He is a son of the late Rose and Buddy Kahn. His mother was an opera singer with the stage name Rose Sherman in New York. His father was the bandleader at the Latin Quarter (nightclub) in New York under the name Buddy Harlowe. The young Harlow, is affectionately nicknamed el Judio Maravilloso (The Marvelous Jew). Harlow is a noted salsa bandleader and multi-instrumentalist, although he primarily plays piano. He produced over 260 albums for Fania Records. He is the director of the Latin Legends of Fania, among other groups.
Larry Harlow excelled at an early age at various instruments. The music and culture of New York’s Latino community led him to Cuba where he began an intense study of Afro-Cuban music. Harlow, who is known for his innovative blend of Afro-Cuban and Jazz styles of piano playing, studied music in the 1950s in Cuba but was unable to complete his degree before the Cuban Revolution forced him to leave the island. Larry and his orchestra, Orquesta Harlow, was the second orchestra signed to the Fania Label, Harlow has also produced over 106 CD’s for various artists and over 50 CD’s on his own besides the ones he produced for Fania. Among his most popular albums were “Abran Paso” and “Tributo a Arsenio Rodriguez” with Ismael Miranda as the lead singer. Larry's opera "Hommy," which is credited for getting Celia Cruz out of retirement, was the first Latin musical performance in Carnegie Hall. In other firsts, Larry was the first ever piano player for legendary salsa group "The Fania All-stars," generally regarded as the single most important Salsa group of all time and the first Recording Producer for legendary salsa group "The Fania All-stars," he also appeared with "The Fania All-stars," in the movies Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa), Live In Africa and Salsa.
Larry's further contributions to music was to insist on the creation of the Latin Grammy Award. Harlow’s 1977 salsa suite La Raza Latina, an ambitious “history of Latin music in musical genre” with Rubén Blades, was nominated for a Grammy Award. Partially in recognition of his early efforts to establish the Latin Grammy as well as for his career contributions to the genre, Larry was presented with the Trustee's Award by the Latin Recording Academy in November, 2008.
[edit] El Judio ContraAtaKa
In 1994, he teamed up with Ray Barretto, Adalberto Santiago and cuatro guitar virtuoso Yomo Toro to found the Latin Legend Band, with the aim of both educating Latino and American youth about Latin music heritage and pioneering new ideas in the music, resulting in Larry Harlow’s Latin Legends of Fania Band 2006.
In 2005 he contributed to The Mars Volta's album, Frances the Mute, in which he played a piano solo towards the end of L'Via L'Viaquez. He also played live with The Mars Volta in some of their performances.
In 2008, Larry Harlow was presented with a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Larry Harlow currently resides with his wife in New York, and still regularly performs as "Larry Harlow and the Latin Legends of Fania".
El paso de Encarnacion
Orchestra Harlow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
cuando se pone a bailar
no hace mas que tararear
lo que la orquesta interpreta
su compañero Tomas
como la conoce bien
le dice con gran desdén
tirate que va a llover
por lo estrecho del vestido (2)
(Cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)
(cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)
(Cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)
(cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)
La trigueña Encarnación
la del pasito sencillo
(Cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)
con sus simples movimientos
no se sale del ladrillo
(Cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)
cambie ese paso mamita, por favor yo te lo pido
Ataca Pacheco
(Cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)
(Cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)
(Cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)...
Tomado de AlbumCancionYLetra.com
Con su forma de bailar a cualquiera mete lio
(Cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)
(cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)
ay no me siga ese movimiento o vas a acabar conmigo.
The song "El Paso de Encarnación" by Orchestra Harlow tells the story of Encarnación, a "trigueña" or "mulata" woman who loves to dance. As she dances, she hums along to the music played by the orchestra. Her partner Tomas, who knows her well, tells her with disdain to slow down, fearing that her tight dress will rip or that she will exhaust herself. Encarnación, however, dances on with simple yet captivating movements that stay within the confines of the dance floor. The song continues with a brief instrumental break and then returns to the chorus, encouraging Encarnación to watch her step and avoid tearing her dress.
The lyrics of "El Paso de Encarnación" paint a vivid image of the lively and passionate world of Latin dance clubs in the mid-20th century. The focus on the specific woman, Encarnación, and her dance moves showcases the importance of individual dancers in the salsa and mambo scenes. The song also highlights the often restrictive, gendered expectations that partners placed on each other while dancing. Encarnación's partner, Tomas, is trying to control her movements, while she wants to dance freely and enjoy herself. In this sense, the song can be seen as a celebration of the joy of dance and a critique of gender norms in dance partnerships.
Line by Line Meaning
La trigueña (mulata) Encarnación cuando se pone a bailar
Encarnación, a beautiful mulata woman, starts dancing and catching everyone's attention
no hace mas que tararear lo que la orquesta interpreta
She hums along and dances to the rhythm of the orchestra
su compañero Tomas como la conoce bien
Her companion Tomas knows her dancing style very well
le dice con gran desdén tirate que va a llover
Tomas arrogantly tells her to move faster because it looks like it's going to rain
y que no puedes correr por lo estrecho del vestido (2)
He adds that she should be careful because her dress is too tight and she won't be able to run in it
(Cambia el paso que se te rompe, el vestido)
Change your step or your dress will tear
La trigueña Encarnación la del pasito sencillo
Encarnación has a simple and elegant dancing style
con sus simples movimientos no se sale del ladrillo
Despite her simple moves, she stays within the rhythm and stays on beat
cambie ese paso mamita, por favor yo te lo pido
Someone requests Encarnación to change her step
Ataca Pacheco
Ataca Pacheco's music starts playing
Con su forma de bailar a cualquiera mete lio
Encarnación's dancing style attracts a lot of attention
ay no me siga ese movimiento o vas a acabar conmigo.
Someone is saying that they can't keep up with her moves, or they'll be exhausted.
Contributed by Elliot L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.