Latin Percussion History

Latin Percussion, also known as LP, is a brand of percussion instruments, specializing in ethnic instruments engineered and manufactured to withstand the rigors of use in a drum kit, orchestral percussion section, and similar applications.

This re-engineering often involves not only greater and consistent durability, but also changes to the sound to enable the instrument to be played at a suitable volume without losing the distinctive "feel" of its sound.

LP was founded in New York in 1964 by Martin Cohen, following his difficulty in obtaining instruments for his own use, partly because of restrictions then in place on imports of instruments (and everything else) from Cuba following the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. Unable to buy congas, bongos and similar instruments of the quality he saw other performers using, he manufactured his own. After much trial and error he produced acceptable results, and found a ready market for such instruments. As the company expanded, it added imported lines to its catalog, and also became an exporter.

LP pioneered the use of many ethnic-based instruments for wider musical uses, and continues to be a leading innovator in this area. They are particularly known for their revolutionary plastic wood blocks, claves, and agogo bells, and their cowbells, and their catalog is extensive and continually changing. Some of their discontinued china cymbals are now highly sought after.

Their Drumset division, CP or Cosmic Percussion, and Ascend saw success in the 1980s and 90s producing mostly entry level instruments, and some intermediate to professional grade instruments in Taiwan. There is little to no information on the models that were produced by them, but some catalogs that were printed still exist.

In 2001 Martin Cohen received a Special Recognition Award from the International Latin Music Hall of Fame for his contributions during nearly 40 years in music industry.

In 2002 LP was purchased by Kaman Music Corporation and operates as its independent subsidiary within Kaman's music distribution segment.