Carlos del Junco (pronounced del HUNKo) is a deservedly lauded harmonica player and singer who has gained international acclaim for bending and blending the blues, melding it with jazz, folk, bluegrass, bebop and Latin rhythms to create his own innovative and invigorating musical style. His music makes you want to move – sometimes just to tap your toes or sway in your seat and, other times, to boogie about the room. Whether he's leading a richly textured instrumental number or belting out some solid blues, his performance is always top notch.
Loosely translated, "del Junco" means "of the reeds," suggesting an appropriate harmonic convergence, if you will, of man and musical career. Born in Havana, Cuba, he immigrated at the tender age of one and grew up in Ontario, bending his first note on the harmonica at 14 and giving his first public performance in high school. He majored in sculpture at the Ontario College of Art and sees much similarity between music and the visual arts, noting that "Music is just a different way of creating textures and shapes."
Del Junco has put out six CDs, most of which have the strum-prints of monster guitarist Kevin Breit all over them. His Big Boy CD earned a Juno nomination in '98 and, upon the release of Blues Mongrel in 2005, he was given the "Best Blues" award by Toronto's NOW Magazine. He also took home Jazz Report Magazine's "Blues Musician of the Year" award in '96, he earned the title of "Harmonica Player of the Year" seven times in the 10-year history of Canadian Maple Blues Awards (1997-2006) and, back in '93, he got the honours rolling with two gold medals (in diatonic blues and diatonic jazz) at the Hohner World Harmonica Championships in Trossingen, Germany.
If you want to hear a tasty sample of his music or view a video clip, visit his website: www.carlosdeljunco.com. The site has more detailed information about his musical style and history, among other things – such as reviews. Here are some excerpts of what music critics had to say about del Junco's most recent release, Blues Mongrel:
"Havana-born, Ontario raised del Junco has over the course of his six-CD, 15-year career elevated the status of the humble 10-hole diatonic mouth harp to the equivalent of a Stradivarius violin. Del Junco, a world champion harp player and winner of several national and international awards, has perfected Levy's difficult 'overblow' technique, which gives the simple folk instrument full chromatic range and allows the musician to bend notes right out of shape, to find the dissonant tones and textures required in progressive blues and jazz, and to harmonize expressively with infinitely more sophisticated instruments. He's a marvel to listen to, a freak of nature who does to the harp what Bela Fleck does to the banjo, and, assisted by a crack band (including guitarist Kevin Breit, who composed many of the pieces, Denis Keldie on organ, bassist Henry Heillig, drummer Jorn Andersen, and percussionist Arturo Avalos), del Junco achieves an astonishingly complex yet seamless fusion of blues, country, funk, jazz and swampy roots rock. This one's a classic, a ground breaker of a record that serious harp players will be studying for years to come." – Greg Quill (The Toronto Star, February 10, 2005)
"Blues Mongrel pulls off the difficult trick of proving that music can be simultaneously sophisticated and raw, technically adept and highly emotional, serious as a heart attack and as much fun as a circus clown. Thanks to artists like Carlos del Junco and Kevin Breit, the blues will continue to live and breathe for the foreseeable future." – Michael Ross
"Blues Mongrel...transcends categorization and the surprises come fast and furious....There's a kaleidoscopic of musical ideas and shapes: much like Bela Fleck, Carlos del Junco effortlessly blends numerous genres (blues, Latin, bluegrass, jazz, bebop, country, classical, R&B) into a coherent whole....instrumental treats include 'Let's Mambo,' emblematic of the sensuous Latin rhythms that ripple so effortlessly throughout Blues Mongrel. Every one of these 12 glorious tracks is deserving of lavish praise, but 'Plain Old (Down Home) Blues' blazes a special trail by stretching the blues to its outer edge. Sonny Boy Williamson's 'Nine Below Zero' is given an absolutely spine-tingling updating by dint of the dazzling virtuosity of Mr. del Junco. An extraordinary talent like Carlos del Junco (or Kevin Breit for that matter) would be a household name in most other countries. Blues Mongrel by Carlos del Junco is a triumph, and it merits my highest recommendation." – Gary Tate
Trumpeting the arts,
Jenny Cressman
