Childhood
Palmieri's parents Isabel Maldonado Palmieri and Carlos Palmieri moved to New York from Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1926 and settled in the South Bronxin New York. There, he and his elder brother Charlie Palmieri 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 toCareer
In 1961, Palmieri founded the band Conjunto La Perfecta, which featured singer Ismael Quintana. Apart from the big bands, at the beginning of the decade, the Pachanga 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 trombonist Barry Rogers as well as guitarist Bob Bianco, with whom Palmieri studied the advanced harmonic concepts of Russian music theoretician Joseph Schillinger. Rogers would also expose Palmieri to the work of then John Coltrane pianist McCoy Tyner whose use of chord voicings in fourths became a signature of Palmieri's sound. Rogers, alongside Brazilian-born José Rodrígues, were also responsible for many of the 'head' arrangements, mambos and moñas that the band employed in live performances and eventually recorded. George Castro (flute), Manny Oquendo (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 employing a jazz aesthetic both in live performance and on his recordings based on the Cuban "descarga" (jam session) concept. He "opened up" the arrangements by featuring his band members as soloists. In addition, he began incorporating a newly developed post-Castro Cuban rhythm known asLa 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 ''conjunto'' sound was later adopted by salsa band leaders Willie Colón and Manny Oquendo, among others. 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. The event included the participation of Lalo Rodríguez, 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 Martínez, Johnny Rivero, Edsel Gómez, Yosvany Terry. In 2007, the recording was awarded a Grammy as the best Latin Jazz Recording.Other work
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'' ( Verve, 1966) – with Cal Tjader * ''Bamboléate'' (Tico, 1967) – with Cal Tjader * ''Molasses'' (Tico, 1967) * ''Champagne'' (Tico, 1968) * '' Justicia'' (Tico, 1969) * '' Superimposition'' (Tico, 1970) * ''Vamonos pa'l monte'' (Tico, 1971) * ''In Concert at the University of Puerto Rico'' (Coco, 1971) * ''Harlem River Drive'' ( Roulette, 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 Lalo Rodríguez * ''Unfinished Masterpiece'' (Coco, 1975) * ''Eddie's Concerto'' (Tico, 1976) * ''Festival 76'' (Coco, 1976) * ''Lucumí, Macumba, Voodoo'' ( Epic, 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 La India * '' Palmas'' ( Elektra Nonesuch, 1994) * ''Arete'' ( RMM, 1995) * ''Vortex'' (1996) * ''El rumbero del piano'' (RMM, 1998) * ''Live'' (1999) * ''Masterpiece / Obra maestra'' (RMM/ Universal, 2000) – with Tito Puente * ''En Vivo Italia'' (2002) * ''La Perfecta II'' ( Concord, 2002) * ''Ritmo caliente'' (Concord Picante, 2003) * ''Listen Here!'' (Concord Picante, 2005) * '' Simpático'' ( ArtistShare, 2006) – with Brian Lynch * ''Eddie Palmieri Is Doin' It in the Park'' (2013) * ''Sabiduría / Wisdom'' (2017) * ''Full Circle'' (Uprising, 2018) * ''Mi Luz Mayor'' (2018)See also
*References
External links
* – official site *