil.
 In 2014, she headlined at The Forge during London Jazz Festival and has supported Brazilian legend Marcos Valle. 
 Most recently, in 2015, Noemi has launched her Latin influenced debut album, Nice to Meet You, at Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho, London. The album, released on the Ubuntu Music label, received extensive airplay on Jazz FM and has earned extensive critical acclaim from around the world.
 Noemi Nuti is very active in the London scene, hosting a monthly residency known as 'Brazilian Love Affair' in London's Soho, amongst a number of other projects. She toured in summer of 2015 with her band, which included a headline show at the Ipswich Jazz Festival's closing night, and debuted her latest music in New York City this past summer.

For Website, Click HERE.

Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce the signing of Paul Booth, undoubtedly one of the truly great saxophonists the UK has ever produced. The album, Travel Sketches, features Paul’s quartet and will be released worldwide on 30th August.

 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.

 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 Steve Winwood, Steely Dan, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Van Morrison, The Allman Brothers Band, Bonnie Raitt, Chaka Khan, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Rod Stewart, Kylie Minogue, Riverdance, Warren Haynes, Marti Pellow, Derek Trucks, Eddie Henderson, Geoffrey Keezer, Clarence Penn and Ingrid Jensen. He has worked with Incognito, Brand New Heavies, The BBC Big Band, Michael Janisch Quintet and the Ryan Quigley Quintet.

Paul recently formed a new quartet, featuring the immense talent of Steve Hamilton (keyboards), Dave Whitford (double bass) and Andrew Bain (drums). Paul’s burning desire for Travel Sketches was to return to the essence of his musical roots, as he explains below:

 “The story behind this album started a few years back when I decided to form a new quartet with the sole purpose of playing more jazz gigs. I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world over the last 20 years playing all sorts of music with all kinds of amazing artists and shows, but my first love, my true passion and where I feel the most comfortable as a creative musician is jazz in a small group setting. That sound is the root of why I play music now, the inspiration behind why I decided to become a musician in the first place. 

 “The guys in this quartet are some of my favourite musicians and even more importantly, favourite people. We are friends who make music together and I think you can hear this on the album. There’s an empathy when we play, unspoken directions that lead us to constantly re-interpret the music we are playing. I really wanted my compositions to feel as though they were written by the whole band and somehow, I think we achieved this. 

 “The tunes were mostly written touring with various artists, although a large portion were written whilst on tour with Steve Winwood, with whom I’ve toured for 13 years. They were inspired by places I visited and had a direct influence on the composition, whether I realised it at the time or not. Quite often these tunes were written whilst trying to find solitude in a bustling theatre and coming across an old piano in a dressing room. Others were inspired by wilderness and beauty.

“The last few albums I have released have been much bigger in sound, utilising strings, big band, vocals and taking influences from music across the globe. For this reason, I felt it was time to scale down and just be a tenor player. There were no overdubs and we recorded the album in a live playing situation with no chance of ‘fixes’. Each tune was recorded twice and for the most part the takes you hear on the album were first takes.”

 In terms of joining Ubuntu Music, Paul elaborates, “I met Martin Hummel only recently. Although we knew of one another for a long time and had many mutual connections, our paths never crossed until we made them cross. I immediately loved Martin’s passion for music, life, people and travel. We certainly had a lot to talk about and our evening was cut short by me having to run off to a gig. I was genuinely thrilled at the prospect of finally finding someone with the drive and enthusiasm to help me find a wider audience for my music. Following the meeting, Martin expressed an interest in hearing the results of this album and has been an advocate for the music ever since I sent him the roughs. Ubuntu Music has such a fantastic roster of artists, I am truly thrilled and honoured to be joining the family. Thank you, Martin.”

 Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, continues: “When you hear the name, Paul Booth, you immediately think of one of the most talented and diverse sax players in the business today. Paul’s credits read like the ‘Who’s Who in Music’. When Paul told me about his vision for his next project, I simply could not wait, knowing it would be brilliant. The way Paul crafted the music, the way he chose to record the music and the end result itself are the hallmark of an exceptionally gifted musician, who also happens to also be an exceptional human being. We welcome Paul and his quartet into the Ubuntu Music Family with open arms and great expectations.”

For Website, Click HERE.

 The Velvet Rage is the debut album by pianist, composer and bandleader Pete Lee, and features a collection of original compositions that celebrate progression and diversity.

Lee is recognised for imaginative, virtuosic piano playing that draws effortlessly on his love of jazz, classical and folk music. From the pop grooves of the opening track ‘Writer’s Block’ to the rich beauty of the ‘The Velvet Rage’ and ‘Stavanger’, a piece dedicated to Stavanger’s artist of the year, the Norwegian contemporary dancer Marie Ronold Mathisen,  The Velvet Rage reveals that he is an equally gifted composer. “ The structure of ‘Writer’s Block’ follows the pop-tune canon rather than that of a typical jazz standard. It's made up of verses, choruses, guitar solo bridge and even a stereotypical key change. The feeling of writer's block was never something I struggled with as a child. I used to write a new piano tune every week or so. I'd be far less concerned about how my songs would be appreciated than I am now. They were just for me, and I loved the feeling of creating something - composing simply felt joyful,” explains Lee . The tune of ‘The Velvet Rage’ marked the beginning of a new style of writing for Lee. “ The piano part was at first composed around the physical shape of my hands as they crossed over, sharing the same range of the keyboard. I wanted to use this piano technique throughout the entire cycle. I'd met the Amika Quartet whilst playing with Alice Zawadzki. For the first time, I arranged for string quartet. The experience was pretty mind blowing.”

The album is arranged for Lee’s 10-piece band,  “a fusion group in the truest sense of the word,  from jazz, pop and classical backgrounds,” explains Lee.  “Josh Arcoleo on saxophone, Alex Munk on guitar, Huw Foster on bass, Ali Thynne on drums & The Amika Strings – Laura Senior on violin 1, Rich Jones on violin 2 & jazz violin, Lucy Nolan on viola and Peggy Nolan on cello. Simmy Singh plays violin on ‘Stavanger’.”

Named after the seminal book The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World by Alan Downs the album examines the pursuit of personal validation. “ Growing up in an Evangelical Christian family, my sexuality took some time for us all to understand and accept. I'm keen that a story of joy and love is included in the way my music is presented. Listen out for the Velvet and the Rage.” says Lee.

Quentin Collins (QC) and Brandon Allen (BA), the hardest hitting trumpet/sax frontline in the business, have released their next album, Beauty in Quiet Places, on the Ubuntu Music record label.

The follow-up to their highly acclaimed debut album, What's It Gonna Be?, released in 2011,  Beauty in Quiet Places consists of all original compositions, written by the pair, with styles ranging from the up-tempo swing of Modal Tranesition (Allen's homage to two of his biggest influences, John Coltrane and Joe Henderson) to the laid back pocket groove of the title track. The opening track, Fuerteventura, takes you on a samba-infused roller coaster ride whilst Oscar's Lullaby showcases the group's softer, more reflective side. 

Completing the lineup on Beauty in Quiet Places are QCBA's regular rhythm team of the masterful Ross Stanley on Hammond organ and the elegant musicianship of Enzo Zirilli on drums.

Since their inception in 2008, QCBA have collaborated with a broad range of artists, including Omar, Paloma Faith, Liane Carroll, Hamish Stuart, Natalie Williams, Gwyneth Herbert, Dennis Rollins and Cleveland Watkiss. This has enabled them to develop the eclectic sound that is evident in this recording, bringing together a melting pot of Jazz, Brazilian and Funk, always soulful and, crucially, always swinging!

Currently, QCBA are the front line for the Kyle Eastwood band, further allowing them to hone the strong sound of unity which they are renowned for on some of the jazz world's biggest stages. 

QCBA hosted a special show to celebrate the launch of Beauty in Quiet Places at Brilliant Corners in Dalston, London, on 22nd September. QCBA are embarking on a major tour during autumn and winter 2015-16 throughout the UK & Europe.

QCBA’s Beauty in Quiet Places was released on 25th September 2015 to critical acclaim and is available in physical and digital formats throughout the world.

For Website, Click HERE.

Brought up around the sounds of jazz by a music-loving father, Quentin had seen many of the greats by a young age, including Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton & Dave Brubeck. This had a profound influence upon his decision to become a professional musician.

In 20 years as a professional, Quentin has established himself as one of the UK’s top Jazz/Commercial trumpeters, having performed, toured and recorded with a plethora of internationally renowned artists across many genres. These include Fred Wesley, Gregory Porter, Mark Ronson, Kyle Eastwood, Omar, Basement Jaxx, Roy Ayers, Alicia Keys, Dennis Rollins and Mulatu Astatke.

Quentin released his debut solo album, ‘If Not Now, Then When?’, on SunlightSquare Records in 2007. It received much critical acclaim. MOJO magazine voted ‘If Not Now, Then When?’ one of its top jazz albums of 2007.

Quentin currently co-leads QC/BA, a Hammond-organ quartet with tenor sax titan Brandon Allen. QC/BA released their latest album, ‘Beauty in Quiet Places’, in September 2015 on Ubuntu Music: 

"Superb album...absolutely contemporary and of the moment."

-Jazz Views

 QC/BA’s debut album, ‘What's It Gonna Be?’, released in May 2011 on Sunlightsquare Records, was greatly acclaimed by the critics.

"This talented quartet get the full five stars, not only for performing brilliantly

 here but also for playing the type of jazz few can master - namely bright,

tuneful neo-bop originals that swing from start to finish.”

-Jack Massarik, Evening Standard

 For the past five years, Quentin has toured the world extensively with the Kyle Eastwood Band. Their latest album, ‘In Transit’, was released worldwide on Jazz Village in 2017. ‘In Transit’ was the follow-up to 2017's highly acclaimed release, ‘Time Pieces’. Quentin is prominently featured as a performer and a composer on these two recordings.

In early 2015 Quentin Collins & Martin Hummel formed Ubuntu Music with the clear ambition to help nurture young & gifted artists and connect them with wider audiences. Quentin's role as Artistic Director allows him to  develop his skills as producer, overseeing the various musical aspects of the album-making journey. Projects so far have included producing Noemi Nuti's  "Nice to Meet You" & Camilla George's recent "Isang", both highly acclaimed, and an integral role in producing young tenor sax tyro Leo Richardson's debut album, released in Autumn 2017. 

Quentin often hosts a residency at London’s prestigious Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club with his quartet, featuring Andrew McCormack on piano. Quentin will be releasing a new sextet album in September 2019 on Ubuntu Music.

For Website, Click HERE.

The jazz influence in Steely Dan’s music is unquestionable. A self-confessed jazz nerd, Donald Fagen spends much of his book, ‘Eminent Hipsters’, waxing lyrically over the effortlessly hip sounds of Henry Mancini and the ‘tight arrangements’ of the Boswell Sisters. It seemed a natural progression that some day the music he crafted with his partner Walter Becker would find its way back onto the music stands of a full big band…while preserving the understatedly cool musical signature that defines Steely Dan.

Reuben Fowler is a 28-year-old composer, arranger and trumpet player based in London. He is the recipient of the 2012 Kenny Wheeler Prize, the 2012 Musicians Benevolent Peter Whittingham Award and the Jazz Services Recording Support Scheme. From touring the world with artists such as Boy George and Paloma Faith to leading his own big band featuring Tom Harrell, Fowler is never short of ideas.

His latest celebrates the 40th birthday of arguably one of the finest contemporary albums of all time--Steely Dan’s Aja. In true Steely Dan fashion, the recording features 22 of London’s finest jazz and session musicians collaborating to perform Reuben’s arrangement of Black Cow, a Steely Dan masterpiece. Among those contributing are The Average White Band’s Hamish Stuart/vocals, Paul Booth/sax and Jason Rebello/keys.

Fowler explains, “…as the name of the project suggests, we recorded this as an arrangement painstakingly faithful to the original version with the sole intention of celebrating 40 years of Aja; an album responsible for introducing me to Steely Dan’s music that I have lived with and loved for a very long time.”

‘Black Cow’, the single, is a digital stream and download release only on the Ubuntu Music record label, and can be found on all major digital/streaming platforms throughout the world (such as Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Tidal). All proceeds will be donated to Cancer Research’s oesophageal cancer unit, in memory of the passing of Walter Becker, co-founder and guitarist of Steely Dan.

Explaining this decision, Fowler continues, “I started this project around eight months ago with musical buddies Tom Walsh and Darren Williams purely as a labour of love. Sadly, within that time one half of the Donald Fagen/Walter Becker partnership that created ‘Steely Dan’ as we know it passed away. Martin and I felt that this was the right thing to do to preserve the original spirit of the project while doing something in Walter’s memory.”

“I was first introduced Reuben’s idea late one night at Ronnie Scott’s and never stopped thinking about it since”, says Ubuntu’s Director, Martin Hummel. “It’s the right time to remind ourselves of just how brilliant this music is and to celebrate its genius. And Reuben, along with his all-star Big Band, is just the guy to make it all happen.”

Future plans include an album of Steely Dan/Donald Fagen material, along with a supporting tour in 2020.

You don’t often come across a concept for an album that’s as unique as this. Rob has amassed a stellar quartet and recorded the first of ultimately what is to be a three-part trilogy, inspired by space. The debut is a tribute to the race to land the first man on the moon, bringing us with him in this breath-taking journey.

 The album uses archival NASA audio and travels from the first man made satellites in 1957 through to the final moon landing in 1972. It was recorded at Crown Lane Studios in Morden by John Merriman.

 Rob explains, “Gods of Apollo is like a film soundtrack, set to the original archival audio of the race to the moon. The album features the exceptional talent of Elliot Galvin, Rob Luft and Jon Ormston. I aimed to capture this excitement and add a new level of artistry to the voices of the astronauts.”

 Rob continues, “I am delighted to sign with Ubuntu Music. I couldn’t have hoped for a better home for Gods of Apollo.”

 Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, commented, “Rob is a unique individual. He has a long-term vision in terms of where he wants to take his music. And he simultaneously pursues other projects with an equal passion, whether it’s podcast interviews on Apple Music and Spotify with other talented artists or capturing the wonderful yet tragic life of Richard Turner on film. It’s a pleasure to welcome him to the Ubuntu Family.”

For Website, Click HERE.

 Rob Luft is an award-winning 25-year-old musician from London, and has been described as one of the UK’s most prominent and talented young contemporary jazz guitarists. Praised by The Times “to achieve great things in the future”, Rob was the recipient of the 2016 Kenny Wheeler Jazz Prize and he also received the 2nd Prize in The 2016 Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition. His debut album, Riser, was released in July 2017 to widespread critical acclaim from the European jazz media. John Fordham wrote in The Guardian that it’s a “very sophisticated debut, but given Luft’s old-soul achievements since his early teens, we should have heard it coming”.

 Concert highlights include performances with artists including Django Bates’ “Saluting Sgt Pepper”, Iain Ballamy, Eddie Parker’s “Mister Vertigo”, Loose Tubes, Laura Jurd’s “Dinosaur”, Tommy Smith’s Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO) & The Hamish Stuart Band.

 Rob is a regular member of some of London’s finest modern jazz groups, such as Byron Wallen’s “Four Corners”, Martin Speake’s “Mafarowi”, and Enzo Zirilli’s “Zirobop”. He appears on Liane Carroll’s latest release on Linn Records (‘Seaside’ – 2015), Brazilian singer Luna Cohen’s new album on the Catalonian independent label Temps Record (‘November Sky’ – 2016), & the debut album from Enzo Zirilli on Milanese label UR Records (‘Zirobop’ – 2015). In 2015 he was the recipient of the Peter Whittingham Award as part of two collective ensembles – Patchwork Jazz Orchestra and jazz-rock quartet Big Bad Wolf.

For Website, Click HERE.

New York based saxophonist/composer Seamus Blake is recognized as one of the finest exponents of contemporary jazz. His music is known for its sophistication, bold improvisations and “sheer swagger".  John Scofield, who hired Seamus for his “Quiet Band,” called him “extraordinary, a total saxophonist.” Throughout his 24 year career, Seamus has garnered critical praise for his masterful playing, his fine compositional skills and for his facility as a leader.

 Since moving to Paris in February 2018 Seamus has been invited to perform the music of his recent CD, "Superconductor" with a number of European Jazz Bands. Beginning with the Latvian Radio Jazz Band early in 2018, Seamus has performed with the Trondheim Big Band and The Sibis Alumni Big Band (Sibelius Institute, Helsinki), in September. He is scheduled to perform his music with The Tuesday Big Band (Amsterdam) on November 6/7, and The Subway Jazz Orchestra on November 14. 

In 2017 Seamus assembled a new quartet, The French Connection. The band (Seamus, Tony Tixier piano, Florent Nisse, bass, and Gautier Garrigue, drums) recorded their first CD in Paris in November 2017 and have toured in France and Spain. The CD will be released on the Whirlwind label. Three promo videos will be available on YouTube in January. Seamus has a busy schedule in Europe in 2018. Check the Performance page for details.

Superconductor is Seamus’ most ambitious project to date and was released in December 2015. The talent includes Nate Smith, Matt Garrison, Scott Kinsey, a 7-piece orchestral ensemble as well as special guest appearances by John Scofield and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The album marks the debut of Seamus on EWI (electronic wind instrument). Seamus plays on the 2015 Grammy nominated Camino by pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. 

Seamus Blake was born December 1970 in England and raised in Vancouver, Canada. At age 21, while still a student at Boston's prestigious Berklee College, he was asked to record with legendary drummer Victor Lewis.  After graduation, he moved to New York, where he rapidly established himself on the New York jazz scene.  In February 2002, Seamus took first place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in Washington D. C. As the winner, he performed with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock.

As a leader/co-leader, Seamus has released 16 albums. He is featured as a sideman on over 70 CDs.

Seamus has played on six of the Grammy nominated Mingus bands’ albums   He continues to play and record with Bill Stewart, Kevin Hays, David Kikoski and Alex Sipiagin.  Seamus is frequently featured as a guest artist. In 2010 he was guest of honor at the International Saxophone Symposium in Washington hosted by the US Navy Band.  Seamus was a member of John Scofield’s Quiet Band and toured and recorded with Dave Douglas. Some of the many other artists he has worked with include Eric Reed, Ethan Iverson, Chris Cheek, and Matt Penman. 

For Website, Click HERE.

Tom Cawley is one of the UK’s leading jazz pianists. He has performed worldwide - in major clubs, venues and festivals – with some of the country’s leading artists, most notably Peter Gabriel, with whom he has also recorded two albums and a live DVD. As an artist in his own right he has performed, recorded and broadcast extensively over the last ten years.
 

As well as an award-winning pianist, Cawley is also a composer, bandleader and educator. His group, Curios, won Best Band the 2008 BBC Jazz Awards, and their three albums have been hugely critically acclaimed – described as “extraordinary” in MOJO, “spellbinding”in The Independent, “fantastic” in Time Out and “a shining light for British jazz” in Musician magazine. They have performed at the Barbican, the Royal Festival Hall, Ronnie Scott’s and at all of the UK’s major jazz festivals, as well as in Europe (most notably at North Sea Jazz).
 
As a freelance jazz piano player, Tom regularly leads the house band at Ronnie Scott's club, and he is also a professor of jazz piano at the Royal Academy of Music.

‘Catenaccio’, Tom’s latest album, will be released on Ubuntu Music in May 2019.

Line-Up:

Tom Cawley - Keys

Fini Bearman - vocals

Gareth Lockrane - Flute

Rom Mullarkey - Bass

Chris Higginbottom - Drums

For website, please click HERE.

Trio HLK is the union of three distinct, forward thinking musical personalities.

At the centre sits drum and percussion virtuoso Richard Kass. He is a powerful, polyrhythmic engine whose multi-limbic facility affords him a wealth of textures and multiple layers of expression, unimaginable (and certainly unplayable) for most drummers. He executes rhythms at more than one tempo simultaneously, which often draws comparison to electronica and computer generated music. The standard drumset is augmented with numerous bells and chimes, hugely expanding the range of sounds.

Guitarist Ant Law plays a bespoke extended range electric guitar with 8 strings and a variety of effects, creating ambience and sonorities. This, the only electric instrument in the ensemble, provides a contrast to the acoustic elements from the piano and drums. He is known mostly as a jazz musician, but his interests and musicianship spread further and wider than that, and influences from heavy metal and elsewhere shine through at times.

At the helm sits classical pianist and composition mastermind Richard Harrold. From a young age Harrold was immersed totally in contemporary classical music. This led him to study composition in London (at the Royal Academy of Music) and in New York (at the Yale School of Music). His approach encompasses recomposition and decomposition as much as pure composition itself. His harmonic realm is the border between tonality and atonality, and there is a strong sense of rhythmic and melodic development throughout his writing.

A belief in the high art of improvisation and intrigue with the infinite art and science of rhythm is what brings H, L and K together. Together they address ambitious improvisational frameworks which often resemble contemporary classical music more than jazz. Their music features dense, complex rhythms and textures, and virtuosic improvisation. Their pieces are strewn with temporal distortions, modulations, implied modulations, rhythmic tricks, and harmonic ambiguities. Whilst they reference a huge and disparate range of styles, their sound distils these styles, unifying them with a unique instrumentation and fearless approach. Audiences and critics inevitably confuse the meeting point of the composed and the improvised, an effect achieved by countless hours the band has spent practising together. The resulting music operates on a number of levels, making it accessible and cerebral. Trio HLK's music sounds genuinely fresh, and genuinely new.

'Thoughtful music; melodic, flowing and measured, with enough twists and turns to keep everyone engaged.'

 Mike Walker (Dave Holland, Tal Farlow, Anthony Braxton, Bill Frisell)

​

Wandering Monster perform intricately arranged instrumental rock music which draws upon jazz sensibilities and sound worlds. Made up of five crossover musicians highly active on the northern scene, the group reach beyond what may be expected from the tried and tested line-up of the tenor saxophone/guitar quintet. Retaining the harmonic sophistication and improvisational approach of jazz, these influences are juxtaposed with the rhythmic complexity of modern rock and metal. The result is a sound that is intense and raucous, yet also dynamic, sensitive and spontaneous. An engaging live act, the band is able to pull off involved written material alongside moments of exciting, natural improvisation.  Despite hailing from the musical melting pot of Leeds, the monster has been unleashed across the north of England at a number of jazz festivals after winning the 2016/17 Jazz North Introduces Award. Notable performances include support slots for Seamus Blake, Trio HLK and Mammal Hands.

​

Line-Up:                                                                  

 Sam Quintana- Double Bass/Compositions

Ben Powling- Tenor Saxophone

Calvin Travers- Guitar

Aleks Podraza- Piano/keys

Tom Higham- Drums

For website, please click HERE.

Given the successful work for the strategy and rebranding of the former Jazz Services to the newly launched JazzUK, Martin Hummel was invited to join C8 Associates as Consultant and Non-Executive Director.

C8 Associates specialises in working with creative businesses to take them to the next level of their development.

The services provided include:

Public Affairs

Business Development

Non-Exec Directors

Coaching

C8 Associates believe that, no matter what challenge a company faces in growing its business, C8 Associates has the people to deliver against the immediate needs of that business.

For Website, Click HERE.

In 2013, Martin Hummel began his association with Edition Records as a result of a negotiation he was spearheading on behalf of an artist who was seeking an extension to his existing recording contract.

Hummel had never met Edition's founder, Dave Stapleton, prior to the negotiation.

The negotiation was a success and, as a result, in 2014 Stapleton ultimately invited Hummel to become the non-Executive Chairman and shareholder of Edition Records.

Hummel became engaged in the business and the strategic issues the Label faced. Within a short period, Edition evolved from a cottage business to a registered company, with a newly defined strategy and a long term plan for its future success.

Edition Records now has the reputation as an innovative record label.

After four years, in 2018 Martin resigned as non-Executive Chairman and has subsequently sold back his shares in Edition.

For Website, Click HERE.

Jazz Services, an organisation for the promotion and well-being of jazz and jazz-related music in the UK, faced a critical cross-roads concerning its future in 2015.

Martin Hummel, a lifetime lover of the music, was invited by the Board to assist them in repositioning the offering and helping to define a new way forward. With a series of immersive sessions involving key stakeholders, the team defined a new way forward.

Built on the 30 year track record of support for jazz musicians across the Country, JazzUK was the new face of Jazz Services.  During the first half of 2015, JazzUK developed new partnerships and strands of work to move swiftly in to top gear.
 
JazzUK was a progressive organisation that united the jazz and wider artistic communities by sharing the power of jazz music to increasingly greater and diverse audiences.

JazzUK’s mission was facilitate those who play jazz to entertain those who love to listen, and to encourage the next generation to fall in love with jazz.

At the end of 2017, JazzUK’s assets were transferred to MusicTank, a unique, non-profit information hub for UK music business.

For Website, Click HERE.

Right.

A blast from Martin Hummel’s advertising past.

In his day, BBDO’s most important client was Pepsi US. The agency desperately wanted to be seen as a network (and not a ‘not-work’) but it didn’t represent the client anywhere other than the US.

So the agency put together a plan that changed BBDO’s relationship with that most important client.

BBDO was appointed Pepsi’s “International Headquarters Agency of Record” (a mouth-full), and tasked by the client to provide a consistent and relevant strategic base for its key worldwide brands (Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, 7Up and Mirinda).

The starting point needed to be Pepsi, and BBDO had to create a fully integrated campaign to conceivably run across more than 60 countries and appeal to the world’s youth.

A big ask, as Pepsi was never successful at this before, and BBDO was not a welcomed agency to the local international marketers.

So, what do you do?

You create something that no single Pepsi country could do on its own, that would resonate with the target and would make Pepsi cooler than Coke.

BBDO, under Hummel’s leadership, devised a fully integrated communications campaign for the brand, with Madonna at the centre. Advertising in all media, a world tour sponsorship, exclusive merchandise and, here’s the best bit, the opportunity to launch Madonna’s new music through a worldwide campaign which would exclusively feature the track in the advertising…for a month.

The program was originally intended to launch everywhere, except the US. BBDO presented the communications package to Roger Enrico, Pepsi’s Worldwide CEO. 

The discussion went something like this:

Roger: “How much will this cost internationally?”

BBDO: "$5 Million."

Silence...

Roger: “What about if you include the US?”

Silence...

BBDO: “Probably $10 Million.”

Roger: “OK. I like it. Go for it.”

In a half hour meeting, Pepsi’s Enrico made a $10 Million decision on gut instinct.

The first problem was that Madonna had the right of refusal on the creative work, and she was refusing everything. With a lot of research, Hummel came up with the idea that, for her to buy anything, the idea would have to play on a part of her life when she was her happiest. This was her childhood, which became the core of the campaign. The featured music was also the title to her upcoming album, “Like a Prayer”.

The two minute launch commercial was aired on the same day, at roughly the same time locally, in +60 countries and to an estimated 2.5 Billion viewers.

It was the first media roadblock ever. And it was an amazing success.

The next problem was that Madonna decided to mess things up. Shortly after the launch and while ignoring her embargo agreement, Madonna introduced her music video of the song on MTV around the world…with love scenes in a church, stigmata on her hands and burning crosses on the hills (I think you get the picture).

There were extensive repercussions in the US. Consumers, having been exposed to Madonna’s ‘interpretation’ of her song, were outraged and chose to boycott all Pepsi brands. The Pepsi-Cola Company, in a panic, withdrew the initiative in the US and began to negotiate an out-of-court settlement. And they weren’t too concerned about the rest of the world…why?

Unlike America, people in other parts of the world simply accepted Madonna as a highly creative, controversial artist. And they therefore tolerated (or turned a blind eye to) her outlandish behaviour.

Consequently, the full program died in the US (thanks to the conservative mid-West bible belt) and went on in the rest of the world (including the most Catholic of countries–Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Spain, to mention just a few), to become the successful initiative in the brand’s history.

And, for BBDO, the agency went on to be awarded in the Pepsi brands in nearly every country in the world.

OK, it doesn’t get much bigger or more dramatic than this, in the ad world…

Martin Hummel was responsible for the Pepsi-Cola International business at BBDO Worldwide for nearly 20 years. He was winding down his involvement with the business, when something very significant reared its ugly head.

BBDO, with all its incredible worldwide creative resource, struggled to crack a mega creative brief to combine the likes of Britney Spears, Beyonce, Pink and Enrique Iglesias for a global integrated music project on behalf of Pepsi.

Just before it becomes a lost cause (and a tragic business loss), Hummel was recruited to lend a hand. 

He refused to quit, stayed awake for nights and ended up writing the treatment that saved the day.

Hummel was Creative Director/Art Director/Copywriter/Agent/Talent Negotiator for a fully integrated campaign that ran on a global basis.
The sweetest of victories was that the ad achieved the highest copy scores in Pepsi’s history and the viral film was one of the Top 10 most viewed of its kind in the history of the internet.

And, by the way, the trend-setting Buzzfeed thinks it’s the best Pepsi commercial ever made.

Railway Children is an international children’s charity that fights for vulnerable 16 year olds and under, who live alone at risk on the streets. They asked us to update a brochure and we completely revamped every aspect of their communications activity…from corporate identity through a complete online campaign.

We created an immensely powerful film that captures a ‘life in the day of’ a young female runaway.

The idea came from the discovery that runaway children under the age of 16 often take to the streets and fade into the darkest folds of life. In essence, they become invisible. Our mandate was to make the invisible, visible once again.

The music to the film was generously donated by Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine.

Krow, a state-of-the-art online recruitment offering, which uses the Facebook social media platform, came to us to do everything for them, other than naming the company. And we did. It’s been in test and is going global, with fantastic early results.

80% of people around the world hate their jobs.

Imagine if you could find the perfect career match, quickly, easily and in a completely different way. Krow does just that, online.

The introductory viral brought the notion of work happiness to life and directed people to the Krow microsite, as the first step to being “work happy”.

The film was seen online by over 300,000 people in the first week it launched…in Belgium.

As Frank Aernout, Chisf Executive Officer of Krow NV said, “Krow is an international state-of-the-art online job recruitment service that uses proprietary semantic language matching software to identify the perfect fit between job candidate and employer prospect. A few years back, we came to Martin with the name of the company and the technology to make it happen. Through a series of concentrated work sessions, Martin led us to identify the key consumer insight for the brand, defined its positioning and strategy, and articulated the company’s vision, mission and values. From there, he created the corporate identity and resultant communications assets, and formed a holistic plan to launch the offering. Essentially, he delivered a stunning 360° totally integrated solution--from insight through to tactical execution--which placed Krow and our “BeWorkHappy” job matching service firmly on the road to a very successful future. Martin is an outstanding practitioner in his field and we have grown to become close personal friends.”