LEHMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS presents
An Historic Reunion
LARRY HARLOW and ISMAEL MIRANDA
“ABRAN PASO”
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for LARRY HARLOW and ISMAEL MIRANDA on Saturday, January 21st, 2017 at 8pm are $125*VIP, $65, $60, and $50 and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833 (Monday through Thursday, 10am–5pm, and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert), or through online access at www.LehmanCenter.org. SPECI
LARRY HARLOW is a pianist, composer, bandleader and producer that was born in Brooklyn into a family of musicians. His grandfather played piano for silent films; his mother was an opera singer; and his father was a professional bassist and orchestra leader that for many years led the house band at the famed Latin Quarternightclub, where Harlow was practically brought up backstage. Having learned to play the piano at age 5, he attended the NY High School of Music and Art where he also studied the oboe, flute, violin, and bass, and played in Latin dance bands in New York City. He went to Cuba for two years in the late fifties to study Afro-Cuban music at the University of Havana by day and in the clubs at night where he got “salsified” by immersing himself in the music of Tito Puente, Benny Moré and Machito. Returning to the United States literally the day before Fidel Castro’s revolution, he received his BA in music from Brooklyn College. During the 1964 World’s Fair, Harlow played piano forJohnny Pacheco’s conjunto before starting his own orchestra, Orquesta Harlow, which had a distinctive Latin brassy sound that paired trumpets and trombones which highlighted his percussive piano solos. In 1968 Larry was signed to the Fania recording label and became a musical star as a bandleader, producer, and recording artist (affectionately known as “El Judio Maravilloso”) and a mainstay of the New York City Salsa scene. (The label’s co-founder, Jerry Masucci, also attended the University of Havana, and named the recording company after a coffee shop called Fania where they had held jam sessions.) At Fania, Harlow recording more than 40 albums under his own name and produced about 200 additional records for other Fania artists, including four with his brother AndyHarlow, the first of which Sorpresa La Flauta went gold and with the hit “La Lotería“. He wrote and composed the first salsa opera, “Hommy, A Latin Opera” which was performed to two sold out crowds at Carnegie Hall and has been credited as integral to Celia Cruz’s comeback. Along with Pacheco, he led and produced the Fania All-Stars, who have recorded over 60 albums showcasing the label’s top talent that included Rubén Blades, Cruz, Willie Colon, Ray Barretto and Cheo Feliciano. Harlow appeared with the Fania All-Stars in the films Nuestra Cosa (Our Latin Thing), Live in Africa, and Salsa. One of the highlights of the film Nuestra Cosa is the 1971 OrquestaHarlow performance of “Abran Paso” with Ismael Miranda on vocals. Harlow was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2000 and received the GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008, not only for his contributions to Latin music, but also because he convinced the Recording Academy to recognize Latin Music with its own award categories. Still active as a producer and a bandleader, he tours widely with his Latin Legends of Fania Band. For his latest release, Harlow Marlow, Vol. 1: Passing the Torch (2016), Larry teamed up with fellow pianist and GRAMMY award winner Marlow Rosado to create an album that reflects a number of styles fromAfro Cuban to Latin Jazz.
ISMAEL MIRANDA, the most recorded Salsa singer in the world, was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Manhattan’s East Village. He showed an interest in music from a very young age and by the time he was eleven, he was singing and playing the congas with two juvenile groups. He recorded his first hit single, “Rumbón Melón”, withJoey Pastrana’s Orchestra when he was 17, which led to being hired as lead singer by bandleader Larry Harlow. Together they co-authored the Latin Boogaloo album El Exigente (1967), and Miranda headlined the recordOrquesta Harlow Presenta a Ismael Miranda in 1968. Over the next five years, he made seven albums with Orchestra Harlow which included many of his original compositions such as “La Revolución”, “El Malecón” and “Lamento Cubano”.. Miranda also began performing and recording with the newly formed Fania All-Stars in 1969, and as the youngest artist in the group, he was given the nickname “El niño bonito de la Salsa” (The pretty boy of Salsa). Miranda sang on 17 of their albums and appeared with them in the movies “Our Latin Thing” (Nuestra Cosa; 1972), “Live In Africa” (1974) and “Salsa” (1976). In 1973, along with Frankie Rodriguez, Joe Santiago, Nicky Marrero, Nelson González and Oscar Hernández he formed his own band, the Orquesta Revelación, and released the Salsa masterpiece album Así Se Compone Un Son. Notable Orquesta Revelación album recordings include En Fa Menor (1976), Con Mi Viejo (1976), No Voy Al Festival (1977) and Doble Energia (with Willie Colon, 1980). Several of his hit songs have attained classic status, including “Arsenio”, “Pa Bravo Yo”, “Señor Sereno”, “Lupe, Lupe” and “Se Fue Y Me Dejo”. Even though Miranda has been singing for over 45 years, his voice has retained its resounding strength and melodious qualities. He has been honored with three GRAMMY nominations, 1 platinum and 8 gold albums, and countless international honors. 2012 saw the release of A Man and His Music: El Nino Bonito and he has also been recording and performing worldwide with the Salsa Giants. In September 2014 Miranda released his 41st album, Son 45, which features collaborations with Bobby Valentin, Richie Ray and Roberto Roena. The album’s title track rose to the number one spot on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council. The 2016-2017 Season is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Additional funding is provided by Con Edison, the New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund, the Rudin Foundation, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, and the friends of Lehman Center.
