Founded by producer Aaron Luis Levinson in 2000 and directed by Puerto Rican-American trumpeter and pianist Oscar Hernández, the 13-14 member Spanish Harlem Orchestra covers classic Latin music as well as introducing original hard salsa music.
In addition to being pianist arranger and musical director for the international superstar Rubén Blades, Oscar Hernández has recorded and performed with Latin music giants Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Julio Iglesias, Juan Luis Guerra, Oscar D’León, Willie Colón and many others. Oscar Hernández was also the musical director for Paul Simon’s Broadway show “The Capeman.”
The Spanish Harlem Orchestra’s first CD, Un Gran Dia En El Barrio, released in 2002 garnered the best New Artist Award at the 2003 Billboard Latin Music Awards. It celebrated the music and history of the legendary Puerto Rican neighborhood of New York City.
On its second CD, Across 11th Street, the band featured salsa legend Rubén Blades. The album won a Grammy in 2005.
Spanish Harlem occupies the lower southeastern corner of Harlem, which is generally known as a mecca for African-American music. El Barrio, as it is called within the Hispanic community, has been the birthplace for salsa, Latin soul, boogaloo and countless other variants of tropical Latin music. It has also influenced the popular music of such artists as Carlos Santana, Tito Puente and Marc Anthony.
In 2022, Spanish Harlem Orchestra released Imágenes Latinas. The title refers to the influential New York Latin Jazz group Conjunto Libre. The band included brothers Andy González and Jerry González, as well as Manny Oquendo and Barry Rogers. Hernández cites Conjunto Libre as one of his predominant musical influences. “Libre was one of the great bands of our music… their talent and friendship were very important to my early music foundation.”
The album Swing Forever was released in 2024, featuring Puerto Rican vocalist Gilberto Santa Rosa as special guest vocalist.
The lineup in 2024 included Oscar Hernández, piano, musical director; Jeremy Bosch on vocals; Marco Bermudez on vocals; Carlos Cascante on vocals; George Delgado on congas; Oreste Abrantes on bongos; Luisito Quintero on timbales; Gerardo “Jerry” Madera on bass; Mitch Frohman on saxophone and flute; Doug Beavers on trombone; Manuel “Maneco” Ruiz on trumpet; Alex Norris on trumpet; and Juan Gabriel “Juanga” Lakunza on trombone.
Discography:
Un Gran Dia En El Barrio (Ropeadope Records, 2002)
Across 110th Street (Libertad Records, 2004)
United We Swing (Six Degrees Records, 2007)
Viva La Tradición (Concord Picante, 2010)
Spanish Harlem Orchestra (ArtistShare, 2014)
Anniversary (ArtistShare, 2018)
The Latin Jazz Project (ArtistShare, 2020)
Imágenes Latinas (Ovation Records, 2022)
Swing Forever (Ovation Records, 2024)
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.
Updated biography and discography.