Larry Harlow, another salsa legend, is gone
Larry Harlow turned 82 years old on March 20. He was born in 1939 in Brooklyn, where music had always been his way of living and his upbringing as the son of a member of Latin orchestras and a Jewish opera singer. His name was Lawrence Ira Kahn.
He was known as ‘The Wonderful Jew’, remembered for his skills as a producer and pianist. He learned more of Son and other Cuban rhythms in Cuba itself, where he strengthened his musical knowledge for which he arrived from the mid-sixties.
He was part of the formidable Fania All Stars, which revolutionized the Latin music world with the impulse to the Caribbean rhythms that were registered as SALSA by Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci. Precisely, the founders of the Fania Records label, of which Harlow and his orchestra were the first to record there.
Throughout his musical career he had three singers who made history with his orchestra: Ismael Miranda, Junior González, and Néstor Sánchez. But his productions also included other figures such as Celia Cruz, Cheo Feliciano, Rubén Blades, Pete ‘Conde’ Rodríguez, Justo Betancourth and Adalberto Santiago. Precisely, he is credited with having been the one who took Celia Cruz to New York, who was in Mexico after her departure from Cuba.
With Miranda they strongly hit the market with songs like Guasasa (1970), Arsenio (1971), Abran Paso and Abandonada Fue (1972). In 1973, with Junior González the song ‘La Cartera’, perhaps the most remembered of Larry Harlow’s orchestra.
Another of the musical events of that time was the album ‘Hommy – A Latin Opera’, in 1973, which put salsa on another level due to the quality of its production.
He composed, directed, and produced for more than 150 albums by himself and other artists. He studied philosophy and trained as a sound engineer at the Institute of Audio Research in New York.
On February 15, Johnny Pacheco, creator of Fania, died, and on July 28, Johnny Ventura, who revolutionized Dominican merengue, died.
Upon hearing the news of his death, several of his friends and colleagues mourned his departure. Panamanian Ruben Blades said on his Facebook account:
“Just moved ‘to the other neighborhood’ my colleague and fellow ‘Fania All Stars’ member, Lawrence “Larry” Harlow, “El Judío Maravilloso.” (The Marvelous Jew).
“An innovative and powerful pianist, a knowledgeable and serious student of the history and development of Afro-Cuban music. Harlow was one of the initial artists signed to the Fania label and during his association with that label distinguished himself for his aggressive interpretation of ‘salsa’ and as a staunch advocate of ‘clave’.
“Larry was one of the most intelligent and intellectually prepared artists I met in New York. Possessing an acidic and direct sense of humor, he was a pleasure to converse with on any subject.
“He leaves ‘The Marvelous Jew’ but he leaves us his extensive contribution, something that will keep him alive in our souls and memories, always”.
Bobby Valentín recalled that “Larry was always a visionary in Latin music, especially in Cuban rhythms and son montuno”, to the point that “he promoted Latin rhythms more than we did ourselves”.
Colombian pianist Álvaro Cabarcas said on his Twitter account: “Goodbye Larry Harlow, sadness in salsa. The wallet stayed here”.
Harlow spent the last 32 days hospitalized. Shortly after his death, María del Carmen, the musician’s wife, wrote on Facebook: “My beloved Larry passed away at 12:30 a.m. due to complications as a renal patient that weakened his already exhausted heart”.