"Trust the Leader"

In 1956 a young mechanical engineer and avid photographer from the Bronx named Martin Cohen happened upon New York's famous Birdland jazz club. He walked in and was greeted by the sounds of Cal Tjader's hot Latin jazz. Cohen was so taken by the infectious music that he became a regular at the Monday night jam sessions, which were headed by flutist Herbie Mann with percussionists like Candido and Jose Mangual. It was Mangual in particular who was an inspiration to Cohen. "Up until then, there was no role model that exemplified greatness," Cohen said. "That's what I saw in Mangual, and that's what I wanted to be, somebody who had that mastery of something."

Cohen became a student of the 1960's Latin scene, and soon wanted his own set of bongos. It was then that he learned about the politics of Latin percussion. Because of the government-imposed trade embargo against Cuba, finding good instruments in the United States was a difficult prospect at best.  This obstacle did not dull the passion of young Cohen, however, and he put his engineering skills to use and created his own set of bongos.  Using photos of Johnny Pacheco's bongos, he created his first prototype.  Of course, practice makes perfect, and this first attempt was not exactly flawless. "This was the beginning of my learning," Cohen said.  "I knew nothing about machining or about wood or metal working.  The first wood bongo shell was cut on Friday, and by Monday it was a quarter of an inch smaller. I didn't realize it was wet wood, which was cut, and that it had to dry first."

Undeterred by this initial setback, Cohen was soon delivering bongos and cowbells to musicians in brown paper bags, soliciting feedback and using the Latin nightclubs as his research and development labs. Cohen's self-described "love affair" with Latin music led to a tradition still in place at LP; the needs of performing musicians are placed ahead of everything else. Eventually Cohen received a contract to make cowbells for Rogers Drums and continued to sell bongos on consignment. He made a set of claves for Charlie Palmieri and he designed wood blocks and sound effects for Carroll Sound. The influence of two prominent television drummers helped to widen Cohen's focus from the dance hall to the recording studio. Cohen met Specs Powell, the drummer with the Ed Sullivan Show and staff musician for CBS. Cohen recalls Powell telling him "to get out of the Latin dance halls and into the studios where the real money was."

Powell asked Cohen to make him a pair of bongos and also to create a bongo stand so Powell could play them standing up. Cohen fashioned a mounting system without having to drill into the shell of the drum, thereby keeping the tone pure. Powell was happy with Cohen's work, and introduced him to Bob Rosegarden, who was then the drummer for The Tonight Show. Rosegarden asked Cohen to create an instrument that would replicate the sound of the traditional horse jawbone with rattling teeth. Cohen's modern-day version of the jawbone, called the Vibra-Slap®, became the company's first patent.

Cohen's passion and sincerity helped him win acceptance in what was then a tightly insular Latin community.  As a result, he became friends with many of the players he created instruments for and with.  Carlos "Patato" Valdez is a lifelong friend of the Cohen family, and was a frequent visitor to their household.  "The King" Tito Puente, another friend and endorser, recalls Cohen trying to learn the mambo at the Palladium.  "Martin was a lousy dancer," Puente laughed.  "But he was always consulting with us, trying to do the right thing, to get the authentic sound but with modern engineering.  He never got 'commercialized'."  Puente and Valdez's willingness to work with Cohen have resulted in superior quality LP product lines that bear their names, as well as their stamps of approval.

Cohen's business and family life began to overlap almost completely. His wife, Marilyn, spent time with the export division and still works for the company as a consultant. Cohen's daughter Andrea, who taught herself typing at 8 to help prepare shipping labels, is now one of the company's managers. From the beginning, LP has let those who play their instruments do most of the talking. The company's first endorser was Afro-Cuban and jazz drummer Willie Bobo. Today, LP has over 500 endorsers, a list which reads as a veritable "who's who" of the music world. Musicians like Tito Puente, Marc Quiñones, "Patato" Valdez, Carlos Santana, Giovanni Hildago, Armando Peraza and many more all use LP products. Because they are the best, their equipment must be the best as well.

The company that started in the Cohen garage now has 80 employees at its corporate headquarters, including a staff of research, design and product developers that keep an ongoing stream of new products coming out. In addition, over 250 people are employed at the manufacturing facility in Thailand. What started as a small family operation has grown to become Latin Percussion, Inc., the world's largest producer of hand percussion instruments.

Cohen's commitment from the beginning has been combining authenticity of sound with strong modern design. Today Latin percussion are played by professional musicians and people from all walks of life. Cohen himself still travels to clubs around the world, taking photographs and talking to musicians, gathering feedback from those who use LP instruments. It's been a long time since you had to violate embargoes to get a good pair of congas. Martin Cohen and the Latin Percussion, Inc. can take substantial credit for that.