AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Larry Harlow

Artist:Larry Harlow f/Ismael Miranda

Song:Arsenio

Album:Greatest Hits

When I tell people that Larry Harlow was musical director of the legendary Salsa record label Fania Records, their response is "He's a Jew?". In fact, he was known in the Salsa community as The Marvelous Jew. So he produced a lot of Fania albums and led his own band Orchestra Harlow. And he led The Fania Allstars. So he was a very important guy at Fania. He was born Lawrence Ira Kahn Mar. 20, 1939 in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, NY. His father Nathan Kahn was a bassist and bandleader known as Buddy Harlowe. His mother was an opera singer. Harlow began piano lessons at age five. And he hung out at the New York club The Latin Quarter where his dad led the house band. At first, Harlow wanted to be a jazz musician. He attended The Music and Art High School. He heard the music of Perez Prado and Tito Puente on his way to school. After graduating from high school, he went to Havana to study Afro Cuban music. When he returned home during the Cuban Revolution, he started his own Latin band and played piano for Johnny Pacheco at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. His own band was The Larry Harlow Orchestra. When Fania Records started up, label owners Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci signed Harlow. Harlow's key album was the 1968 album Orchestra Harlow Presenta A Ismael Miranda. It got a lot of radio play on Latin radio stations. Miranda worked with Harlow a lot. One of Harlow's biggest influences was Cuban bandleader Arsenio Rodriguez. After Rodriguez died in 1970, Harlow released the 1972 album Tribute to Arsenio Rodriguez featuring Ismael Miranda. Though most of the album is Arsenio Rodriguez covers, Arsenio was written by Harlow and Miranda. Musicians on the album were Larry Spencer and Ralph Castrello on trumpet, Leopoldo Pineda and Sam Burtis on trombone, Lydio Fuentes on bass, Frankie Rodriguez on congas and Phil Newsum on timbales. Harlow played piano. This comp is available as a digital download. It was soon after this that Harlow convinced Fania owners Masucci and Pacheco to promote Leon Gast's 1972 documentary Our Latin Thing. And many discovered Fania through that film. Harlow remained with Fania until they ran out of money in the 80s. In the 90s, Harlow formed The Latin Legends Band with percussionist Ray Barretto. And he led that band until his death on Aug. 20, 2021 at age 82. Here's Larry Harlow featuring Ismael Miranda performing Arsenio 2007.