Carlos del Junco and the Blues Mongrels

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Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

THE GENIUS OF BLUES HARMONICA!
It's probably a good thing Carlos wasn't there when the harmonica appeared in North America in the 1850s. Neil Young and Bob Dylan can probably roll with it when it he says they are very mediocre harmonica players. Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid might have overreacted and pulled out their pistols...



Carlos is one of those players whose music is so advanced that when it comes to awards, it's either retire the category or rephrase the question to "Best Harmonica Player Not Named Carlos". This includes two Gold Medals from the Hohner World Harmonica Championship in Trossingen, Germany, as well as multiple national awards.



To say he plays the harmonica is like saying "Jimi Hendrix plays guitar". He blows the blues harp through a prism -- suddenly it seems he's holding every color in the musical rainbow right there in his hands. 

Simultaneously sophisticated and raw, his playing blurs the boundaries between blues and jazz (hence the name for his band "The Blues Mongrels"). The emphasis is on blues, but Carlos and his band are not afraid to merrily traipse off in other directions delivering a seamless fusion of New Orleans second line grooves, swing, Latin, hip-hop or ska melodies, to swampy roots rock. 

The Blues Mongrels are: bassist Henry Heillig, guitarist Eric St. Laurent, and Mark Mariash on drums.

Get ready to trash all you thought you knew about the harmonica. Carlos and his Blues Mongrels deliver a no-holds-barred display of fun and melodic virtuosity.



Artist website: http://www.carlosdeljunco.com/