Eddie Palmieri

Eduardo Palmieri (December 15, 1936 – August 6, 2025) was an American musician, bandleader, and composer of Puerto Rican heritage. He was the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II (2002), and Harlem River Drive (1970).

Early life Eduardo Palmieri was born on December 15, 1936 in Manhattan, New York City; his parents were Isabel Maldonado and Carlos Manuel Palmieri, Puerto Ricans from Ponce who had settled in the South Bronx in 1925 and 1926 respectively. He had an elder brother, Charlie Palmieri, who he accompanied and participated in talent contests with when he was young. He was partially of Corsican descent.

Palmieri continued his education in the New York City public school system, where he was constantly exposed to jazz music. He took piano lessons and performed at Carnegie Hall at the age of eleven. Influenced by Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner, and inspired by his older brother, he determined to someday form his own band, which he accomplished in 1950 at fourteen years old. During the 1950s, Palmieri played in several bands including Tito Rodríguez's orchestra.

In 1964 or 1965, Rogers introduced Palmieri to the work of John Coltrane and pianist McCoy Tyner, who became a mentor and inspiration to Palmieri. In the late 1960s, the singer Bob Bianco introduced Palmieri to the Schillinger system, which informed his subsequent approach to composition.

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 revolution Cuban rhythm known as mozambique on his 1966 album "Mambo Con Conga Is Mozambique." Discontent among several members led to them leaving in 1968. Palmieri reformed the band with legendary Cuban trumpeter Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, timbalero Nicky Marrero, conguero Eladio Pérez, bongocero Tomás "Choki" López, and bassist Andy González. leading to the 1970 now classic album, Superimposition, which features two of his best known instrumental Afro-Cuban/Latin jazz compositions, 17.1 and Helado De Chocloate (Chocolate Ice Cream),

In 1971, Palmieri recorded "Vamonos Pa'l Monte" ("Let's go to the Mountain") with his older brother by nine years, Charlie (another piano virtuoso) playing organ and Eddie being the first salsa pianist to record on the Fender Rhodes electric piano. That same year, he also recorded Eddie Palmieri & Friends in Concert, at the University of Puerto Rico. In 1975, Palmieri won the first Grammy Award given in the newly established category, Best Latin Recording, with The Sun of Latin Music produced by Harvey Averne. The album was arranged by René Hernández (long-time pianist with the Machito Orchestra), and Barry Rogers who provided stellar ideas for the lengthy experimental piece he arranged, "Un Día Bonito," which opened with Palmieri doing an extended avant garde free piano solo. On July 21, 1979, he appeared at the Amandla Festival along with Bob Marley, Dick Gregory and Patti LaBelle, among others. In 2000, Palmieri announced his retirement from the world of music. However, he recorded Masterpiece with Tito Puente 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 during 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 Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

In 2022, Palmieri appeared in a feature-length documentary titled Santos - Skin to Skin.

In 2025, Palmieri appeared in the Spike Lee feature-length film Highest 2 Lowest performing multiple songs with the film alternating between his performance and an extended action sequence. This was his final film appearance before his death.

To his credit, Palmieri never called the music he produced salsa. He had this in common with Tito Puente. The term salsa is much despised by many. It is a term created to increase the commercialization of New York Latin music.

Death Palmieri died at his residence in Hackensack, New Jersey, on August 6, 2025, at the age of 88.

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)