Puerto Rican-born and New York raised singer / songwriter Ismael Miranda was one of the most popular soneros of the ’70s salsa boom. In his mid-teens he organized Pipo y su Combo with pianist Mark "Markolino" Dimond. Both he and Dimond also performed with a sextet led by reeds and vibes player Andy Harlow, playing opposite his older brother Larry Harlow and legends like Cal Tjader and Tito Rodríguez. Ismael made his recording debut with Joey Pastrana on Let’s Ball (Cotique, 1967), performing on the hit track "Rumbón Melón". Larry recruited Ismael to replace the troublesome Monguito "El Unico" as the lead singer of his Orchestra Harlow in July 1967, and over the next five years the two artists developed a highly creative and successful partnership. Ismael made seven albums with Orchestra Harlow during this period, contributing a number of co-written (with Harlow) and self-penned hits. Tiring of uncertainties and instability in Orchestra Harlow, Miranda split in 1972 taking three of Harlow’s sidemen with him to his own newly formed Orquesta Revelación. Their 1973 Fania Así Se Compone Un Son became a big hit and attained classic status. However, after about a year, the band fell apart due to internal wrangles, with only two original members remaining. Miranda relocated to Puerto Rico, where he continued to pursue a successful solo career up to the present day. discography

– John Child