LLawrence Ira Kahn, better known as Larry Harlow, was born on March 20, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York. Larry Harlow was a legend in salsa music. As a classically trained musician he began to study music at the age of 5 following in his father’s footsteps. He has a multi-faceted musical education having studied at the most prestigious music schools including; The High School of Music and Art in New York City; Brooklyn College B.A. in Music; The Institute of Audio Research; The New School For Social Research M.A. in Philosophy. His specialties included Jazz and Classical piano conducting composition orchestration and audio engineering. Besides the keyboards he also played oboe, English horn, flute, bass, vibraphone, and assorted percussion instruments.
During the late 1950s he was so fascinated by the Latin rhythms that he traveled to Cuba to live and study the real Afro-Cuban sounds that became known as Salsa. As an expert Salsa artist, he returned to New York to develop his own style and orchestra and later to help create the internationally famous Fania All-Stars group. While a member and producer of the Fania All-Stars for fifteen years Larry Harlow was not only a recording star with various solo albums and 15 with the All-Stars but also produced over numerous recordings for other artists. Harlow became a Santeria Priest (Ochun-Oni) and spoke English, Spanish, German and Lucumi.
He received six gold records and was the recipient of Record World and Billboards’ Awards in the following categories: Latin Producer of the Year; Pianist of the Year; Arranger of the Year; Concert of the Year; and Salsa Orchestra of the Year. Harlow was a Governor of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for a few years. He was the primary force in attaining recognition for Latin Artists throughout the world by instituting the first Grammy for Latin music. He himself was nominated for a Grammy for his album “La Raza Latina, a Salsa Suite.” He created and composed the first Salsa opera “Hommy” which he orchestrated and conducted at Carnegie Hall and repeated in San Juan Puerto Rico to rave reviews. Harlow produced and recorded the first Latin Quadraphonic album and the first Latin Digital album.
He was the associate producer and co-starred in two feature films “Our Latin Thing” and “Salsa”.
Larry Harlow toured internationally with his unique Latin sounds taking it to Europe, Central and South America, Finland, Africa, and Japan as well as all the major markets in the U.S. Harlow was a former owner of two state-of-the-art recording studios in New York. In his final years, he played and produced recordings and directed videos for major artists in the U.S. and Europe. Harlow formed the Latin Legends Band who are recorded and toured the globe.
Larry Harlow died on August 20, 2021.
Discography:
Heavy Smokin’ (Fania, 1965)
Bajándote: Gettin’ Off (Fania, 1966)
El Exigente (Fania, 1967)
Me and My Monkey (Fania, 1969)
Ambergris! (Gatefold, 1970)
Electric Harlow (Fania, 1970)
Abran Paso! (Fania, 1971)
Orchestra Harlow presenta a Ismael Miranda (Fania, 1971)
Tribute To Arsenio Rodríguez (Fania, 1971)
Opportunidad (Fania, 1972)
Harlow’s Harem (Fania, 1972)
Hommy: A Latin Opera (Fania, 1973)
Salsa (Fania, 1974)
Live in Quad (Fania, 1974)
El Judío Maravilloso (Fania, 1975)
Con Mi Viejo Amigo (Fania, 1976)
El Jardinero del Amor (Fania, 1976)
La Raza Latina: A Salsa Suite (Fania, 1977)
El Albino Divino (Fania, 1978)
Latin Fever (Fania, 1978)
Rumbambola (Fania, 1978)
La Responsabilidad (Fania, 1979)
El Dulce Aroma del Éxito (Fania, 1980)
Our Latin Feeling – Nuestro Sentimiento (Fania, 1980)
Así Soy Yo (Coco, 1981)
Yo Soy Latino (Fania, 1983)
Señor Salsa (Tropical Budda, 1984)
The Latin Legends Band (Sony, 1998)
Romance En Salsa (Caimán, 1999)
¡Sofrito! (Rainart, 2000)
Live at Birdland (Latin Cool, 2003)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.