Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-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

Palmieri's parents moved 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 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 ...

, a largely

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

neighborhood. There, he and his elder brother

Charlie Palmieri Carlos Manuel "Charlie" Palmieri (November 21, 1927 – September 12, 1988) was an American bandleader and musical director of salsa music. He was known as the "Giant of the Keyboards". Early years Palmieri's parents migrated to New York from Po ...

were born. He accompanied Charlie and participated in many talent contests when he was eight years old. Palmieri continued his education in the city's public school system where he was constantly exposed to

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 ...

music. He took piano lessons and performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

at the age of eleven. Influenced by

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

and

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Masters, NEA ...

, and inspired by his older brother, he determined to someday form his own band — which he accomplished in 1950 when he was fourteen years old. During the 1950s, Palmieri played in several bands including

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 ...

's.

First recordings

In 1961, Palmieri founded the band Conjunto La Perfecta, which featured singer

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 ...

. Apart from the big bands, at the beginning of the decade the

Pachanga Pachanga is a genre of music which is described as a mixture of son montuno and merengue and has an accompanying signature style of dance. This type of music has a festive, lively style and is marked by jocular, mischievous lyrics. Pachanga o ...

was the Latin dance craze. Essential to the Charanga style is the five key wooden flute and at least two violins. Palmieri decided to replace the violins with two trombones for a heavier sound. Two key elements to the 'Palmieri' sound were trombonists

Barry Rogers Barron W. "Barry" Rogers (May 22, 1935 – April 18, 1991) was an American jazz and salsa trombonist. Career Born in The Bronx, he descended from Polish Jews and was raised in Spanish Harlem. His family (original name: Rogenstein) possessed a ...

(who was very influential as well as guitarist Bob Bianco, with whom Palmieri studied harmony to the

fourth chords In music, quartal harmony is the building of Harmony, harmonic structures built from the Interval (music), intervals of the perfect fourth, the tritone, augmented fourth and the diminished fourth. For instance, a three-note quartal chord on C can ...

sound that Palmieri is known for) and Brazilian-born José Rodrígues. Together they were responsible for many of the 'head' arrangements, mambos and moñas that the band recorded. George Castro (flute),

Manny Oquendo Manny Oquendo (January 1, 1931 – March 25, 2009) was an American percussionist of Puerto Rican ancestry. His main instruments were the timbales and the bongos. He was a long-time member of Eddie Palmieri's Conjunto La Perfecta, which he lef ...

(bongó and timbales), Tommy López (conga) and Dave Pérez (bass) rounded out the group. To this day, the group is known as one of the swingingest, most danceable, innovative and influential groups of that period. Palmieri experimented by including a touch of jazz in his recordings, and incorporating a popular Cuban rhythm known as

mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. ''Lo Que Traigo Es Sabroso'' (What I Bring is Saucy) and ''Mozambique'' are just two examples of his use of this rhythm. Seeking a bigger and punchier sound, Palmieri disbanded the band in 1968. In 1971, Palmieri recorded ''Vamonos Pa'l Monte'' (Let's go 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 The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

''. In 1975, Palmieri won the first

Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording The Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording was presented from 1976 to 1983. Starting from 1984 the Latin field was expanded to Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album, Best Tropical Performance and Best Mexican/Mexican American Performance. Years re ...

with ''The Sun of Latin Music'' (produced by

Harvey Averne Harvey Averne (born 1936, Brooklyn, New York) has been described as "one of several prominent Jewish Americans in New York's bustling Latin music scene." Introduction Harvey Averne is an American record producer, and the founder of CoCo Recor ...

and arranged by René Hernández, long-time pianist with the orchestra led by

Machito Machito (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music. Ginell, Richard S. ''Biography''. Allmusic, 2011/ref> He wa ...

, and Barry Rogers (Un Día Bonito)). On July 21, 1979, he appeared at the

Amandla Festival Amandla--Festival of Unity—was a world music festival held aHarvard Stadiumin Boston, Massachusetts, on July 21, 1979.Emmett G. Price, III, Tammy Kernodle, Horace Maxille (eds)"A Timeline of Significant Moments in African American Music", ''Enc ...

along with

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afric ...

and

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

, among others. In the 1980s, Ismael Quintana returned to the band, which also included

Cheo Feliciano Cheo Feliciano (3 July 1935 – 17 April 2014) was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican Singing, singer and composer of Salsa music, salsa and bolero music. Feliciano was the owner of a recording company called "Coche Records". He was the first t ...

. Palmieri won two Grammys for the recordings of ''Palo Pa' Rumba'' and ''Solito''. He also recorded the album ''La Verdad'' (The Truth) with

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 ...

singer

Tony Vega Tony Vega Cesar, known professionally as Tony Vega (born July 13, 1957) is a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Early years Vega was born in the town of Salinas, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary education. He was born into a family of musi ...

in 1987. The next year, his brother Charlie died suddenly. 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 Linda Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), better known as La India, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter of salsa, house music and Latin pop. La India has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, winning the Latin Grammy Aw ...

with the production of '' Llegó La India via Eddie Palmieri'' (La India has arrived via Eddie Palmieri), released in 1992. In 1998, Palmieri received an honorary doctorate from the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. In 2000, Palmieri announced his retirement from the world of music. However, he recorded ''Masterpiece'' with

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 ...

and won two 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 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 ...

La Perfecta

Palmieri's La Perfecta departed from the traditional Cuban 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 leaders

Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is an American salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist and also sings, writes, produces and acts. He is also involved in the politics of New York City. Colón ...

and Manny Oquendo, among others.

La Perfecta II

Palmieri 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 Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city, Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico and suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan located in the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, Aguas Buenas an ...

. The event included the participation of

Lalo Rodríguez Ubaldo Rodríguez Santos (May 16, 1958 – December 13, 2022), known professionally as Lalo Rodríguez, was a Puerto Rican salsa music, salsa singer recognized as one of the pioneers of the subgenre of Salsa romántica, Romantic or Erotic Sals ...

, 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 ArtistShare is the internet's first commercial crowdfunding website.Crowd-Funding 101: What Every Musician Needs for a Successful Campaign It also operates as a record label and business model for artists which enables them to fund their projec ...

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 Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began ...

Lila Downs Ana Lila Downs Sánchez (born 9 September 1968 * *) is a Mexican singer-songwriter. She performs her own compositions and the works of others in multiple genres, as well as tapping into Mexican traditional and popular music. She also incorporat ...

Donald Harrison Donald Harrison Jr. (born June 23, 1960) is an African-American jazz saxophonist and the Big Chief of The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Berklee Col ...

Conrad Herwig Lee Conrad Herwig III (born 1959) is an American jazz trombonist from New York City. Biography Herwig began his career in Clark Terry's band in the early 1980s and has been a featured member in the Joe Henderson Sextet, Tom Harrell's Septet and ...

Giovanni Hidalgo Giovanni Hidalgo a.k.a. "Mañenguito" (born November 22, 1963) is a Latin jazz percussionist. Early years Hidalgo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary education. His grandfather was a musician, and his father, José ...

, Gregory Tardy, Mario Rivera, Boris Kozlov, Rubén Rodríguez, Luques Curtis, Robby Ameen, Dafnis Prieto, Pedro Martínez, Johnny Rivero, Edsel Gómez, Yosvany Terry. In 2007, the recording was awarded a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

as the best

Latin Jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, whic ...

Recording.

Back in the studio

Palmieri returned to the studio to record three songs for the soundtrack to ''Doin' it in the Park: Pickup Basketball NYC''. The documentary, co-directed by Bobbito García and Kevin Couliau, explores the relationship between NYC playgrounds, basketball, arts and culture. In 2022, Eddie Palmieri appeared in a feature-length documentary titled Santos - Skin to Skin.

Discography

* ''La Perfecta'' ( Alegre, 1962) * ''El molestoso'' (Alegre, 1963) * ''Lo que traigo es sabroso'' (Alegre, 1964) * ''Echando pa'lante (Straight Ahead)'' ( Tico, 1964) * '' Azúcar pa' ti (Sugar for You)'' (Tico, 1965) * ''Mambo con conga es Mozambique'' (Tico, 1965) * ''

El Sonido Nuevo ''El Sonido Nuevo'', subtitled/translated ''The New Soul Sound'', is an album by Latin jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader and pianist Eddie Palmieri recorded in 1966 and released on the Verve label.

'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

, 1966) – with

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, ...

* ''Bamboléate'' (Tico, 1967) – with

* ''Molasses'' (Tico, 1967) * ''Champagne'' (Tico, 1968) * '' Justicia'' (Tico, 1969) * ''

Superimposition Superimposition is the placement of one thing over another, typically so that both are still evident. Graphics In graphics, superimposition is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to t ...

'' (Tico, 1970) * ''Vamonos pa'l monte'' (Tico, 1971) * ''In Concert at the University of Puerto Rico'' (Coco, 1971) * ''Harlem River Drive'' (

Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

, 1971) – with Harlem River Drive * ''Recorded Live at Sing Sing Vol. 1'' (Tico, 1972) – with Harlem River Drive * ''Recorded Live at Sing Sing Vol. 2'' (Tico, 1972, released 1974) * ''Sentido'' (Coco/Mango, 1973) * ''Sun of Latin Music'' (Coco, 1974) – with

* ''Unfinished Masterpiece'' (Coco, 1975) * ''Eddie's Concerto'' (Tico, 1976) * ''Festival 76'' (Coco, 1976) * ''Lucumí, Macumba, Voodoo'' (

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

, 1978) * ''Eddie Palmieri'' (Barbaro, 1980) * ''Timeless'' (Coco, 1981) * ''Palo pa' rumba'' (Musica Latina International, 1984) * ''Solito'' (Musica Latina International, 1985) * ''The Truth / La verdad'' ( Fania, 1987) * ''Sueño'' (Intuition, 1989) * '' Llegó La India Via Eddie Palmieri'' (Soho Sounds, 1992) – with

* '' Palmas'' ( Elektra Nonesuch, 1994) * ''Arete'' ( RMM, 1995) * ''Vortex'' (1996) * ''El rumbero del piano'' (RMM, 1998) * ''Live'' (1999) * ''Masterpiece / Obra maestra'' (RMM/

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

, 2000) – with

* ''En Vivo Italia'' (2002) * ''La Perfecta II'' (

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

, 2002) * ''Ritmo caliente'' (Concord Picante, 2003) * ''Listen Here!'' (Concord Picante, 2005) * '' Simpático'' (

ArtistShare ArtistShare is the internet's first commercial crowdfunding website.Crowd-Funding 101: What Every Musician Needs for a Successful Campaign It also operates as a record label and business model for artists which enables them to fund their projec ...

, 2006) – with Brian Lynch * ''Eddie Palmieri Is Doin' It in the Park'' (2013) * ''Sabiduría / Wisdom'' (2017) * ''Full Circle'' (Uprising, 2018) * ''Mi Luz Mayor'' (2018)

References

External links

* – official site *
Eddie Palmieri
at warr.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmieri, Eddie 1936 births American bandleaders American people of Corsican descent American people of Puerto Rican descent American salsa musicians Fania Records artists Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Award winners Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Latin jazz musicians Latin jazz pianists Living people RMM Records artists Salsa ArtistShare artists Ropeadope Records artists Concord Records artists