Source: Fania Records
5 essential albums by Larry Harlow, salsa music’s ‘marvelous Jew’
Harlow, a Brooklyn-born pioneer of the Fania label salsa sound, passed away on Friday. Here are five albums to check out today
Larry Harlow, the Brooklyn-born pianist, arranger, producer and activist who helped to advance and popularize salsa music in the United States, died Friday morning of heart failure. He was 82.
Born Lawrence Ira Kahn to a Jewish musical family, there was little reason to suggest Harlow would go on to become a pioneer in Afro-Caribbean music and one of the first (and only non-Latino) musicians signed to the legendary Fania label, earning him the affectionate nickname el judío maravilloso (“The Marvelous Jew”).
Harlow enrolled at Brooklyn College but eventually split for Havana where, he told the New York Times in 2010, “I became an Afro-Cuban nut.” He’d leave Cuba after Fidel Castro came to power, returning to New York to form a band. The rest, as they say, is la historia.
We asked Willy Rodriguez, co-founder of the International Salsa Museum, for his five essential Larry Harlow albums that everyone from the newbie to salsa aficionado should be familiar with. Here are his picks:
Orchestra Harlow: “El Exigente” (1967)
This album captures a moment in time when funky boogaloo was king, before its popularity would fade in favor of the brassy-splashy Fania sound by the end of the decade. This album is a blend of salsa dura and bugalu music, making it one of a kind and a throughly exciting, hard-hitting sound.
Ismael Miranda con Orchestra Harlow: “La Oportunidad” (1972)
By 1972 singer Ismael Miranda and Larry Harlow had worked together on numerous albums, but this would be his first foray as a soloist backed by his former employer.
Orchestra Harlow: “Hommy: A Latin Opera” (1973)
Inspired by The Who’s “Tommy” (and credited as important to a semi-retired Celia Cruz’s comeback), “Hommy” does not sound like anything that came before it. A Latin opera, “Hommy” tells the story of a deaf and blind boy who could play the drum.
Orchestra Harlow: “Salsa” (1974)
Larry Harlow at his peak; Salsa at its best. Stunning arrangements and a tight orchestra along with Junior González’s vocals make this a classic that should be in everyone’s salsa collection.The album kicks off with horns blazing and unique breaks on “No Quiero” and contains the song “La Cartera,” one of Harlow’s greatest.
Larry Harlow: “Greatest Hits” (2008)
The perfect place to for an introduction to Harlow’s career.
