Joan Pau Cumellas

He was born in Barcelona 1970, it has been given to know starting from the year 1992 for his interpretive ability with the harmonic diatónica inside the styles Blues, Country and Rock. 

It has been part as professor in the Shop of Músics of Barcelona in the years 1998 and 1999, also starting from the year 2001 impart classes weekly to the school of musicians Jam Session also from Barcelona.  He has prepared harmonica seminars for the Festival of Blues from Cerdanyola the years 1999 and 2000.      

He also makes harmonica workshops directed to young people in diverse schools from Barcelona.     He usually works as study musician and in radio programs and television. He has included their collaborations in Radio Barcelona and Radio 4, as well as gingles recordings for advertising announcements as: Cola Cao, Frigo, Bayer, Mary Claire, etc.

The first formation with which was given to know was Louisiana Vamper (harmonica duet and piano with Luis Coloma) that from the year 1995 act once a month in the grateful Harlem Jazz Club, interpreting an intense repertoire of songs of Blues, Jive, Boogie-Boogie and country.    

With this formation it has been present in events like the Festival of Jazz of Terrassa in the year 2000, the Festival of Jazz from Ciutat Vella (Barcelona) in the years 1997 and 1998, in the Festival of Blues from Cerdanyola and 1998 and the Festival of Music from Barcelona in the year 1996. Louisiana Vamper also acts every month from the year 1999 in the pub The Filharmonica.  Other places in those that he plays are: Nova Jazz Cava from Tarrasa and Jazz Cava from Vic.

Starting from the year 1999 work with the Blues singer, Big Mama and with this collaboration were born these formations: Big Mama Acustic Band, Tableau de Blues and Homenatge a les Dones de Blues (Blues´s women honor). The first one has played in places like the Festival of Música Viva from Vic ´99, Festival of Jazz from Lleida '99, the Festival of Jazz and Blues from Guetxo ´99, and the Festival Manresa 2000. The formation "Tableau of Blues" after acting weekly in The Cova of the Drac from Barcelona during the whole year 2000, gave as fruit one of the disks from the Catalan singer's success Big Mama, which continues acting for all Catalonia, having foreseen to act in future editions in the Festivals of Blues of Paris (South "Blues Seine") and of Perpinyá. The Hotmenatge a les Dones del Blues includes a traditional repertoire of songs that have been composed by big blues women like Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie or Ma Rainey.  

As collaborations with Catalan women, he has recorded the harmonicas for the American singer's disk Lotti Lewis published at the end of the 2000.  

Jointly with the guitarist Miguel Talavera, component also of "Tableau of Blues", they have built a potent harmonica duet and guitar that have playing two years in multitude of sites from Barcelona. This duet makes a repertoire that includes the classics' so much versions as Muddy Waters, Brownie McGhee, Elmore James and John Lee Hooker, as modern Johny Winter, Sugar Blue, Jean Jacques Milteau and J.J. Cale. They also offer their own compositions of Blues.  During the 2001, alone in Barcelona they have been playing periodically in The Cova of the Drac, Honky Tonk, Hoochie Hoochie, Blues Coffee and The Filharmònica.  

On the other hand, the influence of the Country and the Bluegrass in the way of playing their harmonica, he has had as a result, on one hand, the elaboration of a CD with music's group of Country the Tarragona Rió Seco in the year 200, and for the other one, the participation in the group of Bluegrass The Wild Turkey Band that was presented the year 200 in the International Festival of Rural Folk and that in the 2001 they presented the first CD.  

Basically their musical formation has been developed in a self taught way. First following the classics Blues like Little Walter and Sonny Terry and already later, noticing the modern harmonica players, Country, Bluegrass and Jazz (Jean-Jaques Milteau, Charlie McCoy, Norton Buffalo, Carlos del Junco) that have taken the diatonic harmonica at a level of virtuosity comparable to any other instrument. But he has also received lessons of modern harmonica in France, on the part of one of those but grateful European harmonica players as Greg Szlapczynski.

In their form of playing highlight, for example, two modern contributions when playing the diatonic harmoica. From one part, the use of the technique of the overblowing and the overdrowing that allow him to obtain the notes that initially are not available in the diatonic harmonicas and that put the same possibilities of this instrument with those of the chromatic harmonica. And of the other side, he practices the tongue blocking, very used by Country harp players and that facilitates the development of quick melodies in the half and high registration of the instrument.

As part of the collaborations commented previously, he has registered records with musicians like Ciro Foggliata, Andrés Calamaro and Juan Amador.   

Other formations in those that he plays sporadically as collaborator are: Wede, Men in Blue and Steve de Swardt.