Eddie Palmieri

Eddie Palmieri is one of the foremost Latin jazz pianists of the last half of the 20th century, blessed with a technique that fuses such ubiquitous jazz influences as the styles of Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, and McCoy Tyner into a Latin context. No purist, he has also shown a welcome willingness to experiment with fusions of Latin and non-Latin music. However, despite a number of stints with major labels and numerous industry awards and nominations, he has yet to break into the American record scene in a big way.

Like his older brother Charlie, Eddie started playing at an early age (eight) and studied classical piano while also playing drums. He made his professional debut with Johnny Sequi's orchestra in 1955 and eventually joined Tito Rodriguez's popular band in 1958-1960. In 1961, Palmieri formed his highly influential band la Perfecta, whose flute and twin- or triple-trombone front line made American jazz musicians like Herbie Mann take notice; he also scored heavily in an excellent 1966 collaboration with Cal Tjader, El Sonido Nuevo (Verve). After la Perfecta split up in 1968 due to financial problems, Palmieri played with the Tico and Fania All-Stars, recorded with Alfredo "Chocolat" Armenteros, Cachao, and Justo Betancourt, and, like his brother, cut some Latin boogaloo sessions. Around the mid-'60s, Palmieri began formal studies of arranging, and the Monk influence became more pronounced in his piano work. While recording for the Latin Coco label in the mid-'70s, Palmieri started to mix salsa with R&B, pop, rock, Spanish vocals, and jazz improvisation. Brief affiliations with Columbia in the late '70s and Capitol (in league with David Sanborn) in the late '80s failed to produce an American breakthrough hit, though the latter attempt was aimed squarely at the burgeoning "jazz-lite" market. While much of his output as a leader remains out of print in American catalogs, several of his older albums are available on CD; Palmieri has also remained active in the 1990s, recording the jazz-oriented Palmas (1993) for the normally classical Nonesuch label, as well as a series of albums for the RMM label. He returned to his La Perfecta days in April 2002 with La Perfecta II on the Concord Jazz label. Two more albums for Concord followed, Rimo Caliente in 2003 and Listen Here in 2005.

from Wikipedia:

Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936), is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin rhythms.

Early years

Palmieri's parents migrated to New York from Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1926, and settled down in the South Bronx, a largely Hispanic neighborhood. Both he and his older brother, the late Charlie Palmieri, were born in New York. When he was only 8 years old, he would musically accompany Charlie and together they entered and participated in many talent contests.

Palmieri continued his education in the city's public school system where he was constantly exposed to music, specifically jazz. He took piano lessons for and performed at Carnegie Hall when he was 11 years old. His biggest piano influences were Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner. He was inspired by his older brother and was determined to someday form his own band - something he achieved in 1950, when he was just 14. During the 1950s, Palmieri played in various bands, including Tito Rodríguez's.

First recordings

In 1961, Palmieri formed the band Conjunto La Perfecta, which included trombone player Barry Rogers and singer Ismael Quintana. During that decade, the Charanga was the Latin dance craze. The music to the Charanga required an orchestra with a flute and violins, but Palmieri also added a mixture of trumpets and trombones. Palmieri experimented by including a touch of jazz in his recordings, and creating his own interpretation of the 1960s Cuban rhythm known as mozambique. He recorded, among others, Lo Que Traigo Es Sabroso (What I Bring is Juicy) and Mozambique, before the group disbanded in 1968.

In 1971, Palmieri recorded Vamonos Pa'l Monte (Going to the Mountain) with his brother Charlie at the organ. That same year he also recorded Eddie Palmieri & Friends in Concert, At the University of Puerto Rico. In 1974, Eddie won the first ever Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording with The Sun of Latin Music (produced by Harvey Averne). On July 21, 1979, he appeared at the Amandla Festival along with Bob Marley, Dick Gregory and Patti LaBelle, amongst others.

In the 1980s, Ismael Quintana returned to the band, which also included Cheo Feliciano. Palmieri won two Grammys for the recordings of Palo Pa Rumba and Solito. He also recorded the album La Verdad (The Truth) with salsa singer Tony Vega in 1987. Next year the happiness of his success was set back by the sudden death of his brother, Charlie.

In the 1990s, Palmieri had participated in various concerts and recordings with the Fania All-Stars and the Tico All-Stars; he also introduced La India with the production of Llego La India via Eddie Palmieri (La India has arrived via Eddie Palmieri), released in 1992. In 2000, Palmieri announced his retirement from the world of music. However, he recorded Masterpiece with Tito Puente and won 2 Grammys; additionally he was also named the "Outstanding Producer of the Year" by the National Foundation of Popular Culture. Palmieri has won a total of 9 Grammy Awards in his career, most recently for his 2006 album Simpático. On November 6, 2004, Palmieri directed a "Big Band Tribute" to his late brother Charlie at Avery Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

La Perfecta's influence

Palmieri's La Perfecta departed from the traditional Caribbean sources of salsa instrumentation by introducing a new stylistic device into the New York Latin sound. Their signature sound relied heavily on two trombones and a flute instead of trumpets. On the liner notes of their first album, Eddie's brother Charlie dubbed this combination the 'trombanga', referring to the trombones and the still popular charanga which typically featured the flute . The combination helped to give La Perfecta a rich and bold sound which contributed to Palmieri's success with his new band. The trombone-based sound was later adopted by salsa band leader Willie Colón among others.

Currently

Palmieri currently continues to be actively involved with music. He formed a new band, La Perfecta II, with whom he recorded the CD Ritmo Caliente (Hot Rhythm). On April 30, 2005, "Mi Día Bonito", a tribute to Eddie Palmieri celebrating his 50 years in the world of music, took place at the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The event included the participation of Lalo Rodriguez, Ismael Quintana, Cheo Feliciano, La India, Hermán Olivera, Jerry Medina, Luis Vergara and Wichy Camacho.

In November and December 2005, Palmieri teamed up with longtime trumpeter and band member Brian Lynch to record the Artistshare CD release The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project: Simpático. This CD and accompanying multimedia web site features music by an all-star roster of jazz and Latin jazz artists, including Phil Woods, Lila Downs, Donald Harrison, Conrad Herwig, Giovanni Hidalgo, Gregory Tardy, Mario Rivera, Boris Kozlov, Rubén Rodríguez, Luques Curtis, Robby Ameen, Dafnis Prieto, Pedro Martinez, Johnny Rivero, Edsel Gomez, Yosvany Terry. In 2007, the recording was awarded a Grammy as the best Latin Jazz Recording.

On March 26, 2010, an 81-year-old woman was charged with trying to kill Palmieri’s wife during a confrontation that took place in a New York City condominium.