Larry Harlow - Biography
Pianist and bandleader Larry Harlow may not be a household name, but he’s one of the founding fathers of New York’s salsa scene. He visited Cuba when he was 20 and became a fanatic about the island’s music and culture and became the leader of the house band at Fania Records, the most important salsa record label. He played on many of the label’s seminal albums and also became the Fania’s top producer, working on over 100 records for the label. Nicknamed El Judio Maravilloso he was instrumental in founding the Latin Grammy Foundation and teaches regularly at Harvard, Yale and the California State University system. Harlow still tours regularly and was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2000 and received a Trustees Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy for his contribution to the music business in 2008.
Lawrence Ira Kahn was playing piano by ear at the age of five and grew up in a Jewish and Puerto Rican neighborhood in Brooklyn in the 40s. He attended the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan, where he took classical training on piano, organ, oboe, English horn, flute, and bass. He also studied harmony and composition and switched his major to jazz before graduation. He went on to study music at Brooklyn College and spent his vacations in Cuba, where he fell under the spell of the island’s music and culture. After graduation he played in various Latin bands until starting his own Orchestra Harlow. It was in those years he changed his name to Harlow and acquired his nickname, El Judio Maravilloso, from his Cuban friends.
Harlow was the second artist ever signed by Fania and his first album Heavy Smokin’ (1965 Fania/2007 Fania) is a classic with an exciting two trumpet and two trombone horn section with Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros on trumpet and Mark Weinstein on trombone and vocalist Felo Brito. Bajandote - Gettin’ Off (1966 Fania/1999 Fania) led up to El Exigente (1967 Fania) the beginning of Harlow’s collaboration with vocal legend Ismael Miranda who also wrote the title track with Harlow. Miranda was only 18 at the time. Their successful albums included Orquestra Harlow presenta a Ismael Miranda (1968 Fania) with the hit “La Contraria,” Me And My Monkey (1969 Fania), Harlow’s first gold album with a Latin cover of The Beatles “Me and My Monkey,” Electric Harlow (1971 Fania), his first album with electric piano, La Oportunidad (1972 Fania) credited to Ismael Miranda con Orchestra Harlow with the hits “Señor Sereno” and “Las Mujeres Son,” and Con Mi Viejo Amigo (1976 Fania). Vocalist Junior Gonzalez joined Harlow for Salsa (1974 Fania) one of the best salsa albums of the 70s and the charanga flavored El Judio Maravilloso (1974 Fania).
Harlow put together the Fania All Stars to help promote the label’s catalogue and educate people about Latin music. The band’s free flowing personnel included Ray Barretto, Willie Colón, Johnny Pacheco, Rubén Blades, Hector Lavoe, Ismael Miranda, Cheo Feliciano, Bobby Cruz, Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, and Eddie Palmieri. Harlow was the band’s musical director and piano player on Live at the Red Garter, Vol. 1 and 2 (1968 Fania), Nuestra Costa (1972 Fania), Latin-Soul-Rock (1974 Fania), Fania All-Stars (1975 Island), Delicate and Jumpy (1976 Columbia) and Salsa (1976 Island).
Between his other projects, Harlow wrote Hommy, a Latin “rock opera” based on The Who’s Tommy with Genaro Alvarez. It premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1973 with a cast including Celia Cruz, Justo Betancourt, Cheo Feliciano, Adalberto Santiago, and Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez. They all appeared on the album version Hommy - A Latin Opera (1973 Fania) as well. Harlow was also producing albums for artists like Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound, La Conquistadora, Orchestra Dicup, Justo Betancourt, Frankie Dante And Orquesta Flamboyan, Santos Colon, Latin Tempo, Sonora Ponceña, Lebron Brothers, Wuelfo, La Terrifica, Rafi Val Y La Diferente, Bronco, Junior Gonzalez, Tito Gomez, Latin Fever and his brother flautist Andy Harlow, including Andy’s Sorpresa La Flauta (1972 Vaya) which went gold.
La Raza Latina (1977 Fania) summed up the history of Cuban music with Rubén Blades as vocalist. It was nominated for a Grammy. Harlow ended his golden decade with La Responsabilidad (1979), El Dulce Aroma Del Exito (1980 Fania) and Yo Soy Latino (1982 Fania.) When salsa fell out of favor in the early 80s, Harlow left Fania and while he’s continued to tour, his recordings have been few and far between. Good bets are Señor Salsa (1985 Tropical Buddha) and Salsa Brothers (1988 Songo), a collaboration with his brother Andy.
In 1994, Harlow, with Ray Barretto, Adalberto Santiago and Yomo Toro, founded the Latin Legends Band, and cut Larry Harlow’s Latin Legends Band (1998 Sony International). In 1997, he composed the music for Sofrito, a multimedia bilingual musical featuring David Gonzalez. The original cast album is available as Sofrito (2004 Laughing Horse.) Harlow’s latest band, Larry Harlow’s Latin Jazz Encounter, released Live at Birdland on the new Latin Cool logo in 2003.