Carlos del Junco, Sunday, April 22, 8 p.m.
Margaret Greenham Theatre, The Banff Centre
Adult $20, Student/Senior/Child $18, Playbill Special $15
Banff Centre Box Office: 1-800-413-8368 or 762-6301
Presented as part of the winter/spring 2007 Playbill Series
Taught by jazz virtuoso Howard Levy, Carlos del Junco has pioneered a new method of playing a ten-hole diatonic harmonica and helped to bring musical credibility to an instrument often overlooked. Extremely expressive, the sophisticated raw blues sound produced by del Junco is sensitive, soulful, and sexy. Backed-up by his band on guitar, drums, and bass, del Junco plays The Banff Centre’s Margaret Greenham Theatre on Sunday, April 22.
Having first picked up the instrument at the age of 14, del Junco now plays the harmonica like few others in the world. Not unlike a classical violinst, he has mastered the subtleties and nuances of the instrument and is able to fuse them with edgier blues and rock sounds. Together with his four-piece band del Junco produces an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, swing, Latin, and the occasional African, hip-hop, and ska melody. Also possessing a unique singing voice, del Junco delivers fresh renditions of classic blues standards as well as original tunes.
Reviews of his latest release Blues Mongrel (2005) by PureMusic.com highlight del Junco’s ability to create music that is “simultaneously sophisticated and raw, technically adept and highly emotional, serious… and fun.” Together with his band, del Junco continues to enchant audiences at major jazz, blues, and folk festivals throughout Canada, the U.S., and Germany. In 2005, del Junco won the “Best Blues” Award through Now Magazine (Toronto), he has been declared “Harmonica Player of the Year” six times at the Canadian Maple Blues Awards, and in 1996, he won the “Blues Musician of the Year Award” through Jazz Report Magazine.
Part of the Banff Summer Arts Festival, Playbill events at The Banff Centre this summer will include Famous Puppet Death Scenes (June 22, 23, and 24), Alpha Yaya Diallo with special guest Kiran Ahluwalia (June 30), Bruce Cockburn (August 9), Baka Beyond (August 14), and Mighty Popo (August 15).
Tickets for all Banff Centre events are available through The Banff Centre Box Office: 1-800-413-8368 or 403-762-6301.
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More information on the winter/spring 2007 Playbill Series.
