Carlos del Junco

Carlos del Junco, 296 Broadview

Show at 8pm, Doors at 7pm
$40 at the door, $45 in advance 

Carlos del Junco makes his annual return to Hugh’s Room Live, this time as a full electric quartet with Eric. St. Laurent on guitars, Henry Heillig on bass and introducing Ilios Steryannis on drums. They’ll be digging into  some rarely played material over the years that calls for a full rhythm section.

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, ska melodies, to swampy roots rock.

Born in Havana, Cuba, del Junco (loosely translated "of the reeds") immigrated with his family at the age of one. He bent his first note on a harmonica when he was fourteen, making his debut with his high school math teacher at a student talent night. In his early 20's del Junco was immersed in a visual arts career; he graduated with honours from a four year programme, majoring in sculpture at the Ontario College of Art. Sculpture has definitely had an influence on his outlook on music: "Music is just a different way of creating textures and shapes.

Playing a ten-hole diatonic harmonica, Carlos mastered a groundbreaking "overblow" technique taught by jazz virtuoso Howard Levy. This technique allows him to play chromatically on a diatonic harmonica, a challenging feat that enhances expressiveness and communication compared to the mechanized tone of the chromatic harmonica. Carlos stands as a pioneer of this technique, challenging the perception of the harmonica as a folk instrument. His music combines sophistication and sensitivity, always rooted in the raw essence of the blues.

296 Broadview is not yet a fully wheelchair accessible venue, with stairs between all levels. Our goal is to fix that, and we need your support to do so - please consider making a donation towards our goals to make HRL the best listening room in Toronto!