ORCHESTRA HARLOW La Raza Latina A Salsa Suite Fania Records (JMLP-516) In the credits for his groundbreaking 1977 album, La Raza Latina, producer/pianist Larry Harlow drops a cryptic clue to the source of inspiration for this symphonic salsa suite. He thanks a group - identified simply as Musica Moderna De Cuba - that was then virtually unknown to all but the most devoted followers of Afro-Cuban music. Its full name is Orquesta Cubana De Musica Moderna, a seminal ensemble that featured some of Cubas most cutting edge musicians, including the original core of what would become Irakere, the islands legendary salsa/jazz band. At a time when the rest of the world was largely cut off from creative developments behind the Sugar Cane Curtain, Harlow had is ear to the nascent vanguard of a progressive movement in dance music that swept Cuba after the revolution in New York, while many Latinos got swept up in the utterly disposable disco craze. Harlow was tuned to short wave radio to pick up on underground sounds that would have an impact on salsa for decades to come. The result is one of the most extraordinary & ambitious works to come out of the salsa boom of the 1970s, a concept album that tells the story of Latin music in orchestral fashion. The suite moves from the musics origins in African drumming & its roots in the Caribbean to its mambo heyday in New York of the 1950s. The experimental fourth movement explores a vision of salsas future in a flourish of frenetic percussion & jazz improvisations, for which Harlow borrowed riffs from those cutting-edge Cubans. This work brings together the two strains of Harlows musical career, his passion for Afro-Cuban roots & his drive to make salsa sound modern. During three days in January of 1977, he gathered a veritable army of musicians (30 players & eight singers) @ La Tierra Sound Studios in New York & recorded the four-part suite, meant to be heard as a continuous piece. Sometimes wielding a baton to conduct the string section. Harlow wrestled with complex time & tempo changes to master the sweeping, at times stunning arrangements by Luis Perico Ortiz & Marty Sheller, who wrote his charts in pencil & score paper. Martys a genius, says Harlow. You just tell him what you want & he writes it. Vocals were added l8ter, but they werent an afterthought, Nester Sanchez El Albino Divino sings the title track, the only stand alone song on the album. Ruben Blades carries most of the suite, displaying a passion for the concept, diligent research & magnificent inspirations. Harlow recalls, singer Frankie Rodriguez contributes a dramatic & authentic santero narrative while angelic tones are added by a trio of singers from Latin Fever, the all-female salsa group Harlow co-produced the following year. On the eve of the 32 anniversary of La Raza Latina, Harlow declares the work ahead of its time. He ranks it in the top five among his careers three dozen albums, along with Hommy; A Latin Opera {1973}, Tribute To Arsenio Rodriguez {1972} & Salsa {1974}. The future may not have worked out as the suite envisioned, but the English lyrics he wrote for the finale still captures salsas idealism & universal appeal. Come on our dream/Well go through our music one more time./ Love, dance & sing./ for whats ours is ours for all mankind. Enjoy! Side A 1. La Raza Latina * 2. Salsa Suite - Pt. 1 Africa 3. Salsa Suite - Pt. 2 Caribbean Side B 1. Salsa Suite - Pt. 2 Caribbean (Continued) 2. Salsa Suite - Pt. 3 New York 1950s & 1960s 3. Salsa Suite - Pt. 4 Futuro Personnel: Larry Harlow: Leader, Acoustic Grand Piano, Percussion Nester Sanchez: Maracas Lewis Kahn: Trombone, Violin Sam Burtis: Trombone Ralph Castrello: Trumpet Pete Nater: Trumpet Charlie Miller: Trumpet Julio Romero: Ampeg Baby Bass Pablo Rosario: Bongo, Piala, Cowbell, Guiro Tony Jimenez: Timbales, Bata, Percussion Frankie Rodriguez: Conga, Quinto, Percussion Lead Vocals: Nestor Sanchez Ruben Blades Frankie Rodriguez Coro: Nester Sanchez Ruben Blades Frankie Rodriguez Larry Harlow Adalberto Santiago Nancy O Neil Ada Chabrier Rosa Soy Special Invited Guest Stars: Jon Faddis: Trumpet Louis Ortiz: Trumpet Steve Berrios: Trap Drums, Percussion Elliot Randall: Electric Guitar Harry Viggiano: Tres Nelson Gonzalez: Tres Bobby Porcelli: Alto & Baritone Saxophone John Clarke: French Horn Jimmy Buffington: French Horn Arty Webb: Flute Tom Malone: Tuba Eddie Gua Gua Rivera: Electric Fender Bass Selwart Clarke: Violin Pupi Legaretta: Violin Sanford Allen: Violin Harry Max: Violin Alfred Brown: Viola Kermit Moore: Cello Musical Arrangements by: Larry Harlow Louis Ortiz Marty Sheller Eddy Martinez Produced by: Larry Harlow for Passing Clouds, Inc. Executive Producer: Jerry Masucci Album Cover Art & Design: Ron Levine Recording Engineers: Jon Fausty Irv Greenbaum Larry Harlow Recorded @: La Tierra Sound Studios, NYC FANIA RECORDS, 1977 A FANIA RECORDS PRODUCTION
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 20:56:01 +0000
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