Spanish Harlem Orchestra is a highly regarded New York-based salsa and Latin jazz ensemble founded around 2000 by producer Aaron Levinson and pianist-arranger Oscar Hernández. Hernández, a Bronx-born musician raised in a Puerto Rican family, spent over two decades as a session musician, arranger, and producer before forming the band. He notably served as the musical director and pianist for Rubén Blades, and worked with other legendary artists including Celia Cruz and Ray Barretto. The orchestra was created to preserve and perform the classic big-band style of mid-to-late 20th-century salsa.
The group's debut album, "Un Gran Día En El Barrio", was released in October 2002 and earned the Best New Artist award at the 2003 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Their sophomore album, "Across 110th Street", followed in 2005 and featured a collaboration with Rubén Blades. Over their career, the ensemble has won three Grammy Awards, establishing themselves as a premier force in traditional Latin dance genres, including salsa, mambo, cha-cha-cha, son cubano, and Latin jazz.
Spanish Harlem Orchestra has maintained a consistent recording output, releasing albums such as "United We Swing" (2007), "Viva La Tradición" (2010), "Spanish Harlem Orchestra" (2014), and "Anniversary" (2018). More recently, the group has continued to expand their catalog with "The Latin Jazz Project" (2020), "Imágenes Latinas" (2022), and "Swing Forever" (2024), alongside singles such as "La Música Latina" (2022) and "Llegó El Caballero" (2024).
