Mingo Balaguer

Mingo Balaguer (Spain) May 31, 1957Mingo began playing the harmonica at about eleven. He discovered the harp on a school excursion and has been devoted to that instrument ever since. A few years later, he discovered the blues by chance when he first heard someone playing a blues harp. That got him hooked on the blues, which became one of his passions in life.He played with several amateur bands during the late 70’s and early 80’s until he became a member of the “Caledonia Blues Band”.“Caledonia” is an icon band in the Spanish blues scene revered by blues fans and critics alike. During its ten-year lifespan, the band toured extensively all over Spain in the most renowned blues and jazz festivals.In July ’94 the band crossed the Atlantic to play in Chicago. The experience at Schuba’s Tavern and Buddy Guy’s Legend was one to remember. In November ’95 they represent Spain in the Celle Jazz Festival in Hannover (Germany).“Caledonia Blues Band” released five albums:Just Rhythm And Blues (Cambayá Records, 1989) Blues For The Mother (Cambayá Records, 1990) Caledonia Blues Band III (Cambayá Records, 1991) Alameda Sessions (Big Bang, 1994) Chicken Jump (Big Bang, 1995)After the split-up of the group, two of their members, harmonica Mingo Balaguer and guitarist Quique Bonal, get together to form a new band in June ’96, “The Blues Machine”. Their first demo had three numbers: “Sinister Woman” and “Knocking Back On Your Door” (Rod Piazza) and “Narcolepsy” (Ronnie Earl). The indie company Big Bang records their first work, “Here we Are”, in 1997.Mingo is also a member of an acoustic three-piece combo (two acoustic guitars, harmonica and vocals), “Bluesville”. They base their repertoire on the blues roots and the Mississippi sound, playing renditions of such classics as Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Sony Terry & Brownie Mc Ghee and others.“Bluesville” began playing in early 1995 and have not stopped performing both in blues clubs and big festivals. They have played in the Antequera Blues Festival, in El Puerto de Santa María, in the Seville Jazz Festival and in many other venues.In 2000, Mingo Balaguer and Quique Bonal get together again to form “The Blues Blasters” alongside their colleagues in “The Blues Machine”, Fernando Torres (bass) and Alberto Miras (keyboards), who would be later replaced by Julián Maeso. Brent Larkham, Australian singer, and Xavi Reija, a Catalonian drummer with a degree in the Berklee College of Music (Boston) are the latest members to join the six-piece band.In 2001, the indie company “Big Bang” releases “Keep The Blues Alive”, their first and only album up to the present.“The Blues Blasters” is a tight outfit whose live performances are wild and their repertoire runs all the gamut of the blues – from the electric Chicago style to the West Coast blues.In July 2002 they go on a tour on the US alongside Bruce Ewan, “The Red Harmonica King”. They play in Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland. The main events of the tour were their concerts at the Kennedy Center Millennium (DC) and the Artscape 2002 (Baltimore).Mingo & The Blues IntrudersMingo had always wanted to be a real front man, so he decided that he would be singing as well as playing harmonica. One of his main assets when it came to approach the tricky domain of blues vocals was his wide knowledge of this musical style. As for the technical side of it, he has been working hard and is currently taking classes. His confidence and ability are growing with every gig. All in all, he is an able singer and a great performer.Once he decided to lead a band as a singer, he called some old-time friends. Quique Bonal on guitar, Fernando Torres on bass and Juan Oliva on drums are his colleagues in this new project. As before, the band tackles many different blues styles – electric Chicago blues, Texas blues, jump and swing and West Coast blues.The Band is currently working on their first album, which will be released shortly under the name “Going West”.Spanish Blues Harp Attack / Duelo de ArmónicasThis is yet another project of Mingo’s. The best three Spanish harp players get together for a special show in which the harmonica is the protagonist. Danny Boy (Valencia), Ñaco Goñi (Madrid) and Mingo himself, are backed by Intruders’ Quique Bonal (guitar) and Fernando Torres (bass) and Ñaco & Bluescavidas’ Armando Marcé (drums).Their first album is already released under the name “Duelo de Armónicas/Spanish Blues Harp attack”. It was recorded live at Café populart (Madrid) in two sessions (4 and 5 August) and at Béjar Blues Festival (Salamanca) the following night.Otis Grand & Mingo and The Blues IntrudersThis project started at the end of 2004 and features Otis Grand and Mingo & The Blues Intruders. The Intruders have backed big names of the blues, such as Charlie Musselwhite, Carey Bell, Paul Lamb, Bruce Ewan, Bobby Radcliff, Kenny Neal, Charlie Sayles and Gary Primich, to name a few.Otis Grand has been a prominent name of the “Big Band” sound in recent years, and has received numerous awards such as the Blues Guitarist of the Year (1990-96), best Blues recordings, best band and has been short listed for the prestigious W.C. Handy Awards in Memphis.Otis Grand recorded his first album with his Big Band, “Always Hot”, in 1988 and began touring Europe extensively, sharing the bill with BB King, Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Lee Hooker and many others. He made recordings with blues big names such as Philip Walter or Guitar Shorty, which granted him a W.C. Award to the best non-American blues recording. His musical career has been progressing ever since and now he is one of the most internationally known and acclaimed bluest artists.Cambayá Blues ReunionCambayá Records is a key name in the development of Spanish Blues during the 80’s. Their recordings of fledgling Spanish Blues artists were an essential stepping stone in the blues’ revival in our country.The Cambayá Blues Reunion backbone is its backing band, Mingo & The Blues Intruders, lead by Mingo Balaguer on harp and vocals. Mingo has worked for the main Spanish Blues Bands – Caledonia, Blues Blasters, Blues Machine – and he is widely acknowledged as one of the main European players of the blues harmonica.Raimundo Amador, Charly Cepeda, Lolo Ortega, Francisco Simón, Tonky de la Peña, Ñaco Goñi, Suzette Moncrief or Jairo Zabala are some of the artist that usually take part in the two and a half - hour show.Mingo plays also regularly with The Blues Company, a group of very good young blues musicians from Argentina and Serbia who are currently living in Barcelona, and with his “buddy” Felix Slim a very talented Spanish blues singer and guitarist with whom he is going to release a new album very shortly.Apart from many other projects, Mingo is a member of the band playing for Canal Sur 2 Andalucía (Andalusian public television). From 2005 to 2006 he worked for the programme "1001 Músicas", conducted by singer David de María, and he is currently playing for the programme “1001 Noches” and for the variety show "El Mono Logo".He is also teaching blues harmonica for both beginners and advanced students at the “Jazz Corner Music School” in Seville and he is currently sponsored by Lee Oskar harmonicas.Mingo performed with outstanding musicians such as Louisiana Red, Hubert Sumlin, Johnny Winter and Magic Slim, among others. He also had the honour to play with such celebrities as Charlie Musselwhite, Carey Bell, Gary Primich, Charley Sayles, Bruce Ewan, Bobby Radcliff, Kenny Neal, Jerry Portnoy, Otis Grand and Paul Lamb.His old school favourite players are Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Walter Horton, George “Harmonica” Smith, James Cotton and Carey Bell, and amongst the contemporaries Rod Piazza, Kim Wilson, William Clarke, Lee Oskar, Rick Estrin, Mark Hummel, Charlie Musselwhite, Paul Butterfield, Paul Lamb, Bruce Ewan, Paul Delay and Gary Primich.