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Eddie Palmieri, born 1936
With a career spanning more than fifty years and forty albums, pianist Eddie Palmieri has been for decades a defining figure in the development of salsa and Latin jazz. Initiated in the instrument as a young boy, in 1955 he debuted in Johnny Seguí's orchestra, a main staple of New York City's legendary Palladium Ballroom. In 1961 he formed the band La Perfecta, pioneering a blend of Afro-Latin rhythms with American jazz along with a heavy frontline of trombones that replaced the traditional trumpets in Latin orchestras. His musical experimentation continued through the next decade and earned him the first of ten Grammy Awards for The Sun of Latin Music (1975). Palmieri's music is at once cerebral and soulful, synthesizing his Puerto Rican heritage with jazz influences, including his brother Charlie Palmieri, as well as Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, and McCoy Tyner. In this portrait, Máximo Colón captures the intensity of Palmieri's incendiary solos.
Maximo Colon, 1990 |