LAGUNAK SESSIONS – Catalunya Harmonica Summit

They say the passion of those who give always returns to its source. It is an emotion with a traveling spirit that knows no borders, languages, or limits. It is fueled by the boundless enthusiasm some people generate.

Javier Laguna is a music lover who is unconditionally devoted to the study of the blues, with a particular focus on the harmonica. Only someone with a deep passion for the instrument could bring together and produce a project featuring many of the musicians representing the best of the Catalan scene. Lagunak Sessions, a Catalunya Harmonica Summit project, features important figures such as harmonica player and singer Marta Suñé (Sweet Martha, Sweet Martha & The Blues Shakers); harmonica player and singer David Sánchez Farràs (The Low Down Groovers, The Hoodoo Doctors); harmonica player, singer, and organist Victor Puertas (The Suitcase Brothers, Victor Puertas & The Mellow Tones); guitarist and singer Johnny BigStone; guitarist Óscar Rabadán; drummer Reginald Vilardell; and bassist Jordi Abad. The project is backed by Greg Izor, one of the most important figures in international blues today. Izor is an American harmonica player, singer, composer, and producer.

In addition to Javier Laguna’s executive production, Lagunak Session was recorded at La Casa Murada Studios by Michael Solves and Greg Izor. It was mixed and mastered by Javi Suárez and Greg Izor at Tape Geeks Studios and produced by Greg Izor. This blues harmonica album invites us to trace the instrument’s path throughout history and its indelible mark on the genre. It reveals an organic, old-school production, exquisite song selection, and outstanding performances by this collective It’s a call to action, a invitation to follow the invisible thread that links blues, rock and roll, and country in songs like the lively Sparkling City, a track by singer and harmonica player Tedy Roddy and performed by Marta Suñé on vocals and harmonica, and to venture into the Texan-infused shuffle of I Don’t Want To Hear It,  penned by Greg Izor. M. A. Lonesome vindicates the figure of Californian harmonica player Rick Estrin with New Old Lady, in Howlin’ Wolf ´s purest style.

 Lagunak Sessions is an exciting journey that takes us from Chicago to Austin, New Orleans, and Mississippi, finally landing in Barcelona. It masterfully combines original songs, such as Greg Izor’s “High School Days,” with covers from other artists, such as Linda Lu by Ray Sharpe. This time, David Sánchez Farrás is on vocals and harmonica. Izor’s Le Rêve Bretagne, a true chromatic harmonica instrumental master class, establishing him as the main composer of this record. Marta Suñé and Javier Laguna bring Buster Benton’s Lonesome for a Dime to life, splendidly performed by Johnny Big Stone on vocals. Invisible delves into the swamps of Louisiana to pay tribute to American music legend Johnny Sansone, a multi-instrumentalist and composer, with Victor Puertas on vocals and harmonica, and Greg Izor on harmonica. Izor also writes Preacher’s Daughter. The spirit of the late Texan harmonica player, Gary Primich, is embodied in Angeline with MA Lonesome on vocals and harmonica. Izor signs the magnificent $2 Bill and co-writes the amusing Onion performed by MA Lonesome.

Austin, San Antonio, Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis, or Barcelona. Lagunak Sessions is the journey that celebrates the essence of blues music, which has always been both far away and close by, arousing an inexhaustible desire in some and simply being appreciated by others.

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Harp record. Lagunak sessions (Eng) “Without a song, the spirit will not descend,” says an old African proverb that perfectly describes the strange spell cast by the blues. Lagunak, which means “friends” in Basque, is the wordplay under which Javier Laguna has called some of the best bluesmen in Catalonia to La Casamurada, a studio in Banyeres del Penedès (Tarragona). They have been summoned with the permission of the prodigious Sweet Marta and Greg Izor, who grew up in Vermont but has been living in Madrid for a few years. They are a group of friends, the more- than -usual suspects, who can take you to a juke joint in the blink of an eye and make you feel the spell under which the spirit of the blues becomes flesh every time it is invoked.

Twelve songs just like the twelve apostles or a twelve-bar blues, inhabit Harp Record. The Lagunak sessions are where this disciplined squad, led by Izor’s enthusiastic baton and united by camaraderie and generosity, come together. Or, if you prefer, they are like the Wild Bunch in Sam Peckinpah’s legendary western. True to themselves, they embrace the codes of the old ways to pay tribute to their masters.

Make no mistake: Lagunak has the best. Little Jordi, with his sinuous, playful, and ever-present bass. It blends like mortar with Reginald Vilardell’s drumsticks. His unique and inimitable beat rocks to the cadence of the 1950s. Without a doubt, it’s a bombproof rhythm section.

Johnny Big Stone, a true songster, a tenacious guitarist, a virtuoso of effort, the measured cowboy who embraces Reverend Blind Willie Johnson and Steve Ray Vaughan alike—not to mention his talent as a singer.

Sweet Marta is a hardworking ant, a talented singer and harmonica player. She is selflessly humble and became queen by her own merits. The blues worker has a unique, deeply swampy harmonica tone that is admired on both sides of the Atlantic. She was born in Salt, a village in Girona, and ended up touring with her idols in the United States.

Oscar Rabadan, from the Rabadan dynasty, never beats around the bush and always hits the right notes. He is minimalist, precise, and accurate: less is more. In short, he is the indomitable former apprentice guitarist who taught his younger brother the rudiments of blues back in the 1990s, only to later find himself sought after by renowned musicians such as Blas Picón and Víctor Puertas.

M.A. Lonesome is a free verse poet by vocation and temperament. He is hilarious, tender, playful, and unrestrained. He is the most talkative player in the gang and the “sane-crazy” one, most like the good Murdock in The A-Team. And how he sings! Come listen if you don’t believe me.

David Sánchez is the apostle of the blues. He is the man who was abducted by four vibrating metal plates and a wooden comb nailed down with a handful of nails in 1896. He is the Padawan who pursued the great Joe Filisko until the master agreed to give him lessons, allowing him to take his harmonica to another level. He has been proselytizing about black music on the radio for years. He often rescues and extols pre-war blues with the help of the illustrious Balta Bordoy.

Victor Puertas is the prodigy possessed by the spirit of Sonny Terry—they were born on the same day! As a kid, he crossed the pond to meet his master, Gary Primich, eager to learn his best tricks. He is the other half of the highly respected Suitcase Brothers, who have made, are making, and will continue to make history in Memphis and wherever they are called upon. The pianist. The crooner in a state of grace. The composer. The guitarist. The… But, for God’s sake! Is there anything this man does wrong? Someone had to say it!

Finally, Greg Izor, the most gifted student of the great Johnny Sansone and undoubtedly his legitimate heir. A bluesman through and through with his roasted harmonica and tireless hollering, he received his sentimental and musical education in New Orleans before conquering Europe years later. There was no need to study The Art of War; with such a commander in this wild group, nothing could go wrong.

Don’t be fooled; you’ll find what you’re looking for: echoes of Johnny Sansone, the fitting legacy of Howlin’ Wolf, the bluesy soul of the immense, subtle, and underrated Buster Benton, the endless longing for Gary Primich, and six great songs in which Izor measures himself against the compositional mystique of Willie Dixon—and succeeds. In short, it’s the simple passion of records from years past, taking you on a journey from Chicago blues to the Clarksdale cotton fields.

Legend has it that, in the 1980s, 13-year-old Javier Laguna—the driving force behind this venture—spent all the money his father gave him on records during a trip to EGB. Years later, Laguna followed in the footsteps of Ñaco Goñi, collecting thousands of vinyl records on the streets of New York City and spending entire afternoons listening to them with Malcolm Scarpa and others. Now, at nearly 60 years old, Laguna gives us this little gem to enjoy and remember.

But don’t worry. There is talk that this is not the end. Something new is coming up. For now, close your eyes, turn up the volume, and join Lagunak. I assure you the spirit of the blues will descend upon you. Take it from a bluesman.