Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is proud to present Larry Harlow and Ismael Miranda together for Abran Paso, a special historic reunion of Salsa concert on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 at 8 pm.
After five decades of one of the most successful partnerships in the history of classical Salsa in New York, Larry Harlow and Ismael Miranda will be performing the best of their classic repertoire including “Abran Paso,” “Señor Sereno,” “Fue Abandonada,” “Se Casa La Rumba,” “Lamento de un Guajiro,” “Tumba y Bongo,” “El Malecon,” and “Las Mujeres Son.” This concert is produced by Lehman Center and Leo Tizol.
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, Jan. 21, 2017 at 8 pm can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833 (Monday through Thursday, 10 am – 5 pm, and beginning at noon on the day of the concert), or through online access at www.Lehma
Larry Harlow is a pianist, composer, bandleader and producer who 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 Quarter nightclub, where Harlow was practically brought up backstage.
Having learned to play the piano at age 5, he attended the New York 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 for Johnny 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. (
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,” with Joey 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 record Orquesta 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, one platinum and eight 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.
