Remo Paul Palmier (March 29, 1923 – February 2, 2002) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
guitarist.
Career
Palmier began his career as a musician during the 1940s, and collaborated with
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
,
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
,
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
, and
Teddy Wilson
Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...
. In 1945, he was awarded a "new star" award from ''Esquire'' magazine. He also played with
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...
,
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...
, and
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer.
Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...
. He also became part of
Nat Jaffe's trio.
In 1945, he began performing with
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...
on CBS Radio
and taught Godfrey to play the ukulele. He was with the Godfrey show for twenty-seven years. He changed his name legally in 1952 to Palmier, omitting the "i" at the end, to avoid being confused with
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive.
Early life
Pal ...
.
When the Godfrey show was canceled in 1972, Palmier returned to playing clubs in New York. In 1977, his friend
Herb Ellis
Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010), known professionally as Herb Ellis, was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson.
Biography
Born in Farmersville, Texas, and raised ...
convinced
Carl Jefferson
Carl Jefferson (December 10, 1919 – March 29, 1995) was an American jazz record producer, and was the founder of the Concord Records label.
Biography
Jefferson was born in Alameda, California. Prior to entering the music business, he owned and o ...
to invite Palmier to the Concord Jazz Festival in
Concord, California
Concord ( ) is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019 making it the eighth largest city in the San Francisco Ba ...
. At the festival, Palmier and Ellis performed as a duo. Later that year, they recorded ''Windflower'', which ended Palmier's thirty-year hiatus from recording. In 1979,
Concord Jazz
Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...
produced ''Remo Palmier'', the only album on which he was billed as the leader.
During the 1970s, he played with
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing".
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...
and
Dick Hyman
Richard Hyman (born March 8, 1927) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Over a 70-year career, he has worked as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, electronic musician, and composer. He was named a National Endowment for the Art ...
. He participated in an all-star Swing Reunion in 1985
and in tribute concerts to
Barney Kessel
Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups a ...
(1997),
Herb Ellis
Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010), known professionally as Herb Ellis, was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson.
Biography
Born in Farmersville, Texas, and raised ...
(1998), and
Tal Farlow
Talmage Holt Farlow (June 7, 1921 – July 25, 1998) was an American jazz guitarist. He was nicknamed "Octopus" because of how his large, quick hands spread over the fretboard. As Steve Rochinski notes, "Of all the guitarists to emerge in th ...
(1996). He taught privately and his students included cartoonist
Gary Larson
Gary Larson (born August 14, 1950) is an American cartoonist, environmentalist, and former musician. He is the creator of ''The Far Side'', a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to more than 1,900 newspapers for fif ...
.
Death
He died in 2002 from leukemia and lymphoma.
Discography
As leader
* ''Windflower'' with Herb Ellis (Concord Jazz, 1978)
* ''Remo Palmier'' (Concord Jazz, 1979)
As sideman
*
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
, ''Town Hall Concert Plus'' (RCA, 1957)
*
Louie Bellson
Louie Bellson (born Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni, July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie, was an American jazz drummer. He was a composer, ...
, ''Louie Bellson and His Jazz Orchestra'' (Musicmasters, 1987)
*
Ruby Braff
Reuben "Ruby" Braff (March 16, 1927 – February 9, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Garry Moore television show and described Ruby as "the Ivy League Louis Armstrong".
Braff ...
, ''Pretties'' (Sonet, 1978)
*
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...
, ''
Central City Sketches
''Central City Sketches'' is an album by saxophonist/composer Benny Carter recorded in 1987 and released by the MusicMasters label as a double LP. '' (Musicmasters, 1987)
* Benny Carter, ''Harlem Renaissance'' (MusicMaster, 1992)
*
Cozy Cole
William Randolph "Cozy" Cole (October 17, 1909 – January 9, 1981) was an American jazz drummer who worked with Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong among others and led his own groups.
Life and career
William Randolph Cole was born in East Ora ...
, Red Norvo, ''Jazz Giants Vol. 3'' (Trip Jazz, 1978)
*
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
, ''Groovin' High'' (Savoy, 1955)
*
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...
, ''Jazz for the People'' (Signature, 1960)
*
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
, ''Thanks for the Memory'' (Xanadu, 1983)
*
Lou McGarity
Robert Louis McGarity (July 22, 1917 – August 28, 1971) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Benny Goodman big band during the late 1930s and early 1940s. After serving in the military, he was a studio musician in New York Ci ...
, ''Lou McGarity: In Celebration'' (IAJRC, 1981)
*
Max Morath
Max Morath (born October 1, 1926) is an American ragtime pianist, composer, actor, and author. He is best known for his piano playing and is referred to as "Mr. Ragtime". He has been a touring performer as well as being variously a composer, rec ...
, ''Jonah Man and Other Songs of the Bert Williams Era'' (Vanguard, 1976)
* Max Morath, ''The Ragtime Women'' (Vanguard, 1977)
* Max Morath,
Dick Sudhalter
Richard Merrill Sudhalter (28 December 1938 – 19 September 2008)Biography ''AllMusic'' was an American jazz trumpeter and writer.
Biography
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Sudhalter was inspired to pursue a musical career by his ...
, ''In Jazz Country'' (Vanguard, 1979)
*
Red Norvo
Red Norvo (born Kenneth Norville; March 31, 1908 – April 6, 1999) was an American musician, one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone as jazz instruments. His reco ...
, ''Town Hall Concert Vol. 1'' (London, 1974)
*
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer.
Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...
, ''It's You or No One'' (Musicraft, 1988)
*
Teddy Wilson
Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of ma ...
, ''Teddy Wilson & His All Star Jazz Sextette'' (Allegro, 1956)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmier, Remo
20th-century American guitarists
Latin folk guitarists
Bebop guitarists
Cool jazz guitarists
Swing guitarists
American jazz guitarists
1923 births
2002 deaths