Harvey Averne, Producer, Musician and Living Legend
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Harvey Averne, Producer, Musician and Living Legend Harvey Averne is an American record producer, and the founder of CoCo Records, as well as its many subsidiaries. Established in 1972, CoCo was a label specializing in Afro-Cuban and Latin American Popular music, with special emphasis on the “New York Sound”, commonly referred to as “Salsa”. Averne’s gift for identifying and bringing together new and established musical talent, along with the careful management of his artists’ public image, initially made CoCo Records a major label nationally, and subsequently an international success. Over the next decade, he signed internationally known artists and was instrumental in bringing Latin American music into the American cultural mainstream. Averne personally ran the label from 1972 until 1979. His only rival was Fania Records, the leading Latin music label at the time and for whom Averne had previously been employed. He incorporated his new company (in partnership with Sam Goff, previously of Scepter/Wand Records) and quickly became one of the leading record producers in the Latin music field. In 1972 Averne signed the iconic artist Eddie Palmieri to his label, producing and mixing two of Palmieri’s groundbreaking albums; “Sentido” and “Sun Of Latin Music”. These recordings were considered radical departures from the type of dance- oriented music that had prevailed during the previous two decades. The latter album earned Palmieri, Averne and CoCo the first Grammy ever awarded to an artist in the newly created “Latin Music” category (1975) The following year (1976), Averne produced and mixed a third Eddie Palmieri album (“Unfinished Masterpiece”), which also won the coveted Grammy award. In addition, he achieved major successes in 1977 with two Grammy nominations for his productions of the Danny Rivera and Eydie Gorme hit “Para Decir Adios” (from the album “Muy Amigos”) and The Machito Orchestra with Lalo Rodriguez (“Fireworks”). Both albums were included among the final five nominees. In subsequent years, various artists who were signed to the CoCo family of labels also won numerous awards and nominations. The list includes such notables as Lissette Alvarez, Wilkins, Mario Bauza and Graciela, During the company’s zenith, Averne acquired vast experience in the music industry and went on to become a top level marketing and sales director, with expertise in all facets of the recording industry (i.e. production, publishing, distribution, promotion, foreign licensing, contract negotiations and artist LIFE AND WORK Harvey Averne was the son of Harry Avrutsky, a Russian immigrant from Soviet Georgia. The elder Averne worked as a sewing machine operator in New York’s famed garment center and later Americanized his name to Averne. His mother, Sylvia Rothman Averne was born in the United States of Polish- THE PERFORMER By the time Averne was fourteen he was a professional musician. During the mid 1950’s through the 1970’s he appeared in hundreds of reviews and shows, at such popular New York venues as the Boulevard Night Club (Queens), The Palladium Ballroom, Lincoln Center, The Village Gate, Jules Podell’s Copacabana, Roseland Ballroom, Harlem’s Apollo Theatre, The Cotton Club, Carnegie Hall, Basin Street East, The Cheetah and The New York Academy Of Music, as well as Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom, Coliseo Roberto Clemente in Puerto Rico and the famed Hollywood Palladium. He found steady work and much inspiration during these years, appearing with such notables as Don Rickles, Tom Jones, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, James Brown, Jerry Butler, The O’Jays, Richard Pryor, The Main Ingredient, Grover Washington Jr., Al Green and Frankie Crocker, among others. In addition to the New York cabaret and club circuit, he performed with his own band “Arvito & His Latin Rhythms” in the Catskill Mountain Resort Area (also known as the Borscht Belt, or the Jewish Alps), a popular vacation spot for New Yorkers since the1920s. He worked there from 1950 through1963, as well as in Long Island’s Lido Beach and Long Beach, a strip which was known for its private beach clubs and hotels. He brought his fiery dance rhythms into the Malibu Beach Club, Colony Beach Club, The Coral Reef, The Monaco, The Sands and The Shelbourne. These venues drew thousands of day- tripper/members who arrived early to enjoy their cabanas, beaches, pools and tennis courts. The aforementioned clubs offered such big-name performers as Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Jackie Mason, Mal Z. Lawrence, Al Martino, Buddy Hackett, Hines, Hines and Dad; as well as the popular Latin bands of Tito Puente, Machito, Tito Rodriguez, Eddie Palmieri, Larry Harlow, Joe Cuba, La Playa Sextet and of course Arvito & His Latin Rhythms. All of these stars performed regularly at both the beach clubs and the Catskill resort hotels. Curiously, it was amidst all of this showbiz glitz that Harvey’s love for Latin American music and culture further manifested itself. THE ENTREPRENEUR In 1963 Averne established Coastal Home Improvement Corporation, recruiting and training a sales force of twenty three. He supervised and sub-contracted all residential construction and dealt directly with the Federal Housing Administration, Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., Chase Manhattan Bank, Citibank, and Prudential Savings and Loan. Coastal was one of the largest and most successful home remodeling companies in Brooklyn, New York. He retired from that business in 1967, in order to dedicate himself entirely to his first love, Latin music. In 1967 the newly formed Fania record label hired Averne to run the company. Subsequently, he was signed as a recording artist and producer, working closely with the company’s owner Jerry Masucci, who was still occupied with his very successful law firm. He assisted in the label’s formation and growth from a small independent to the most prominent label in the Latin music business. During this initial period he continued to perform, while working closely with the label’s roster of artists. RECORDING ARTIST and WRITER OF HITS A prolific songwriter in his own right (over fifty of his songs have been recorded), Averne wrote most of the material for his newly formed group “The Harvey Averne Dozen”. Their album “Viva Soul”, for Atlantic Records included the top selling hit “My Dream” as well as the often recorded and sampled “You’re No Good”, both of which are Averne-Sheller compositions. A second album for the Fania label, the self- titled “Harvey Averne Dozen” included Averne compositions “Accept Me”, “Can You Dig It” and the international dance hit “Never Learned to Dance”. It also included the movie theme “Lullaby from Rosemary’s Baby” (Harvey’s recording was subsequently sampled by Big Daddy Kane on his track “Rest In Peace”). He changed the name of the group to “The Harvey Averne Band” for the Fania release “Brotherhood” (1970). This album included various Latin crossover hits such as “Lovers”, “Come Back Baby”, “Come On And Do Me” and the pop hit “Central Park”. Around this time he began reinvesting his songwriting success into producing, and after years of hard work he was able to finally bring his ideas to full fruition. THE PRODUCER In addition to his involvement with the Fania label, Averne had other equally important projects that were also well received. In 1969 he produced, directed and mixed “The Queen Does Her Own Thing” for the extremely popular Cuban artist La Lupe. The album was released on Roulette/Tico Records and included the hit single “Se Acabo” (Once We Loved). In addition, he produced and mixed the “The Harvey Averne Barrio Band” and “Toro” albums, for Heavy Duty/Fania Records. During his tenure at Fania he either produced or supervised recordings by Ray Barretto, Willie Colon, Orquesta Harlow, Hector Lavoe, Ismael Miranda, Bobby Valentin, Mongo Santamaria, Johnny Pacheco, Roberto Roena, Joe Bataan, Ralfi Pagan, The Latineers and George Guzman, among others. While maintaining a managerial position as Vice President, Averne was still signed to the label as a recording artist and producer (a rarity back then), and freelanced on various productions for Scepter/Wand, Heavy Duty, Uptite and Atlantic Records as well. He was later named Executive Vice President of Fania’s new subsidiary Vaya Records. At Vaya he worked closely with such artists as Celia Cruz, Cheo Feliciano, Ricardo Ray and Bobby Cruz, Bobby Rodriguez y La Compañia and Markolino Diamond (which featured Angel Canales’s singing debut). Averne ran the Vaya label through 1971, and was responsible for all administrative functions and production. In 1971 an obscure studio band known as The Chakachas recorded the hit single “Jungle Fever”, of which Averne was the band leader. This recording sold more than two million copies and won the ASCAP Award as one of the most performed songs of the year in their catalogue. Averne also produced the crossover hit gold record “I Want To Make It With You” for the artist Ralfi Pagan (Scepter/Wand/Fania) and was appointed General Manager and Executive Vice President of United Artists’ Latin Music Division (UA Latino). There, he not only signed artists but established new distribution outlets and brought promotional techniques to the label that were innovative. These were the label’s most profitable years, with such international latin stars as Raphael, Tito Rodriguez, Nelson Ned, Ismael Quintana, Morris Albert (“Feelings”), Chucho Avellanet, Martinha, Mocedades, Astor Piazzola and Jose Trellis all forming part of its huge roster. “The Harvey Averne Group” also recorded “Let’s Get It Together You and Me” for United Artists Records. Harvey Averne remained active as Vice President and General Manager of UA Latino until 1972, when he decided to create his own label, CoCo Records. By 1977 his company had gained international prominence, due to a license agreement with Spain’s Zafiro Records.