''Superimposition'' is the twelfth studio album by American pianist

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Corsican and Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. ...

. It was released by

Tico Records Tico Records was a New York City record label that was founded in 1948, and was known for 30 years as the "home of the recorded mambo". It was originally owned by George Goldner and later acquired by Morris Levy and incorporated into Roulette Recor ...

in 1970. The album combines modern

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), 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: Arts and ent ...

renditions of Cuban standards on side A with experimental

descarga A descarga (literally ''discharge'' in Spanish) is an improvised jam session consisting of variations on Cuban music themes, primarily son montuno, but also guajira, bolero, guaracha and rumba. The genre is strongly influenced by jazz and it w ...

s (jam sessions) on side B. Since its release, the album has been praised by critics such as

John Storm Roberts John Storm Roberts (February 24, 1936 – November 29, 2009) was a British-born, U.S.-based ethnomusicologist, writer and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of Original Music, a mail-order company that distributed world music boo ...

for its innovative approach.

Background and recording

Throughout the 1960s, pianist Eddie Palmieri played an important role in the development of

with his ''conjunto'' La Perfecta. La Perfecta was one of the first Latin ensembles to feature multiple trombones, one of salsa's distinctive characteristics. The band's repertoire was inspired by Cuban and Puerto Rican dance-oriented styles such as

guaracha The guaracha () is a genre of music that originated in Cuba, of rapid tempo and comic or picaresque lyrics. The word has been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical the ...

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

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 ...

and bomba. In 1968, Palmieri disbanded La Perfecta in order to seek a more experimental approach incorporating

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

elements into his music. Palmieri and his new ensemble (still similar to La Perfecta, with

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 ...

being replaced by Lewis Kahn) recorded a series of four albums for Tico that have been said to contain his "best sounding" work. These four albums were ''Champagne'' (1968), '' Justicia'' (1969), ''Superimposition'' (1970) and ''Vámonos pa'l monte'' (1971). Despite his experimental approach, most of his recordings remained largely based on the basic structures of

son montuno Son montuno is a subgenre of son cubano developed by Arsenio Rodríguez in the 1940s. Although ''son montuno'' ("mountain sound") had previously referred to the ''sones'' played in the mountains of eastern Cuba, Arsenio repurposed the term to de ...

, as exemplified by "(Se acabó) la malanga" and "(Dame un cachito) pa' huele" on ''Superimposition''. The former was written by Rudy Calzado specifically for this album, whereas the latter is an

Arsenio Rodríguez Arsenio Rodríguez (born Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull; August 31, 1911 – December 30, 1970)Giro, Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana, v. 4, p. 45 et seq. was a Cuban musician, composer and bandl ...

composition from 1946. A rendition of Guillermo Rodríguez Fiffe's "Bilongo" (a

written in 1937) closes side A, and is considered together with "La malanga" as one of the "most representative

racks Rack or racks may refer to: Storage, support and transportation * Amp rack, a piece of furniture in which amplifiers are mounted * Autorack or auto carrier, for transporting vehicles in freight trains * Baker's rack, for bread and other bake ...

of the hard-core Palmieri salsa style". In addition, "Bilongo" has been described as "one of the most important salsa-era recordings to feature the soloing of Armenteros". The recordings present in side B are instrumental descargas (Latin jam sessions). Particularly important is the presence of Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, who had also taken part in the recording of 1950s descarga sessions with artists such as Tojo and

Chico O'Farrill Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill (October 28, 1921 – June 27, 2001) was a Cuban composer, arranger, and conductor, best known for his work in the Latin idiom, specifically Afro-Cuban jazz or "Cubop", although he also composed traditional jazz pieces ...

's All-Stars Cubano. Unlike older descargas, Palmieri combines modal phrases and

montuno Montuno has several meanings pertaining to Cuban music and its derivatives. Literally, ''montuno'' means 'comes from the mountain', and so '' son montuno'' may refer to the older type of son played in the mountainous rural areas of Oriente. Ano ...

patterns, and adds "harmonically advanced chord voicings, substitutions and alterations" to his

guajeos A guajeo (Anglicized pronunciation: ''wa-hey-yo'') is a typical Cuban ostinato melody, most often consisting of arpeggio, arpeggiated chord (music), chords in syncopated patterns. Some musicians only use the term ''guajeo'' for ostinato patterns ...

. The title of the last track on the album, "17.1", corresponds to the average age of the percussion section.

Fania Records Fania Records is a New York City, New York–based record label founded by Dominican-born composer and bandleader Johnny Pacheco and his American lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964 in music, 1964. The label took its name from a popular luncheonette fre ...

(owner of the Tico Records catalogue) re-issued the album on CD in 2006.

Reception

wrote a laudatory review in which he praised Palmieri's improvisatory and innovative style, particularly the way in which he "mixes offbeat montunos with unconventional chors, expressionism, and straight jazz, in blends different from any other jazz or Latin pianist".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

awarded the album 4.5 starts out of 5. The album's artwork by Ely Besalel has been described as a "layered, abstract collage work" and has received positive reviews.

Track listing

Personnel

According to original album sleeve.Campa, Arturo; Estivill, Miguel (1970). ''Superimposition'' liner notes. New York, NY: Tico. ;Eddie Palmieri & His Orchestra *

– piano *

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 ...

– vocals *Arturo Campa – chorus *Justo Betancourt – chorus *Elliot Romero – chorus *José Rodrigues – trombone *Lewis Kahn – trombone *

Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros (4 April 1928 – 6 January 2016) was a Cuban trumpeter. He played with artists such as Arsenio Rodríguez, Generoso Jiménez, Chico O'Farrill, Orchestra Harlow, Eddie Palmieri, Cachao and Sonora Matancera. Due t ...

– trumpet *Nicky Marrero – timbales *Eladio Pérez – conga drums *Tommy "Choki" López – bongo drums *

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 ...

– timbales, bongo drums (invited guest) *Roberto Franquiz – bell *Rudy Calzado – percussion ;Technical *Miguel Estivill – producer, coordinator *

Fred Weinberg Fred Weinberg ''(born'' Manfredo Weinberg; 30 December 1942 Colombia) is an American composer, producer, sound designer, and founder of Fred Weinberg Productions, Inc. Early works While attending college, he was hired by a small recording studio ...

– engineer

References

{{Authority control 1970 albums Eddie Palmieri albums Tico Records albums Descarga albums