Harlow at Harvard
Wendy Caplin
OK everyone, it’s been awhile. So
first I will catch you up on some of Harlow’s
adventures. He had been working really hard for a year
on his Venezuela trip which finally happened last
weekend. He worked his ass off getting it together.
Arranging for a lot of the artists and then they all had
to be fingerprinted and signed off by their doctors
before they could get visas. Of course, the money and
the plane tickets didn’t come through till the last
minute causing further agita. And he spent a lot of time
rescheduling his flight for early in the day so he could
have some time to see his "daughter" and
"granddaughter". So on Thursday morning at 5
AM he left for the airport and naturally there were
problems. The baggage carousel broke and the flight was
postponed till late afternoon (yes, the very flight he
worked so hard to change). But he couldn’t get his
bags back so they went to Puerto Rico. He came home
looking wretched and then set out later and arrived in
Venezuela (sans suitcase) and then got caught in traffic
and hit the hotel about midnight. And from then on it
was downhill. The stage was not ready. There was no time
to sound check or rehearse. He wasn’t able to contact
one of the singers to find out what he wanted to sing.
They went on late. The singer arrived on stage late and
was extremely hostile to him. And while they were
performing the security guards that had been hired to
watch the box office pulled guns on the ticket guys and
robbed all the proceeds. The next night was equally
rough. They didn’t go on until 2 AM and when they got
on stage discovered that someone had removed the piano
and some amps and he had to perform on a ‘toy’
piano. Not something he enjoyed but there was no time to
find a replacement. He got back to the hotel at 5 AM and
at 6 he had to head for the airport where the planes
were delayed. Oh yeah, he finally got his bags late
Saturday. They had been sitting there for a day. And
they had been broken into and a number of things were
stolen. He came home even more wretched and slept for a
few days.
On Friday morning (this week) we got
up early and Harlow went to rent a car for some of his
band members and the car service he had called was 40
minutes late and we missed our flight to Boston. But it
was a shuttle and we took the next. Though they put us
through the ringer about locking the suitcase and then
thoroughly searched us. But we landed at Logan at noon
to beautiful weather and were whisked to Harvard Square
by Cesar. This weekend was the Jewish Latin Mix. A
master class on Friday taught by Harlow and accompanied
by his jazz band (Latin Jazz Encounter). We were taken
to A Friendly Inn on Cambridge Street which is an
incredibly cute Bed & Breakfast. A little red house
and what is called "hotel technology in a Victorian
Setting". We were shown to an adorable room with an
armoire and a tiny but absolutely great bathroom. And we
were then introduced to Doris who had put this entire
program together. She is a pistol. She ushered us into
the inner sanctum of the faculty Dining room which was
all beautiful old wood paneling and waiters in starched
jackets coddling us. We all opted for the buffet which
was spectacular. There was salmon and huge scallops
stuffed with lobster salad. Sautéed carrots and green
beans. Cod and vegetables. A veal dish. Many lovely
salads. Smoked salmon, a steak dish, cheese platter. And
much much more. And for dessert there were strawberries
and chocolate sauce to dip them in, a bread pudding, and
a fig crumble. We ate our hearts out. Marvette, the
delightful curator from the Smithsonian who had recently
opened the Celia Cruz show, joined us. And afterwards we
walked to the hall where the master class was going to
take place. And there waiting for us was the Dean of
Harvard. A true gentleman and sweetheart who was so
anxious to meet Harlow that he tore himself away from
his breakneck schedule to be able to welcome him. The
only monkey wrench was the competition from the
Yankee/Red Sox game at Fenway. Harlow taught and
answered questions with the help of Bobby Sanabria and
they played a few tunes which blew everyone’s minds.
Then Harlow had promised Doris to do a TV interview and
I headed back to our room to unpack and regroup. Our
wonderful friends Bruce and Maria had made a reservation
at Chez Henri, a French/Cuban restaurant in Cambridge
and they drove in. Getting horribly bottlenecked in the
traffic for the games. But we got there at 7:30
starving. Our friend Neil was there (he had driven up
w/Ed to shoot the entire weekend). And Sebastian who was
to be on the panel on Sat. and Bruce and Maria. The
restaurant was fabulous. We started w/serious cocktails
(mine was a little too serious. Tasted like cough
medicine but I shot it back anyway) and GREAT bread.
Harlow and Maria ordered the mussels which were really
good but the broth was awesome and we sopped up every
last bit. I had “barbequed’ shrimp which were great.
And for an entrée I had mahi mahi crusted w/ground
platanos and was insanely delicious. I tasted Maria’s
duck which was divine and Harlow’s fries were superb.
Salty and spicy. 3 of us split a chocolate tarte sitting
in a pool of vanilla which Harlow declared not his style
as he scarfed it down.
We got back to our room around 10 and
were sound asleep in minutes. A long and lovely day.
Sat. morning we found there was a computer and checked
our email. And then Bruce came to get us and take us to
their new house in the ‘burbs. We were totally charmed
by it. Lots of rooms. A sort of twisty stairway. A great
feeling of wonderful old architecture which they have
turned into a beautiful and extremely comfortable nest.
And the closets!!! I am still drooling over the number
of closets and the size of them and the huge bathtub
w/Jacuzzi and I could go on and on. And most important,
the 3 Siamese kitties who we had never met before. It
was Pipa’s birthday (we brought a mouse which Coca got
to first and almost licked it to death) and even the
elusive Pasa came out and I got to pat her a little.
These guys are all TOILET TRAINED!!! Yes, Bruce and
Maria simply flush a few times a day. They are a vocal
group too. And one sounded so much like my first cat
Soodie that I was transported back in time. We had an
opulent brunch. A wonderful cheese and vegetable quiche.
Bacon. Bagels and cream cheese. And rugala. And tons of
much needed coffee. We sat and talked and they showed us
pictures from their trip to Tunisia and then drove us
back to Cambridge.
The panel discussion started at 2. It
was moderated with sly wit by professor Robert Farris
Thompson. There was a truly impressive presentation by
Martin Cohen who is a great photographer and the founder
of LP, a company that developed the major manufacturer
if Latin percussion instruments. He took us through his
life with the aid of great pictures and great humor. We
gobbled it up. Leon Gast regaled us with anecdotes about
his involvement with Latin music and the 2 great films
he directed "Our Latin Thing" and
"Salsa". Harlow shared great stories about his
beginnings as a musician and a Santero and gave some
great insights into the music. And Marty Sheller was
erudite and funny and also had great stories. It was a
seriously awesome afternoon and we all felt honored to
have been able to devour it all. And then there was a
dinner at the hall where the evening performance was
going to take place. Maria and I went back to the room
to get some stuff for Harlow and we grabbed some
excellent cappuccinos (and lattes) at the Darwin Café
and to the hall where Ben and Josette Blake were waiting
for us. When we got to the food all the protein was gone
- chicken and ribs had been scarfed up though Bruce had
saved a piece of chicken for Maria which she shared with
me and it was really good. The grilled vegetable were
actually heavenly and the garlicky toasted bread. There
were cookies and wine available. I got to catch up a
little with Ben and Josette and then at 7:30 the Latin
Jazz Encounter played for an hour. They were smoking!!
The hall was filled to capacity (game over, Yankees
won). And the Dean came with his family and danced his
ass off. It was a great show. At the end there were a
lot of kids dancing and they demanded an encore. A very
successful event. After which Doris, in a pair of the
most extraordinary boot (sort of gauzy pink cowboy boots
with colorful cutouts) and black net stockings looking
just great, invited all the musicians and people
involved in the weekend over to her home. And the
drooling started again. The central dining room had 20
foot ceilings (at least) w/niches holding great ethnic
sculpture. There were many lovely small rooms very
tastefully filled w/interesting furniture and her
eclectic and impressive art collection. Walls were all
dark mauves and reds and each room was more delightful
than the next. There was even a balcony with a studio
from which you could look down on the festivities. Tons
of good wine and nibbles and then Doris ordered large
bowls of Chinese food which truly hit the spot. We met
some really cool people and ate and drank and got a ride
back to our room by about 11 and packed and got a fairly
decent night’s sleep and caught a 10 AM shuttle and
were home by noon.
Beautiful weather all around and
particularly lovely today. I got to the flea market and
home and forced Harlow to watch my show on CBS. We are
both pretty bozo’d. But once again, also happy to be
home with Sophie and Sasha (hard to tell who’s
happier. Soph rolled on her back and did her poodle
imitation and Sasha spent to afternoon sleeping next to
Harlow totally echoing his sleep position. And she is
now drooped over a chair. Our first class mattress
awaits us. A great weekend was had by all. Now we need a
weekend to recover from it.
