“But I am sensational
And it is that I am born of the soul
From the deepest soul of my being
And it is duty, and it is duty to tell them
I’m really sensational. “
i’m sensational, By Larry Harlow, in the voice of Junior González.
As a result of kidney problems, after 32 days in the clinic, we left Larry Harlow, known in the salsa universe as ‘the wonderful Jew’. Harlow was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 20, 1939, as Lawrence Ira Khan. He grew up in the Latin Quarter of New York, Where he ended up seduced by the Cuban rhythms that sounded in the neighborhood.
His family was musical. His mother, Rose, was an opera singer and his father wandered with his monumental double bass through all the dens of the city with Latin groups.
(Gives context: We invite you to read: Larry Harlow, icon of the sauce, died at the age of 82)
His ear had the best teachers; as a child he went to the concerts of the gods of jazz: Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. He then jumped into the Palladium, where he discovered the roots of Cuban music and spent hours trying to decipher the essence of this music that is based on a very strong key, almost entirely sustained by the montuno sound. Harlow listened non-stop to Noro Morales, Machito, Tito Pont …, he began to buy his records compulsively and became a sophisticated collector of Cuban and Latin music.
He was definitely an early child, not only did he understand Tito Pont and Charlie Parker, but at the age of 13 he played various instruments and had created his own orchestra. His attraction to Cuba brought him to Havana between 1957 and 1959, before the triumph of the revolution led by Fidel Castro. This fascination with the island never left him.
(You can see: The classic salsa makers who immortalized Larry Harlow).
Larry Harlow died in New York.
Larry spoke English, Spanish, German and Lucumí, The liturgical language of the santería. His ears absorbed everything. In a remote interview he describes the genealogy of the Caribbean sound world with the precision of a historian and the passion of a composer who would transcend the known limits of salsa: “First it was the mambo, then the boogaloo, the hard sauce and in the eighties, it was geared towards romantic sauce or Monk, but I think hard sauce is the best, with great products and musicians, that will never be forgotten. “
The Harlow Orchestra was the first to sign with the Fania label of Masucci and Pacheco. He first made an album with singer Felo Brito, and then gave way and fame to Ismael Miranda, Junior González, Frankie Rodríguez, Edwin Colón, Pablito Rosario, Tony Jiménez, Rosa Roy, Gary Carrión, Ray Pérez and wrote a singular story with Celia Cruz who, of course, deserves a separate chapter.
Larry set himself the challenge of making the salsa adaptation of the rock opera Tommy, by the legendary English group The Who. His production, entitled “Hommy, a Latin opera” he started it in 1972 and was recorded in parts with Marty Sheller. Everyone thought he was crazy. But he was not intimidated.
It called to his singers of confidence: Cheo Feliciano, Just Betancourt, Pete the Count and Adalberto Santiago. And suddenly her head lit up: she needed to have Celia Cruz as her guest singer so that she could record Divine Grace. For Harlow she was the only one who could play her and sought her out in Mexico, where she lived after her departure from Cuba. He sent her a cassette with the number recorded to save time. Celia came to New York and did not rehearse, she simply recorded the theme of one, without cuts.
Harlow did not fall short in praise: “This lady is a genius, the greatest she has ever been born to. Only a recording was made, without repeating anything. I have never seen anyone like it. Celia is unique, she is the greatest! “.
‘Hommy, A Latin Opera’ premiered on March 29, 1973, At Carnegie Hall in New York, with frantic success.
Because Harlow was always an outpost, while New York danced boogaloo, he regained the montuno sound. In the 1980s, he incorporated electronic sounds and complex percussion into his band. He was always with Andy, his flutist brother, and supported him in creating his orchestra.
He also offered his support to his wife, Rita Harlow, to launch Latin Fever, New York’s largest female group, with an explosive mix of salsa, funk and black music.
Harlow’s first track was ‘Harlow Orchestra’, sung by Felo Brito, in 1965. Hits came as ‘With Sweetness’, with the voice of Ismael Miranda. The famous ‘Obrin pas’, a Miranda classic, which is now recovering from a serious heart attack.
Another of his unforgettable songs is Senyor serè, a song that was heard in all the discos of Cali at dawn. The portfolio, with Junior González, and Junior himself made a theme for our country: For the whole of Colombia. Me and My Monkey being his first gold record.
Harlow was a total, ambitious and daring musician. From a very early age, in his shows, he incorporated the play of lights.
In 1997 he embarked on a far-reaching project: The Latin Race, a History of Latin Music, with Rubén Blades, with whom he was nominated for a Grammy.
“Larry was one of the most intelligent and intellectually prepared artists I met in New York. Possessing an acid and direct sense of humor, it was a pleasure to talk to him about any subject.” , Blades wrote on his Facebook account.
His presence in La Fania is another of his milestones. In 1968 he was at his first concert at the Red Garter nightclub and then co-produced the legendary Cheetah concert – with 4,000 people – in the band of Pacheco and Masucci. In the history of the group, Harlow replaced Richie Ray on the piano and then passed the baton to Papo Lucca, who in turn gave it to another legend, Eddie Palmieri.
In 1994 they lived an unforgettable moment in a concert in Puerto Rico, Larry Harlow, Papo Lucca and Eddie Palmieri shared the stage. There is a Cuban theme that each of them opens with a piano solo, which cuts Pacheco with a flute solo. It was an instant of legend.
Harlow also recovered the charanga format in the instrumentation of the sauce: To record ‘The Wallet’ and ‘The Incarnation Step’, he used two trombones and two trumpets, crossed with violins. They were portentous, modern and supremely commercial arrangements.
In 1991, when Gary Domínguez organized the first edition of the ‘Meeting of collectors and music lovers’, as part of the Cali Fair, Harlow was present. Then I saw him again at the last Fania All Stars performance, at the Pascual Guerrero Stadium, in 1996, where he was dressed in an overalls, cross-legged, shirtless underneath. I was able to greet him for a second and I was left with his smile. This concert was organized by Hugo Molina and we share the stage all the time. His final visit to Cali was at the Jazz Festival, about ten years ago, with an experimental group.
Image of the first version of the Meeting of Collectors and Music Lovers in Cali.
Courtesy of Umberto Valverde.
“At age 82, Larry Harlow died,” his wife said in a press release.
This man who recorded 106 albums has died and he won a Latin Grammy in 2008, Very little for a different musician, advanced in his thinking and musical work.
He did a master’s degree in Philosophy from the School of Social Research in New York. It was an outpost of its time, in the Fania it only contributed novelty, complicated proposals and the purest sound of the Latin invention that had the force to compete with the rock.
By Umberto Valverde
Special for THE WEATHER