Harlow's Dream Comes True!

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"!

Larry Harlow