Mark Hummel (born December 15, 1955) is an American

blues harmonica The Richter-tuned harmonica, 10-hole harmonica (in Asia) or blues harp (in America), is the most widely known type of harmonica. It is a variety of diatonic harmonica, with ten holes which offer the player 19 notes (10 holes times a draw and a ...

player, vocalist, songwriter, and long-time bandleader of the Blues Survivors. Since 1991, Hummel has produced the Blues Harmonica Blowout tour, of which he is also a featured performer. The shows have featured blues harmonica players such as

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

Carey Bell Carey Bell Harrington (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s be ...

John Mayall John Brumwell Mayall (29 November 1933 – 22 July 2024) was an English blues and Rock music, rock musician, songwriter and producer. In the 1960s, he formed John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among its members some of ...

and

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American blues harmonica player and bandleader who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal figure in helping to revive the Chicago ...

. Although he is typically identified as performing West Coast blues, Hummel is also proficient in Delta blues, Chicago blues, swing and jazz styles. Hummel also played with the Golden State Lone Star Revue (a Texas/California supergroup), a rock blues side group the FlashBacks, as well as the current edition of the Blues Survivors. Since 2021, Hummel and documentary film maker Jeff Vargen have collaborated on a video podcast, 'Mark Hummel's Harmonica Party' with both interviews and live performances of 50 blues and rock musicians including

Elvin Bishop Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, and in ...

Barbara Dane Barbara Jean Spillman (May 12, 1927 – October 20, 2024), known professionally as Barbara Dane, was an American folk, blues, and jazz singer, guitarist, record producer, and political activist. She co-founded Paredon Records with Irwin Silbe ...

Nick Gravenites Nicholas George Gravenites ( '; October 2, 1938 – September 18, 2024) was an American Blues music, blues, Rock music, rock and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his work with Electric Flag (as their lead singe ...

Duke Robillard Michael John "Duke" Robillard (born October 4, 1948) is an American guitarist and singer. He founded the band Roomful of Blues and was a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Although Robillard is known as a rock and blues guitarist, he also play ...

Country Joe MacDonald Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (born January 1, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who was the lead vocalist of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish.Richard Brenneman"Country Joe McDonald Revives Anti ...

Barry Goldberg Barry Joseph Goldberg (December 25, 1941 – January 22, 2025) was an American blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. Goldberg co-produced albums by Percy Sledge, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, and the Textones, plu ...

Magic Dick Richard Salwitz (born May 13, 1945), known as Magic Dick, is an American musician, noted for playing the harmonica for the J. Geils Band. In addition to the harmonica, Salwitz plays the trumpet (the first instrument he learned) and saxophone. Ear ...

Lee Oskar Lee Oskar (born 24 March 1948) is a Danish harmonica player, notable for his contributions to the sound of the rock-funk fusion group War, which was formed by Howard E. Scott and Harold Brown, his solo work, and as a harmonica manufacturer. H ...

Willie Chambers Willie Chambers (born March 3, 1938) is an American singer, guitarist, and former member of The Chambers Brothers, a rock band in the 1960s with hits " Time Has Come Today", "I Can't Turn You Loose", and " Love, Peace and Happiness". He continues ...

Anson Funderburgh Anson Funderburgh (born James Anson Funderburgh; November 14, 1954) is an American blues guitar player and bandleader of Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets since 1978. The band's style incorporates both Chicago blues and Texas blues. Career Funde ...

Angela Strehli Angela Strehli (born November 22, 1945) is an American electric blues singer and songwriter. She is also a Texas blues historian and impresario. Despite a sporadic recording career, Strehli spends time each year performing in Europe, the US an ...

Chris Cain Chris Cain (born November 19, 1955) is an American blues musician. He began playing professionally as a teenager in local clubs, at festivals, and at private events. He attended Pomona College. Cain received four Blues Music Award nomination ...

and others.

Biography

Childhood

Mark Hummel was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, United States, and grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Hummel and his family lived for a time in Aliso Village, a housing project in East Los Angeles that was demolished in 1999. As Hummel explains in his forthcoming autobiography, his parents hired Mexican babysitters who often played R&B and

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

on the radio when they cared for him. It was through these babysitters that Hummel was first introduced to black music. Early on, he was also drawn to the music of

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with a wide variety of audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby Wha ...

and

Slim Harpo Slim Harpo (born Isiah Moore or James Isaac Moore; February 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970)Martin Hawkins, "Slim Harpo at 100", ''Blues & Rhythm'', No.384, June 2024, p.23 was an American blues musician, a leading exponent of the swamp blues styl ...

. Hummel did not start playing harmonica seriously until high school, and by the age of sixteen he was already playing in bands.

Career

Hummel began working professionally after moving to the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

in the early 1970s. A number of jazz and blues artists had already made their mark on Hummel at this point in his early career, including

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, Ella Johnson,

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

Big Walter Horton Walter Horton (April 6, 1921 – December 8, 1981), known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter "Shakey" Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming, shy man, he is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the hi ...

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and bandleader. After early training as a Western concert flute, classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored ...

Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp s ...

, and

. Once established in the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wi ...

in the 1970s, Hummel started performing with Boogie Jake, Sonny Lane, Cool Papa Sadler, and Mississippi Johnny Waters. He formed the Blues Survivors in 1979, and they have been his band ever since. Since its inception the band has featured a number of popular performers before they became household names, such as ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels that initially aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, with four more episodes airing in First-run syndicati ...

'' creator and blues bassist

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...

. Other noteworthy members include Jimmy Bott, June Core, Marty Dodson, Rusty Zinn, Ronnie James Weber, Chris Masterson, Charles Wheal, Steve Wolf, Randy Bermudes and Joel Foy. Over the years Hummel has also toured or recorded with

Sue Foley Sue Foley (born March 29, 1968) is GRAMMY®-nominated multi-award-winning blues guitarist and singer/songwriter known for her fiery Texas blues style and refined acoustic touch. A five-timBlues Music Award winnerfor Traditional Female Artist, and ...

, Charles Brown,

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee was bor ...

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith Willie Lee "Big Eyes" Smith (January 19, 1936 – September 16, 2011) was an American electric blues vocalist, harmonica player, and drummer. He was best known for several stints with the Muddy Waters band beginning in the early 1960s. Biograp ...

, Bob Stroger,

Dave Myers David or Dave Myers may refer to: Politics and government * David Myers (Indiana judge) (1859–1955), Associate Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court * David Myers (Oklahoma politician) (1938–2011), American politician, member of the Oklahoma S ...

, Jimmy Pugh, Kid Andersen, Ron Thompson,

Junior Watson Junior Watson is an American jump blues guitarist and singer. Career Watson is a West Coast blues guitarist. He was a founding member of the blues band The Mighty Flyers and, starting in the early 1980s, he performed with the band for a decade. ...

Steve Freund Steve Freund (born July 20, 1952, Brooklyn, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States), is an American blues guitarist, singer, bandleader and record producer. Freund has toured throughout the United States (including sto ...

, Billy Flynn and Frank "Paris Slim" Goldwasser. Hummel has also toured with

Lowell Fulson Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921March 7, 1999) was an American blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. He also recorded for contractual reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, he was the most i ...

Jimmy Rogers Jay or James Arthur "Jimmy" Rogers (June 3, 1924December 19, 1997) was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters's band in the early 1950s. He also had a solo career and ...

Luther Tucker Luther Tucker (January 20, 1936 – June 18, 1993) was an American blues guitarist. While soft-spoken and shy, Tucker made his presence known through his unique and clearly recognizable guitar style. Tucker helped to define the music known as ...

and

Eddie Taylor Eddie Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. Biography Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing ...

; live recordings from those tours are available on his CD compilation ''Chicago Blues Party: Recorded Live! 1980–1992''. In addition to playing in blues clubs across the U.S. and throughout Europe, Hummel and the Blues Survivors have performed at the

San Francisco Blues Festival The San Francisco Blues Festival was active from 1973 until 2008, and was located in San Francisco, California. It was one of the longest running blues festival in the United States. History Tom Mazzolini, the event's producer, founded the bl ...

, the Sonora Blues Festival, the

Chicago Blues Festival The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June, that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the Chicago, Illinois, City of Chicago Department of Cu ...

, the

King Biscuit Blues Festival The King Biscuit Blues Festival is an annual, multi-day blues festival, held in Helena, Arkansas, United States. History The name of the festival comes from ''King Biscuit Time'', which was the longest running radio show. Sonny Boy Williamson I ...

, and the

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...

. He has also contributed CD reviews to ''Blues Music Magazine'' and ''

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

''. Writing in ''Living Blues'', Lee Hildebrand described Hummel's performance at the 1978 San Francisco Blues Festival as one that "epitomized the high musical quality of the entire weekend" festival.

Jerry Portnoy Jerry Portnoy (born November 25, 1943, in Evanston, Illinois, United States) is an American harmonica blues musician, who has toured with Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton. Biography Portnoy grew up in Chicago. He first heard the blues played outs ...

, a blues harmonica player who used to play in

' band, described Hummel as a musician who possesses "tremendous chops and great knowledge, not only of traditional blues harmonica but other music as well - R&B and swing and big-band jazz. He brings a lot to the table when he plays." He appeared on the cover of the August/September 2005 issue of ''Blues Revue'' magazine, and in April 2010, Hummel was a guest on the ''House of Blues Radio Hour'', a syndicated weekly radio program hosted by

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

(in character as Elwood Blues). Hummel is also known for founding the Blues Harmonica Blowout tours, which he has produced regularly since 1991. The tour features a rotating lineup of veteran harmonica players backed by the Blues Survivors. Past tours have included

Snooky Pryor James Edward "Snooky" Pryor (September 15, 1919 or 1921 – October 18, 2006) was an American Chicago blues harmonica player. He claimed to have pioneered the now-common method of playing amplified harmonica by cupping a small microphone in hi ...

, William Clarke,

Billy Boy Arnold William "Billy Boy" Arnold (born September 16, 1935) is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. Arnold is a self-taught harmonica player and has worked with blues legends such as Bo Diddley, Johnny Shines, Otis Rush, Earl H ...

Lazy Lester Leslie Johnson (June 20, 1933 – August 22, 2018), known as Lazy Lester, was an American blues musician who sang and played the harmonica and guitar. In a career spanning the 1950s to 2018, he pioneered swamp blues, and also played harmonic ...

Sam Myers Samuel Joseph Myers (February 19, 1936 – July 17, 2006) was an American blues musician and songwriter. He was an accompanist on dozens of recordings by blues artists over five decades. He began his career as a drummer for Elmore James but was ...

John P. Hammond John Paul Hammond (born November 13, 1942) is an American singer and musician. He is the son of record producer John H. Hammond, and is sometimes referred to as John Hammond Jr. in order to distinguish the two. Early life and education Hamm ...

Jason Ricci Jason Ricci (born February 3, 1974) is an American harmonica player and singer. In addition to his solo albums, Ricci has appeared as a guest harmonica player on albums with Johnny Winter, Terence Blanchard, Nick Curran, Ana Popović, Walte ...

Howard Levy Howard Levy (born July 31, 1951) is an American musician. A keyboardist and virtuoso harmonica player, he "has been realistically presented as one of the most important and radical harmonica innovators of the twentieth century." In 1988, Le ...

Corky Siegel Mark Paul "Corky" Siegel (born October 24, 1943) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. He plays harmonica and piano. He plays and writes blues and blues-rock music, and has also worked extensively on combining blues and cla ...

Kim Wilson Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for The Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s, " Tuff Enuff" (which was the group's only Top ...

, Jerry Portnoy,

Rod Piazza Rod Piazza (born December 18, 1947, Riverside, California) is an American blues harmonica player and singer. He has been playing with his band The Mighty Flyers, which he formed with his pianist wife Honey Piazza, since 1980. Their boogie sound ...

Paul DeLay Paul Joseph deLay (January 31, 1952 – March 7, 2007) was an American blues vocalist and harmonicist. Life and career Paul deLay was born in Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. st ...

James Harman James Gary Harman (June 8, 1946 – May 23, 2021) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. The music journalist Tony Russell described Harman as an "amusing songwriter and an excellent, unfussy blues harp player". Biograp ...

, Mitch Kashmar,

John Primer John Primer (born March 5, 1945, Camden, Mississippi, United States) is an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer and guitarist who played behind Junior Wells in the house band at Theresa's Lounge and as a member of the bands of W ...

Huey Lewis Hugh Anthony Cregg III (born July 5, 1950), known professionally as Huey Lewis, is an American actor and former singer-songwriter. Lewis sang lead and played harmonica for his band, Huey Lewis and the News, until being forced into retirement due ...

Bobby Rush Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist, and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades, ending in 2023. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter ...

and many others. Hummel wrote a book about his musical travels for Mountain Top Publishing called ''Big Road Blues: 12 Bars On I-80'' in 2012. Hummel currently endorses Sonny Jr. harmonica amplifiers, Seydel harmonicas, and Fat Bottom microphones. He is a contributor to David Barrett's BluesHarmonica.com. As of 2012, Hummel toured with a California and Texas aggregation, 'Golden State Lone Star Revue', a group that featured

and

Little Charlie Baty Little Charlie & the Nightcats was an American electric blues and swing revival combo, active from 1976-2008. Several members reformed as Rick Estrin & The Nightcats. Biography Charles Baty (1953–2020) was studying mathematics at Uni ...

on guitars plus R.W. Grigsby on bass, and Wes Starr on drums. Baty left the group in December 2016 and has been replaced by the guitarist Mike Keller in January 2017. In 2019, Hummel was nominated for a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

in the 'Best Instrumentalist: Harmonica' category. This is his seventh nomination. In 2014, Blind Pig's ''Remembering Little Walter'' album, that Hummel produced and performed on, was nominated for Best Blues CD at the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s. It also won two Blues Music Awards for Best Blues CD and Best Traditional Blues CD. In April 2014, Electro-Fi Records released Hummel's ''The Hustle Is Really On''. It featured the 'Golden State Lone Star Revue' as well as Kid Andersen, Sid Morris, Doug James, and June Core. The CD made the ''

'' Radio Charts for four months reaching number two. It was also nominated for Best Traditional Blues CD in 2015. In 2016, Hummel and the Golden State Lone Star Revue released their debut album on Electro-Fi Records. Hummel's latest album (2020) is a tribute to Bluebird/RCA Victor blues musicians of the 1930s and 1940s. Entitled ''Wayback Machine'' it featured Joe Beard, Billy Flynn, Kid Andersen, Rusty Zinn, R.W. Grigsby and Deep Basement Shakers. This is Hummel's 29th release and 10th for Electro-Fi Records.

Discography

Singles

* 1976 Boogie Jake (w/ Mark Hummel, harp): "Automobile Blues" b/w "The Boogie Train" (Blues Connoisseur Records) * 1979 Bob Kelton (w/ Mark Hummel & The Blues Survivors): "Grandpa Said" b/w "Race Track Blues" (Rhodes-Way Records) * 1979 Mississippi Johnny Waters & The Blues Survivors: "I'm Wondering Woman" b/w "You Can Look For Me" (Rhodes-Way Records) * 1981 The Blues Survivors With Mark Hummel: "Gotta Make A Change" b/w "Sugar Sweet" (Rockinitus Records)

EPs

* 1979 ''Mississippi Johnny Waters & The Blues Survivors'' (Tree Of Hope Records)

As bandleader

* 1985 ''Playin' In Your Town'' (Rockinitus Records 101); w/ Bill Kirchen,

* 1987 ''High Steppin (Double Trouble Records 3018) * 1988 ''Harmonica Party'' (Double Trouble 3021) * 1989 ''Up And Jumpin (Rockinitus 103) w/

, Charles Brown * 1990 ''Sunny Day Blues'' (Deluxe

taly Taly () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a Village#Russia, settlement) in Alexandrovskoye Urban Settlement, Alexandrovsky District, Perm Krai, Russia. The population was 17 as of 2010. There are 11 streets. Geography ...

Records 8001) w/ Sue Foley * 1991 ''Hard Lovin' 1990s'' (Double Trouble 3029) w/

* 1994 ''Feel Like Rockin (Flying Fish 70634) w/ Charles Brown,

, Sue Foley * 1995 ''Married To The Blues'' (Flying Fish 70647) w/

, Rusty Zinn,

* 1997 ''Heart Of Chicago'' (Tone-Cool/Rounder 1158) w/

, Barrelhouse Chuck, Bob Stroger,

, Billy Flynn * 1998 ''Low Down To Uptown'' (Tone-Cool/Rounder 1169) w/ Junior Watson, Charles Brown, Brenda Boykin, David Maxwell,

Monster Mike Welch Monster Mike Welch (born June 11, 1979) is an American electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Welch has released seven albums to date, and is a former member of Sugar ...

* 1999 ''Harmonica Party: Vintage Mark Hummel'' (Mountain Top Productions Vol. 4) w/ Rusty Zinn * 2002 ''Golden State Blues'' ( Electro-Fi 3375) w/

* 2004 ''Blowin' My Horn'' (Electro-Fi 3386) w/ Mel Brown * 2006 ''Ain't Easy No More'' (Electro-Fi 3398) * 2008 ''Odds & Ends'' (Rockinitus) - compilation of three albums: ''High Steppin' '', ''Up And Jumpin' '', ''Sunny Day Blues''. * 2010 ''Retro–Active'' (Electro-Fi 3417) w/ The California Honeydrops, Rusty Zinn * 2011 ''Unplugged: Back Porch Music'' (Mountain Top Productions) w/ Rusty Zinn * 2012 ''Blue And Lonesome: Tribute To

'' imited edition(Rockinitus 1005) w/ Rusty Zinn, Bob Stroger, Willie Big Eyes Smith, Dave Myers, Billy Flynn * 2014 ''The Hustle Is Really On'' (Electro-Fi 3439) w/

, Anson Funderburgh * 2016 ''Golden State Lone Star Blues Revue'' (Electro-Fi 3448) w/ Little Charlie Baty, Anson Funderburgh * 2018 ''Harpbreaker'' (Electro-Fi 3456) ll instrumental* 2020 ''Wayback Machine'' ( Electro-Fi 3459) w/ Joe Beard, Billy Flynn, Rusty Zinn * 2024 ''True Believer'' (Rockinitus 1004) w/ Billy Flynn, Junior Watson

As sideman

* 1978 Various Artists, ''San Francisco Blues Festival, Vol. 2'' (Solid Smoke Records; w/ Charles Houff) * 1985 Brownie McGhee, ''Facts of Life'' (Blue Rock'it Records) * 1998 Various Artists, ''Blues Across America: The Chicago Scene'' (Cannonball Records; w/ Robert Plunkett) * 2000

Too Slim and the Taildraggers Too Slim and the Taildraggers is an American blues rock band formed in 1986 in Spokane, Washington, United States. The band has had six albums peak in the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Top Blues Albums. Members currently consist of Tim "Too Slim" ...

, ''King Size Troublemakers'' (Burnside Records) * 2003 Kid Andersen, ''Rock Awhile'' (Blue Soul Records) w/ Junior Watson * 2004 Steve Freund &

Dave Specter Dave Specter (born May 21, 1963) is an Americans, American Chicago blues and jazz guitarist. Biography Hailing from Chicago's Northwest side, Specter began to learn to play the guitar at the age of 18. His teacher was Steve Freund, who taught S ...

, ''Is What It Is'' ( Delmark) * 2004

Johnny Dyer Johnny Dyer (December 7, 1938 – November 11, 2014) was an American electric blues harmonicist and singer. He made numerous recordings, both as a solo performer and with other musicians. He was nominated for a Blues Music Award, Biography Dyer ...

& Mark Hummel, ''Rolling Fork Revisited'' (Mountain Top Productions 201) w/

Paul Oscher Paul Allan Oscher (February 26, 1947 – April 18, 2021) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. Primarily a harmonica player, he was the first permanent white member of Muddy Waters' band.Norman Darwen, "Obituary: Paul ...

, Francis Clay, Rusty Zinn * 2005 Jimi Bott, ''Live Volume 1: Cheap Thrills'' (Roseleaf Records) w/

* 2006 Various Artists, ''Revenge of Blind Joe Death: The John Fahey Tribute Album'' ( Takoma; w/

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American blues rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The group has been noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson and ...

) * 2020 Duke Robillard, ''Blues Bash'' (Stony Plain) w/ Michele Wilson, Al Baisle,

Doug James Doug James may refer to: * Doug James (American football) * Doug James (journalist) * Doug James (musician) See also * Douglas James-Taylor, English footballer {{hndis, James, Doug ...

Chris Cate Chris Cate is an American elected official in San Diego, California. He served as a member of the San Diego City Council representing City Council District 6 from 2014 to 2022. He is a Republican; although city council positions are officially ...

Anthologies

* 1991 ''Got Harp...If You Want It: The Best of The West Coast Blues Harp Players'' (Crosscut; Blue Rock'it) * 1992 ''Texas Harmonica Rumble'' (New Rose; Dialtone) * 1994 ''Blooze & Boogie: Blues Dance Party! (Vol. 1)'' (The Wax Museum) * 1997 ''Blues Harp Greats'' (Easydisc/Rounder) * 1998 ''Mean Streets Blues: A San Francisco Collection – 13 Stompin' Tracks!'' (Mean Streets/Biscuits & Blues) * 2000 ''This Is The Blues Harmonica'' (Delmark 780) * 2000 ''Blues Harp Meltdown, Vol. 1'' (Mountain Top Productions) 2CD

, Rick Estrin,

Billy Branch William Earl Branch (born October 3, 1951) is an American blues harmonica player of Chicago blues. He is a three-time Grammy nominee, a retired two-term governor of the Chicago Grammy Chapter, an Emmy Award winner , and a winner of the Addy Awar ...

, R.J. Mischo,

* 2002 ''Santa’s Got Mojo'' with various artists (Electro-Fi 3376) * 2002 ''Blues Harp Meltdown, Vol. 2: East Meets West'' (Mountain Top Productions) 2CD

Gary Primich Gary Primich (April 20, 1958 – September 23, 2007) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is best known for his 1995 album, ''Mr. Freeze''. Biography Gary Alan Primich was born in Chicago, Illinois, b ...

, Annie Raines, R.J. Mischo,

* 2003 ''San Francisco Bay's Best Blues, Vol. 1'' (Raw Records) * 2006 ''Blues Harp Meltdown, Vol. 3: Legends'' (Mountain Top Productions) 2CD

, Phil Wiggins,

* 2007 ''Live At The Boston Blues Festival, Volume 1'' (Blues Trust Productions) * 2008 ''Blues Harmonica Blowouts: Still Here And Gone 1993–2007'' (Electro-Fi 3410) 2CD Rick Estrin,

Paul deLay Paul Joseph deLay (January 31, 1952 – March 7, 2007) was an American blues vocalist and harmonicist. Life and career Paul deLay was born in Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. st ...

, William Clarke,

* 2009 ''Chicago Blues Party: Recorded Live! 1980–1992'' (Mountain Top Productions 0013)

* 2013 ''Remembering Little Walter'' ( Blind Pig 5154) featuring

, Mark Hummel,

Sugar Ray Norcia Sugar Ray Norcia (born Raymond Alan Norcia, June 6, 1954, Stonington, Connecticut, United States) is an American electric and soul blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known for his work with his backing band, The Bluetones, with whom ...

* 2022 ''East Bay Blues Vaults 1976-1988'' (Electro-Fi 3461) featuring Mark Hummel,

, BBQ Barnes,

Sonny Rhodes Clarence Smith (born Clarence Edward Mauldin; November 3, 1940 – December 14, 2021), known as Sonny Rhodes, was an American blues singer and lap steel guitar player. He recorded over two hundred songs. "I'm what you call a self-proclaimed Dis ...

, Bob Kelton, Paris Slim, Mississippi Johnny Waters, J.J. Malone, Ron Thompson, Cool Papa, Boogie Jake

References

External links

The Official Mark Hummel Website

Official MySpace page
* Mark Hummel at Allmusic.com
Review of Blues Harmonica Blowout Tour
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hummel, Mark 1955 births Living people American blues harmonica players American blues singers Musicians from New Haven, Connecticut Musicians from Los Angeles Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area