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.