BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Charming the Queen City audience with their strong sounds of strings and brass winds for 18 years.
"There is no other orchestra like that in the City of Buffalo. There is no other orchestra like that, that I know anywhere, where you have just fabulous, I mean wonderful musicians that come out and can play any style of music," Larry Salter Soul Orchestra keyboard player Janet Barnes shared with 7 News' Pheben Kassahun.
Created in 2006, Buffalo's Larry Salter Soul Orchestra has showcased talented musicians from all over the world under one roof. It was originally The Larry Salter Soul Orchestra but Larry Salter decided to add 'Buffalo' to its name to remind people it belongs to the Queen City.
You can catch this 23-piece, yes, that is right, 23-piece soul orchestra at prominent events and venues like Kleinhans Music Hall, Black Achievers Awards, and all across Buffalo.
Barnes said, "It is just so fabulous to walk into an orchestra with all these fine musicians. They are from all corners of the world doing all type of wonderful things in the City of Buffalo and yet they still will come here every Tuesday and rehearse and make fine music."
The man behind it is Larry Salter.
"The whole idea of preserving and moving on has a rich feeling with Larry. He shares with us, history, history, history and how it should move on and continue it," Larry Salter Soul Orchestra orchestrator and director Maceo Skinner said.
Barnes said, "Larry sees and hears what everything is going to sound like before it happens. Then to put this piece together and then to see it is just remarkable."
"I never had the opportunity to take up piano or music lessons in general because of income. At 19 years old, I had the opportunity to either take up piano at the African Cultural Center. That was in 1968," Salter explained.
Thus began his long, respected musical career with the goal of giving back to community members who also have musical aspirations.
"There's nothing like music that lifts people's spirits. So, when people hear music, especially when they see it coming from a person who looks like them, such as this, they're inspired so that gives me extra energy," Salter added.
The Buffalo native who created this historically Black soul orchestra pays homage to inspirational jazz musicians like Buddy Golden, Joe "King" Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Scott Joplin, Duke Ellington and many others. The musical genres the orchestra plays include rag-time jazz, blues and soul.
"We play contemporary music and we play all the American song standards," Salter shared. "We play the pop music and we play R&B, so we take a smaller group of 6 people assembled. They may hear Thriller for 4 or 5 pieces and when they hear it with this strong orchestra, it's amazing. They say, 'My goodness!'"
When Kassahun asked him what the greatest moment in his musical career was, he said it is now.
"I would say the present time because as time goes by, you get just better and better augment, and at this point, I think this orchestra is really at its peak," Salter said.
The prestigious musician is also the cousin of Lieutenant Aaron Salter, Jr., a hero who died trying to stop Buffalo's Tops mass shooter, in May 2022.
He is also the grandfather of Buffalo's musical sibling trio Vibrant Strings. The trio is no stranger to 7 News. They were featured in 2021.
"The grandkids, they grew up in this musical environment. I had taught them all piano at a really early age. So, they knew about classical music. They got very inspired and I had them all take violin lessons. From that point, 20 years ago, look at them now. I never expected that," Salter shared.
Consistency is what he attributes his success and theirs too, through his demonstration of Black excellence.
Anyone who would like to catch Buffalo's Larry Salter Soul Orchestra can do so for free on Saturday, Feb. 24.
They will be performing live at the Buffalo Broadway Market, in honor of a Black History Month event.
The orchestra will hit its first note at noon.
