The first time I went to Birdland was in September 1953.
I was 14 years old and attending the high School of music and Art in Manhattan. A budding music student with a
serious interest in JAZZ. I was under age , and according to the law, not allowed to be in a place where alcohol was served.
However, I had my phony identification papers and made it inside .
Jon Mayer, Ben Lanzaroni, Joel Greenwald, Charles Fox and all the M&A music students sat in
the "Peanut Gallery for $4. We heard Charlie Parker, Dizzy, Miles,
Coltrane, Mingus, Basie etc etc etc.
We tried to go as many times as we could. Sometimes I collected milk and soda bottles, returned the bottles and saved
up the few dollars to get in. Pee Wee the doorman knew us by now and made
sure we got in . When Bird died we painted "BIRD LIVES" all over the walls
of Lewiston Stadium at City College and St. Nicholas Park. What a thrill to
see and hear our idols in person. Today they are STILL my idols. I hold their music and
genius close to my heart and soul.
All these years a recurring dream I always had, was to play at
Birdland. This past weekend my dream came true. Andy Kaufman , co-owner of Birdland, is a Latin music lover. He , as I , have always followed Cuban music with a passion. We are collectors of
vintage Latin music and videos. Andy called me last March and said,
"Why don't you put together a small group of Latin Jazz players
and do a few days at Birdland".
Well, the thought did sound good but Jazz was not my forte. I was
always into DANCE music. I had never played Latin jazz before. I gave it some thought. Andy wanted a "name" jazz player in the group , so there would
be a draw at the club . The dates he had open were right after July 4th
holiday weekend. I started looking for "name " jazz players. I called Roy
Hargrove, Nick Payton, Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, Sonny Fortune etc
etc. All were booked in Europe in July for the summer festivals. Finally I
found Ronnie Cuber, a great baritone saxophone player who was available for
the July 6-8 weekend. I called Bobby Sanabria and Chembo Corniel who had just released their
LIVE at Birdland big band CD and put them on stand by. I found Mac Gollehon
open as well. Then I called my man, Eddie "Guagua" Rivera in Miami and told
him of the weekend. I flew him to NY and scheduled a rehearsal on July 4th
Tuesday.
There were NO rehearsal studios open on the holiday. Finally Vinny
of Vinny's music service agreed to open his studio for us ( we also rented
the piano and amps from him for the 3 days). As the whole city of New York
was celebrating with OPSAIL 2000 with tall ships and fireworks, the six of
us were putting a program of 12 Latin Jazz arrangements together. We finished at 11pm and relaxed the next day. Load in of
equipment went well and we did a 2 hour sound check at 4pm. Dave Ruffo, our sound engineer would record the 2 shows on Friday night and
Neil Axelrod would do a 2 camera video shoot at the same time. We used
Thursday eve to set levels and kind of a dress rehearsal for the next day.
I was very nervous but the first show was full of fans :both Latino and Jazz
fans and a few relatives and friends.
After Thursday, my fears were
nonexistent. Fridays record went very well. Joe Berrios assisted Dave in the
recording and house PA. What a thrill to play in Birdland. After the show
Friday eve Andy Kaufman was in a state of joy. He loved it and was able to
leave on his vacation to Lake George in a great mood. Sat was even better,
for the pressure of recording was not there and the three days of playing
put the sextet in a relaxed mode. Mitch Froman replaced Ronnie for the Sat show. All the money I made went into the recording and the
video, BUT, my dream came true. I will share this night with my fans as the first Larry Harlow's
"Latin Jazz Encounter" CD will be released in about 2 months after I mix and
edit the CD and video. All in all it was a great experience for this
"SALSERO"!
All these years a recurring dream I always had, was to play at
Birdland. This past weekend my dream came true. Andy Kaufman , co-owner of Birdland, is a Latin music lover. He , as I , have always followed Cuban music with a passion. We are collectors of
vintage Latin music and videos. Andy called me last March and said,
"Why don't you put together a small group of Latin Jazz players
and do a few days at Birdland". 
I started looking for "name " jazz players. I called Roy
Hargrove, Nick Payton, Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, Sonny Fortune etc
etc. All were booked in Europe in July for the summer festivals. Finally I
found Ronnie Cuber, a great baritone saxophone player who was available for
the July 6-8 weekend. I called Bobby Sanabria and Chembo Corniel who had just released their
LIVE at Birdland big band CD and put them on stand by. I found Mac Gollehon
open as well. Then I called my man, Eddie "Guagua" Rivera in Miami and told
him of the weekend. I flew him to NY and scheduled a rehearsal on July 4th
Tuesday.
There were NO rehearsal studios open on the holiday. Finally Vinny
of Vinny's music service agreed to open his studio for us ( we also rented
the piano and amps from him for the 3 days). As the whole city of New York
was celebrating with OPSAIL 2000 with tall ships and fireworks, the six of
us were putting a program of 12 Latin Jazz arrangements together. We finished at 11pm and relaxed the next day. Load in of
equipment went well and we did a 2 hour sound check at 4pm. Dave Ruffo, our sound engineer would record the 2 shows on Friday night and
Neil Axelrod would do a 2 camera video shoot at the same time. We used
Thursday eve to set levels and kind of a dress rehearsal for the next day.
I was very nervous but the first show was full of fans :both Latino and Jazz
fans and a few relatives and friends.
After Thursday, my fears were
nonexistent. Fridays record went very well. Joe Berrios assisted Dave in the
recording and house PA. What a thrill to play in Birdland. After the show
Friday eve Andy Kaufman was in a state of joy. He loved it and was able to
leave on his vacation to Lake George in a great mood. Sat was even better,
for the pressure of recording was not there and the three days of playing
put the sextet in a relaxed mode. Mitch Froman replaced Ronnie for the Sat show. All the money I made went into the recording and the
video, BUT, my dream came true. I will share this night with my fans as the first Larry Harlow's
"Latin Jazz Encounter" CD will be released in about 2 months after I mix and
edit the CD and video. All in all it was a great experience for this
"SALSERO"!
