Mark Hummel

Mark Hummel pursues the West Coast blues idiom as a harmonica player, songwriter, and vocalist, routinely weaving jazz and swing elements into his approach. Recognition arrived gradually for the experienced bandleader through relentless road work. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he grew up in Los Angeles, California, where the blues-rock of Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and the Rolling Stones first captured his attention. Album credits prompted deeper exploration of those groups’ foundational blues sources. In his teens he took up harmonica to distinguish himself from the many guitarists at his high school. He absorbed the Chicago styles of James Cotton, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Walter “Shakey” Horton, and Little Walter Jacobs. Hummel relocated to Berkeley, California, in 1972, sitting in with local players Boogie Jake, Cool Papa, Johnny Waters, and Sonny Lane. After finishing high school he spent three years hitchhiking across the country, pausing in New Orleans, Boston, and Chicago to study with leading musicians in each city.

Forming the Blues Survivors in 1980, he subsequently appeared at major events such as the Chicago Blues Festival and the San Francisco Blues Festival. Self-produced recordings issued from his Oakland, California, base include Playing in Your Town (1985, Rockinitis Records), Up & Jumpin’ (with Canadian guitarist Sue Foley, 1989–1990), and Hard Lovin’ (1992, Double Trouble Records). Broader distribution brought Feel Like Rockin’ (1994, Flying Fish Records), Married to the Blues (1995, Flying Fish), and Heart of Chicago (1997, Tone-Cool/Rounder), the last recorded in Chicago with veteran sidemen drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, guitarist Dave Myers, and producer/guitarist Steve Freund. Ranked among the nation’s leading harmonica players, Hummel has served as both judge and performer at the Hohner Harmonica World Championships in Germany; Low Down to Uptown appeared in 1998. Golden State Blues followed on the Electro-Fi label, supported by his longstanding backing group the Blues Survivors. Retro-Active arrived in early 2010.