Carlos Manuel "Charlie" Palmieri (November 21, 1927 – September 12, 1988) was an American

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

and musical director of

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

music. He was known as the "Giant of the Keyboards".

Early years

Palmieri's parents migrated to New York from

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

in 1926, and settled down in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

where Palmieri was born. As a child, Palmieri taught himself to play the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

by ear. He attended the public school system. At age seven, his father enrolled him at The

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

, where he took piano lessons. By the time Palmieri was 14 years old, he and his five-year-old brother,

Eddie Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

, participated in many talent contests, often winning prizes. It was at this time that his godfather introduced him to the music of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

bands - an experience which inspired him to become a musician. In 1943, when still only 16 years old and still in high school, he made his professional debut as a piano player for the Osario Selasie Band. He graduated from high school in 1946, and immediately went to play for various bands. He made his recording debut with the song "Se Va La Rumba" as a member of the Rafael Muñiz Band.

Musical career

In October 1947,

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz c ...

, the musical director of the Fernando Álvarez Band, was impressed with Palmieri and hired him to play for his band at the Copacabana Club; here he played with Puente until 1953 and, during the 1950s, he played with various bands. Besides having played with Tito Puente, he played with Pupi Campo's Band, and worked on

Jack Paar Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, author, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time'' magazine's obituary of Paar repo ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

daytime television show. Palmieri also formed a couple of bands that performed at the

Palladium Ballroom The Palladium Ballroom was a New York City night club. The US mambo craze that started in 1948 began at the Palladium Ballroom. On March 15, 1946, it opened at the northeast corner of Broadway and 53rd Street.''New York Post'', March 14, 1946; p ...

- these were however short-lived because of a lack of work. During this time, he also worked as an accompanist for other bands. Palmieri worked for several years in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, but returned to New York and formed a band called Charanga La Duboney. While performing at the Monte Carlo Ballroom, Palmieri heard

Johnny Pacheco Juan Pablo Knipping Pacheco (25 March 1935 – 15 February 2021), known as Johnny Pacheco, was a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader, and record producer who in the 1970s became one of the leading exponents of salsa as well in t ...

playing the

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

- the playing so impressed him that he hired him on the spot. The mixture of Pacheco's flute with the strings of the violins in Palmieri's band led to the 1960s Charanga craze in the United States. Palmieri was signed by the United Artists Record company and had several

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

hits. Palmieri did however suffer various setbacks - first Pacheco left the band and then United Artists cancelled his contract because of a conflict of interest with their other recording star,

Tito Rodríguez Pablo Rodríguez Lozada (January 4, 1923 – February 28, 1973), better known as Tito Rodríguez, was a Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He started his career singing under the tutelage of his brother, Johnny Rodríguez. In the 1940s, both m ...

. This led to Palmieri's signing with the Alegre Records label and with whom he had two best selling "hits" with "Como Bailan La Pachanga" and "La Pachanga Se Baila Así". When the Charanga craze declined in popularity, Palmieri switched to the new trend, the

boogaloo Boogaloo or bugalú (also: shing-a-ling, Latin boogaloo, Latin R&B) is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly among teenage African Americans and Latinos ...

, by replacing the flute and violins with three

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

s and two

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

s, he also dropped the word "Charanga" from his bands' name and it became known simply as "La Duboney". In 1965, he scored a hit with ''Tengo Máquina y Voy a 60'' (''Going like 60'') and in 1967 with ''Hay Que Estar En Algo/Either You Have It or You Don't''. In 1968, Palmieri recorded ''Latin Bugalú'' under the

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

label, which was also released in the United Kingdom. In the 1970s, Palmieri worked as the musical director for Tito Puente's television show, ''El Mundo de Tito Puente'' (''Tito Puente's World''). He also taught and lectured about Latin music and culture at various educational institutions. After reorganizing his band, Palmieri played the organ and recorded ''La Hija de Lola'' (''Lola's Daughter'') and ''La Vecina'' (''The Neighbor''). In 1971, he provided his organ playing talents to some of his brother's recordings. In 1978, he added the

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...

to his recording ''The Heavyweight'', an LP recorded for Alegre Records that also featured Bobby Rodríguez on bass, Quique Dávila on timbales, Papiro Allende on congas, Willie Rodríguez on bongoes, Roy Román y Lou Laurita on trumpets, Bobby Nelson on sax,

Marco Katz Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish c ...

on trombone, Harry Viggiano on tres, and the vocalists Meñique, Julito Villot, and

Adalberto Santiago Adalberto Santiago (born April 23, 1937, in Pozas barrio, Ciales, Puerto Rico) is an internationally known salsa singer. Career Adalberto's relaxed and flawless lead vocals are among the best in the salsa genre of Latin music. His early influ ...

. Among the artists Palmieri worked with at one time or another were his brother Eddie,

Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...

, Herbie Mann,

Ismael Rivera Ismael Rivera a.k.a. "Maelo" (October 5, 1931 – May 13, 1987), was a Puerto Rican composer and salsa singer. Early life Rivera was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, a sector of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was the first of five children born to ...

Rafael Cortijo Rafael Antonio Cortijo (December 11, 1928 – October 3, 1982) was a Puerto Rican musician, orchestra leader, composer and percussion instrument craftsman. Early Career As a child, Cortijo became interested in Caribbean music and enjoyed th ...

Ismael Quintana Ismael Quintana (June 3, 1937 – April 16, 2016) was a Puerto Rican singer and composer of salsa music. Early years Quintana was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His family moved to The Bronx sector of New York when he was only two weeks old; there ...

Bobby Capó Félix Manuel "Bobby" Rodríguez Capó (January 1, 1922 – December 18, 1989) was a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. He usually combined ballads with classical music and was deeply involved in Puerto Rican folk elements and even Andalusi ...

Mongo Santamaría Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez (April 7, 1917 – February 1, 2003) was a Cuban percussionist and bandleader who spent most of his career in the United States. Primarily a conga drummer, Santamaría was a leading figure in the pachanga and ...

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, ...

, and

Ray Barretto Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Lati ...

Later years

In 1980, Palmieri moved back to Puerto Rico but returned to New York for business - on one trip there he suffered a massive heart attack and stroke. He soon recovered and returned to the music world as the member of various bands. On June 1988, he debuted in the United Kingdom accompanied by London's Robin "King Salsa" Jones. Palmieri gave private

lessons to students at the Schuylerville Music Center in the

Throggs Neck Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and ea ...

section of the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. During this time he also appeared in the 1988 movie ''Salsa''. Four days before his death, Palmieri gave a private show at

La Fortaleza La Fortaleza (lit., "The Fortress" ) is the official residence of the governor of Puerto Rico. It was built between 1533 and 1540 to defend the harbor of San Juan. The structure is also known as Palacio de Santa Catalina (Saint Catherine's Pala ...

in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he performed solo at the piano for the Governor of Puerto Rico (at the time, Rafael Hernández Colón) and his guests. On September 12, 1988, Charlie Palmieri suffered another heart attack upon his arrival at New York where, as the musical director of the

Joe Cuba Joe Cuba (April 22, 1931 – February 15, 2009), was an American conga drummer of Puerto Rican descent widely regarded as the "Father of Latin Boogaloo". Early years Joe Cuba (birth name: Gilberto Miguel Calderón) was born in Harlem, New York ...

Sextet, he was to arrange a concert. He died later that day at Jacobi Hospital in the

Tributes

On November 6, 2004, a Big Band Tribute to Charlie Palmieri was held at

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, designe ...

at the

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

. The Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts hosts an annual competition for the Charlie Palmieri Memorial Piano Scholarship. The winner of the competition receives a scholarship to study Latin piano music at the Conservatory. The scholarship was started by Palmieri's lifetime friend, the late

. Another notable friend and colleague of Palmieri's, as well as a great admirer, was the late

Clare Fischer Douglas Clare Fischer (October 22, 1928 – January 26, 2012) was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After graduating from Michigan State University (from which, five decades later, he would receive an honorary doctorate ...

, who chose to kick off his 1989 album, ''Lembranças (Remembrances)'', with "C.P.", a piece dedicated to the composer's recently departed role model. In Fischer's words:

"C.P. - Charlie Palmieri - is dedicated to the wonderfully exciting pianist whom I have idolized for years! Charlie left us last year and the sadness I felt shows itself in some of the segments interspersed among the more spirited sections. We will miss him!"

Discography

;Albums *''Easy Does It'' (1959)Charlie Palmieri: ''Easy Does It''
. Also
''Easy Does It'' (CD, 2005)
''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

''. Retrieved 2017-05-07. *''El Gigante'' (1962) (aka ''Ravel's Bolero in Mambo'') (1995) *''Cuban Rhythms'' (1948) (tracks by Peruchin recorded in 1951) *''Charanga'' (1959) (aka ''Let's Dance the Charanga'') (1960) (featuring Johnny Pacheco) *''Pachanga at the Caravana Club'' (1960) Performed at the

Bronx Opera House The Bronx Opera House is a former theater, part of the Subway Circuit, now converted into a boutique hotel in the Bronx, New York It was designed by George M. Keister and built in 1913 at 436 East 149th Street on the site of Frederick Schnaufe ...

*''Viva Palmieri'' (1961) *''Salsa Na' Ma', Vol. 3'' (1963) *''Salsa y Charanga'' *''Tengo Máquina y Voy a 60'' (1965) *''Either You Have It Or You Don't'' (1966) *''Hay Que Estar En Algo / Either You Have It Or You Don't'' (1967) *''Latin Bugalú'' (1968) *''Adelante Gigante'' (1973) *''El Gigante del Teclado'' (1974) *''Vuelve el Gigante'' (1975) *''The Heavyweight'' (1978) *''Con Salsa y Sabor'' (1977) *''Electro Duro'' (1974) *''Impulsos'' (1975) *''A Giant Step'' (1984) *''Mambo Show'' (1990) (aka The Ensemble of Latin Music Legends) *''Alegre All-Stars Vol. 1'' (1961) *''Alegre All-Stars Vol. 2'' - El Manicero (1964) *''Alegre All-Stars Vol. 3'' - Lost and Found (1965) *''Alegre All-Stars Vol. 4'' - Way Out (1966) *''Alegre All-Stars Vol. 5'' - They Don't Make 'Em Like Us Anymore (1976) *''Alegre All-Stars Vol. 6'' - Perdido/Te Invita (1977) (2008) *''Cesta All Stars Vol. 1'' - (1975) *''Cesta All Stars Vol. 2'' - (1976) ;Contributing artist * '' The Rough Guide to Salsa'' (1997,

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" compet ...

) With

*''La Cuna'' (

CTI Records CTI Records (Creed Taylor Incorporated) is a jazz record label founded in 1967 by Creed Taylor. CTI was a subsidiary of A&M before becoming independent in 1970. Its first album was '' A Day in the Life'' by guitarist Wes Montgomery in 1967. T ...

, 1979) With

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...

*'' The Family of Mann'' (Atlantic, 1961) *'' Latin Mann'' (Columbia, 1965) With

*''Primo'' (

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

, 1973)

References