Sebastian Scotney writes about Ubuntu’s founder German Magazine, Jazzthetik, “What keeps him going? “The honest answer is that I feel like the happiest person in the world because I do exactly what I love. The world has been good to me and I want to give something back. I pursue my passion and can't think of anything better. "
Sebatian Scotney
Martin Hummel, the head of the record label Ubuntu Music, shows a row of pencils on the profile of his LinkedIn website. "Why these pencils?" I asked him. This is a reference to his earlier career, a homage to the symbol of the most important award ceremony in the advertising industry, namely the D&AD (Design and Art Direction) award. The American began his career in advertising in London in the 1970s. This was followed by an interlude in South Africa, hence the name Ubuntu. “Then I came back to London in 1989 - and that's where I stayed,” he says. Hummel is originally from Montclair, New Jersey. His ancestors emigrated from Hamburg in the 18th century. Even as a toddler he had a passion for jazz. Was there a key experience? “Yes,” he says, “an original edition of Miles Davis'Kind of Blue was sent to my parents. I still have the record today. "
This love of jazz led him to launch the Ubuntu label in 2016. One of his early successful projects was the first edition of Chet Bakers Live in London . The group's bass player had recorded the concerts the band gave in a long-forgotten club in Covent Garden on a cassette recorder. The trumpeter was in top form, and DOWN BEAT called the album one of the best historical reissues of 2017. But that wasn't the only success: Hummel's specialty is that he celebrates the American jazz tradition, especially with albums from the New York All-Stars the saxophonist Eric Alexander and the late pianist Harold Mabern from Memphis.
Hummel also supports musicians from the British scene, for example saxophonist Allison Neale. Her album Quietly There with Peter Bernstein was very well received by the critics. The saxophonist Paul Booth also works with the label. During his international tours, for example with Steve Winwood and Rod Stewart, he composed the music for the album Travel Sketches . One of these songs has been streamed more than two million times. Paul Booth is currently bringing out a new series with Ubuntu called The Secret Sessions .
How do people react when Martin Hummel tells them that he runs a jazz label? “They usually express their condolences to me,” he laughs. What keeps him going? “The honest answer is that I feel like the happiest person in the world because I do exactly what I love. The world has been good to me and I want to give something back. I pursue my passion and can't think of anything better. "
Sebastian Scotney's website londonjazznews.com was nominated for a Parliamentary Jazz Award in 2021.
The late Harold Mabern and Martin Hummel, at Mabern’s last London performance.