[Harp-L] Harmonica Articles

[Rooty Baegga <rootybaegga@xxxxxxxxx>]

I tried sending a few news articles on Harmonica, but they were rejected 
because the message was too large.  I've now split them up.

RB
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2002239254_carlos13n.html

Wednesday, April 13, 2005, 12:00 A.M. Pacific

Entertainment
Reputation isn't overblown for "harmonica virtuoso"

By Diane Wright
Times Snohomish County Bureau

Carlos del Junco often finds himself defending the harmonica.

Despite its long history ­ the harmonica was invented in 1821 ­ del Junco 
says it gets pegged as a child's toy or, as he puts it, "a fringe folk 
instrument."

In fact, he's used to hearing, "What else do you play?" when he tells 
people his instrument is the harmonica.

It's possible that no one who hears him ever thinks that again.

He has been a gold medalist in both the blues and jazz categories at the 
Hohner World Championship Harmonica Awards in Germany, and he opened for 
Ray Charles in 2003 in Toronto. Five times in the past eight years, he has 
received the Harmonica Player of the Year Award at the Toronto Blues 
Society's Maple Blues Awards, Canada's equivalent of this country's W.C. 
Handy Blues Awards.
He'll perform in concert with his band, the Blues Mongrels, Saturday at the 
Everett Theatre. Seattle guitarist Mark Riley, who has won "best acoustic 
guitar" several times from the Washington Blues Society, is to open the show.

The concert will benefit radio station KSER-FM (90.7), which is Snohomish 
County's only noncommercial radio station and depends on benefits and fund- 
raisers to operate. Leslie Fleury, the host of "Blues Odyssey," a program 
that airs at 10 p.m. Thursdays on KSER, contacted del Junco, whom she calls 
"a harmonica virtuoso."

"The band is one of the best I've ever seen," she said. "He is a blues 
musician, but his music has many flavors beyond blues, including Latin, 
jazz, folk, bluegrass and country. His band is comprised of phenomenally 
talented musicians."

Del Junco said the band is as much a factor in the sound as he is.

"Shawn Kellerman, the guitar player, has his own band, and the bass player, 
Henry Heillig, has his own group as well," del Junco said. "I get really 
great, world-class musicians who are each great musicians in their own right."

Drummer Jordan John completes the band.

Concerts consist of 50 percent vocal numbers that are blues-based and 50 
percent that are an international, eclectic mix. Performances include New 
Orleans rhythm and reinterpretations of blues classics.

A case in point is "Blues With a Feeling," a song written by Little Walter, 
a granddaddy of the Chicago blues. Del Junco and his band have twisted the 
sound with grunge and jazz overtones, carrying on the tradition while 
producing something new.

Originality seems as natural as breathing to this Cuban-born musician, who 
has been playing the harmonica since age 14. In reviews of recordings, 
critics have confused his sound with the saxophone or guitar, and that's 
not surprising.

Del Junco learned "over-blowing," extending the range of the traditional 
10-hole instrument, from Howard Levy, an American harmonica player. It 
consists of manipulating the embouchure ­ the way lips and tongue are 
applied to the instrument ­ to alter the pitch and bend notes.

Del Junco plays an acoustic harmonica as well as an electrified version. At 
concerts, he gives a brief orientation to the harmonica from the stage.

"People like Bob Dylan and Neil Young have given it a bad name," he 
quipped. "They wear a special neck brace, honk into it and play simple 
chord melodies. Jazz and blues have been a much more underground music, so 
a lot of the public associate the harmonica with that."

With six compact discs produced, del Junco tours year-round, mostly in 
North America. His newest CD, "Blues Mongrel," contains much of the music 
that will be heard in Everett.

"It's down-home rootsy boogie music, played by a master of the Hohner 
Golden Melody Harmonica," said Kyle Dodel, a staffer at Silver Platters 
music store in Seattle, where del Junco is a top-selling blues artist.

Of del Junco's "Blues Mongrel" CD, Dodel said, "With nods to Little Walter 
and Sonny Boy Williamson, along with a few originals, this is the blues 
album to own so far this year."

Diane Wright: 425-745-7815 or dwright@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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http://www.orion-online.net/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/06/42533689b17ec

Blues harmonica blows into the Big Room

Andrea Espindola
Staff Writer
April 06, 2005

Considered by many as the best blues harmonica player in Canada, Carlos del 
Junco plans to break new ground in Northern California as he promotes his 
latest album, "Blues Mongrel," Sunday at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.'s Big Room.

Listeners of del Junco's sixth CD can expect some self-proclaimed "recycled 
blues and other somewhat-related stuff," as the album is seasoned with 
Latin rhythmic sounds, crunchy, rockabilly guitars riffs and even some 
eccentric jazz-ska blends.

"In a sense, this record is part two of my album 'Big Boy,' which came out 
in 1998," del Junco said. "Since the album's format was so successful, I 
decided to continue the same format, but just inserting some new material."

The way del Junco formats his albums, by incorporating 50 percent music 
with vocals with 50 percent pure instrumental blues, with original Latin 
and ska overtones, one would believe his primary passion in life was to 
make music. However, it took del Junco 30 years to realize he wanted to be 
a full-time musician.

"I'd started playing the harmonica at 14, but I actually went to study at 
the Ontario College of Art, where I majored in sculpting," del Junco said.

After receiving a scholarship to study sculpture in Italy, del Junco came 
back to Canada and began playing in bands and working small gigs. After 
discovering the pleasure of playing for people, while making great music, 
del Junco decided being a musician was what life was all about.

Comparing both artistic venues on his Web site www.carlosdeljunco.com, he 
said, "Music is just a different way of creating textures and shapes."

A distinctive feature of del Junco's music is the way he records an album. 
After collecting the material, he goes into the studio with his 
collaborators and puts the notes down right away.

"As soon as Kevin Breit and I rehearse the material just enough so we get 
it right, we record it immediately so it doesn't lose its freshness," del 
Junco said.

He also said Breit is an integral part of the recording process that adds 
to the original flow and identity of the music, and his current band is by 
far one of his favorites. The band features Breit, who plays guitar and 
mandolin, bassist Henry Heillig, drummer and percussionist Jorn Juul 
Andersen and organist Denis Keldie.

In the future, del Junco said, he plans to continue to enhance his personal 
blend of blues music and is preparing a series of duets with musicians from 
the Toronto area.

"Right now I'm really enjoying playing with the band," del Junco said. "It 
may take me a while until I go back into the studio."

In the meantime, del Junco remains busy with the business aspects of 
recording, touring and doing what he loves most- playing for people and 
making new fans.

Andrea Espindola can be reached at aespindola@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Rooty Baegga

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