The harmonica has developed something of a dicey rep. Clueless audience members playing amateur harp along with the band, tired revivals of yet another purist Little Walter imitator, and Blues Traveler-style wanking tend to make us forget that in the proper hands it is an instrument that in one moment can create a highly emotive cry (see: Junior Wells), and in another a breathtaking (no pun intended) saxophone-style solo (see: Toots Thielmans). 
Cuban-born, Canadian-bred, harmonica player Carlos del Junco is fully capable of both types of moments. On Blues Mongrel, Little Walter's "Blues With a Feeling" and Sonny Boy Williams' "Nine Below Zero" prove that he is, to coin a cliche, steeped in the tradition. But if that were the sum of his efforts he would be just another in the current long line of purist revivalists whose well-intentioned efforts are contributing to the blues becoming moribund. 
Luckily, del Junco has no interest in merely re...