Harmonica hero can't be overblown
It may be small and inconspicuous, but in the hands of Carlos del Junco, the harmonica makes it big
By BRAD WHEELER
Wednesday, November 21, 2001 Print Edition, Page R5
TORONTO -- It's a slow night at Blues on Bellair. The musicians on stage, Raoul and the Big Time, swing with conviction, but their Hollywood jump blues gather little height without a crowd to jump along with them. Sunday evenings hold the come-down hours for the weekend, and the time is not prime for live music.
Things pick up, though, when Carlos del Junco sits in. He's dropped by to play with friend and fellow harmonica player Raoul Bhaneja. The Big Time plays on, dropping the swing for straight-up Chicago blues, but Bhaneja and del Junco are in a world of their own. As they play, they tweak amplifier knobs and effect pedals, switch harps and exchange knowing glances, all in the elusive pursuit of getting the sound in their heads to come out of the shiny, tiny instrument in their hands. For del Junco, it has always been that way.
"It's an obsession with something so small, and trying to get the sound that you want," del Junco explains.
For the 42-year-old virtuoso talent, the obsession stretches back 30 years, when he discovered progressive talents like Paul Butterfield and Lee Oskar, who were pioneers in moving the harp beyond the blues to jazzier effect. Other harpists like Howard Levy and Toots Thielman, melodic players who aren't considered blues guys at all, have also influenced del Junco's jazz-blues hybrid style. Plenty of heroes, then, but it was the instrument itself that held the intrigue.
"It was the sound that grabbed me, it has a real human voice. It's such an emotional thing, and it always grabs people immediately, especially when it's played well."
Ah, there's the rub -- playing it well.
The enduring appeal of the humble harmonica stems from its simplicity -- it is one of the few instruments on which one can play a tune after a few days of practice. As well, in an age of bulky electronica, the harp is remarkably and uniquely portable, fitting snugly in a back pocket, to be whipped out at a moment's notice at a campfire, street corner or back porch.
But to play it in an intelligent manner, in a blues mode, the harmonica can be fiendishly difficult to master. The art of bending notes -- lowering pitch by changing the pressure exerted on the instrument's reeds -- comes into play, and it is not an easy thing to do. "A lot of people struggle with it and never really learn to bend a note," according to del Junco. "It's a tricky thing."
Other tricks of the trade include the use of "choked" notes and wah-wah hand effects. In the hands of a capable player, the harmonica can be used to imitate a chugging train or a baby's wail, ranging from eerie howls and harsh yells to sweet sighs and lyrical whispers.
To the untrained ear, harmonica players might seem to be a rather generic lot -- talented, yes, but indistinguishable from one another. One only needs to look at the stable of Toronto honkers to see that it isn't that way at all.
Al Lerman of Fathead also plays the saxophone, which gives him a unique sense of phrasing. Downchild's Donnie Walsh, who learned to play as a truck driver playing in time to windshield wipers, is an energetic and physical player. Michael Pickett can play with the raw intensity of the amplified Chicago style, as well as a sweet, clear country sound. Mark Stafford plays with the big, fat California sound of Rod Piazza, and Paul Reddick doesn't use an amplifier, blowing directly into the sound system in the manner of James Cotton.
What separates del Junco from the rest is the use of a technique known as "overblowing," which allows him to play chromatically, that is to say, in all 12 keys, on a standard-issue harmonica designed to play in just two or three. The technique, not common in the blues idiom, was originated by jazz virtuoso Levy, who in turn taught del Junco.
The overblow, the varied influences, and a Latin background (he was born in Cuba), all find their way into del Junco's recently released Up and At 'Em disc. A musical gumbo of jazz, worldbeat, bluegrass, funk and a hint of blues, the album features del Junco's band and another eclectic virtuoso, guitarist Kevin Breit.
"I should be getting back," del Junco tells me. He's answered all my questions, and he'd love to talk some more, but the band is back on stage and he's itching to join them. The big time, it seems, is calling.
