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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Latin Music Legend Eddie Palmieri Dies at Age 88 Inside Longtime New Jersey Home Following ‘an Extended Illness'
Famed Latin jazz musician Eddie Palmieri has passed away at the age of 88 after suffering from "an extended illness." The East Harlem-born music legend, who became the first Latino to win a Grammy Award in 1975, died inside his longtime New Jersey home, his daughter, Gabriela, revealed to the New York Times. He is survived by Gabriela, as well as his three other daughters, Renee, Eydie, and Ileana, as well as a son, Edward, and four grandchildren. Palmieri was credited with being a pioneer of the Latin jazz scene in New York, earning a total of 10 Grammy Awards during his lifetime, while producing more than 30 albums. Having been born in Spanish Harlem, Palmieri—the brother of musician Charlie Palmieri—was introduced to music at a young age, when he first started learning piano, before he found a passion for drums after being enlisted to play timbales in his uncle's orchestra at age 13, according to his website. "Palmieri's parents emigrated from Ponce, Puerto Rico to New York City in 1926," Palmieri's biography states. "Born in Spanish Harlem and raised in the Bronx, Palmieri learned to play the piano at an early age, and at 13, he joined his uncle's orchestra, playing timbales." The musician spent much of his childhood living in the South Bronx, where he was raised by a seamstress mother, Isabel, and an electrician father, Carlos—both of whom placed a heavy emphasis on the importance of music in a child's development. Though he routinely described himself as a percussionist, it was piano that led Palmieri to greatness and saw his music career take off. "Palmieri's professional career as a pianist took off with various bands in the early 1950s, including Eddie Forrester, Johnny Segui's, and the popular Tito Rodriguez Orchestra." In the 1960s, the musician formed his own band, La Perfecta, through which he cultivated a unique sound by replacing trumpets with trombones, a move that "mixed American jazz into Afro-Caribbean rhythms, surprising critics and fans alike." His surprising blend of what had previously been seen as very distinctive Black and Latin sounds was a key aspect of his debut album, "Harlem River Drive," as well as his Grammy Award-winning album, "The Sun of Latin Music." Palmieri continued to release music regularly up until his death—and was still delighting audiences with his live performances even in his final years, particularly in and around New York. The music legend spent the majority of his life in the tri-state area, however he relocated to Puerto Rico for a few years in the 1980s, after traveling there to care for his mother. During that time he recorded three different albums, each of which won a Grammy; however, he noted in a later interview that he found the process of living and working in Puerto Rico very "difficult." "I felt completely oppressed over there," he once revealed, according to Musician Guide. "I tried to get a helping hand from the orchestras in Puerto Rico, but I just frightened them away.... It was quite difficult. We were hurting for employment.... [The local musicians] wouldn't allow me in." After his return to New York City in the late 1980s, Palmieri's career continued to go from strength to strength; in addition to his collection of Grammy Awards, the musician was also awarded multiple other accolades, including a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in 2013. He was also honored by the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian, which recorded two of his live performances for its archives, according to Palmieri's website. However, he faced his fair share of struggles along the way, engaging in battles with high-paid music executives, with the New York Times noting that he once admitted to feeling like he was being "attacked constantly" in the industry. "You're getting attacked constantly, one way or the other: fights with the promoters, fighting with the record labels," he said. The outlet also noted that Palmieri took a strong stance against the IRS, refusing to pay taxes for several years after becoming enamored with the works of economist Henry George, who believes that income taxes were a form of legal robbery. Eventually, his rebellion caught up with him. IRS agents began showing up at his concerts and eventually led him away in handcuffs, although he was able to work out a deal with the agency to repay the money he owed. Despite his more controversial stances, Palmieri remained a legend in the New York music scene up until his death—and was renowned for his deep dedication to the South Bronx and its Latin community. However, for the last 10 years of his life, the musician had been based just outside the city, in Hackensack, NJ, where he owned a humble four-bedroom dwelling, according to property records. The property was purchased for $338,000 in 2015, one year after Iraida, his wife of 58 years, passed away. Located on a quiet cul-de-sac, the property features a sizable backyard, complete with a large deck for entertaining, as well as a sunlit music room. Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Explosive and experimental, Eddie Palmieri was a revolutionary figure in postwar American music
Some 20 years ago I watched as Eddie Palmieri approached his piano, noting how his features radiated a mix of joy and excitement. As soon as he began to play I grasped why. To say the great Puerto Rican New Yorker was a thrilling performer is an understatement: seated at the piano he threw himself into playing explosive Latin jazz, his rhythmic attack reminding me how his first job as a professional musician was playing timbales in his uncle's band aged 13. This sense of joy, the excitement he found in making music, the chances he took, helped shape Eddie Palmieri's long, brilliant career. To my mind, Palmieri was one of the truly revolutionary figures of postwar American music, up there with Muddy and Miles and Aretha and Dolly: a musician who reshaped a genre and extended the music's possibilities. 'El Maestro' is how his fans and fellow musicians referred to Eddie, and this human hurricane, built like a fire hydrant with the brightest smile and a mischievous twinkle in his eye, never disappointed. Born to Puerto Rican parents in Spanish Harlem and raised in the Bronx, Palmieri grew up absorbing the music of his fellow Latinos – from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and, especially, Cuba – alongside the contemporary jazz and blues of his African American neighbours. Eddie started piano lessons aged eight – his brother Charlie Palmieri, nine years his senior, having already made his name playing Latin ballrooms while still in high school – and, by his early teens, was working alongside the likes of Tito Rodriguez while leading his own band. His love of Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner's groundbreaking jazz piano ensured he studied harmony and determined to extend the possibilities of the Latin big band. Due to his enthusiasm for modern jazz, Eddie's playing was often unconventional, employing unorthodox patterns and percussive effects, all the while drawing on the rhythmic richness of Latin music. His adventurous spirit ensured he influenced jazz, Latin and funk musicians while his generosity as a bandleader meant young musicians gravitated towards him, and the likes of Celia Cruz, Willie Cólon and Herbie Mann all appreciated his skills as a sideman. Palmieri made so much remarkable music across his long creative life its hard to know where to start when suggesting what to listen to. With his band La Perfecta he recorded 1965 solo album Azúcar pa' Ti (Sugar for You), a pioneering Latin American recording that laid a blueprint for what would soon be recognised as the New York salsa sound. The eight-minute long Azúcar got heavy radio play on jazz radio stations that previously had kept to the three-minute format. Eddie, when asked how he achieved this, simply noted that the mob-affiliated Morris Levy owned the label: when Morris instructed DJs what to play they obeyed. The album also marks the first recording of Palmieri playing his trademark montuno (a repeated syncopated vamp) with one hand while soloing with the other. In 1970 Eddie formed Harlem River Drive with brother Charlie. Recruiting top Latino musicians, and Black funk/soul musicians such as Bernard Purdie and Cornell Dupree, HRD's eponymous 1971 album served up a hugely influential Latin/funk fusion – War, the great Los Angeles funk band, borrowed heavily from Harlem River Drive while acid jazz DJs would introduce the album to UK clubs in the 90s. In 1974, album The Sun of Latin Music again demonstrated Eddie's mastery of blending jazz improvisation with sophisticated Latin dance rhythms – it won Palmieri the first ever Grammy for best Latin recording. Here he employed modal stylings, feedback and tape loops, marking himself as way ahead of his contemporaries yet never losing his core Latino audience. Eddie had helped pioneer and popularise salsa but, once it became a popular dance genre, he moved on, always experimenting, never resting on laurels. He loved to collaborate and his albums with the likes of Cal Tjader, La India, Tito Puente and his brother Charlie are all masterful. His adventurous nature meant he was invited to play on 1997's Nuyorican Soul album by Masters at Work – this album took New York's Latin flavours into the house music genre and won Palmieri a new audience. Not that Eddie was about to settle into Latin house – he kept pushing his own musical envelope and 2017 album Sabiduría ('Wisdom') is among his finest. I had hoped to see Palmieri play again one day, but least I have the memory of seeing El Maestro pound his piano with wild joy, this Nuyorican magus furiously blending jazz and Latin rhythms as he continued to quest across uncharted musical terrain.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Latin music trailblazer who won EIGHT Grammys dies at 88
Eddie Palmieri, who revolutionized Latin music and played a major role in the salsa explosion in New York City, passed away Wednesday at the age of 88, according to the artist's official social media account. The 'legendary pianist, composer, bandleader, and one of the most influential figures in Latin music history, passed away in his New Jersey residence on Aug 6,' read a post on Palmieri's Instagram handle, alongside a photo of the artist. Fania Records, the salsa label, mourned the star's death, calling him 'one of the most innovative and unique artists in music history.' 'We will miss him greatly,' it added. Born in Harlem, New York, to Puerto Rican parents, Palmieri was the younger brother of pianist Charlie Palmieri and entered the music scene at a young age. As a teenager, he took piano lessons at Carnegie Hall while also learning to play the timbales. He began performing professionally in bands, including a two-year stint with Puerto Rican musician Tito Rodriguez. Palmieri is recognized for having revolutionized the sound of Latin jazz and salsa, with a career spanning more than seven decades. In 1961, he founded the band 'La Perfecta', which redefined salsa by replacing trumpets with trombones. Four years later, his track 'Azucar Pa Ti' (Sugar For You) became a dancefloor hit -- and decades later, was added to the collection of the US Library of Congress. In 1975, he became the first Latin artist to win a Grammy, for his album 'The Sun of Latin Music,' which won in the newly established Best Latin Recording category. Palmieri was also one of the earliest salsa musicians to adopt a political tone in his compositions. In 1969, he released the album 'Justicia' (Justice), featuring lyrics that tackled inequality, social justice, and discrimination, with vocals by Puerto Rican singer Ismael Quintana and Cuban vocalist Justo Betancourt. Fania Records, the salsa label, mourned the star's death, calling him 'one of the most innovative and unique artists in music history.' 'We will miss him greatly,' it added. Born in Harlem, New York, to Puerto Rican parents, Palmieri was the younger brother of pianist Charlie Palmieri and entered the music scene at a young age; seen in 2011 A few years later, in 1972, he performed at Sing Sing, a prison in New York, in front of an audience largely made up of Latino and Black inmates, according to The Washington Post. 'For all humanity!' Palmieri shouted through a loudspeaker in the prison yard, the newspaper reported. He added that there should be 'no walls,' 'no fear,' and 'only one thing in life: freedom in the years to come.' 'He was a mentor, teacher, and tireless advocate for Latin music and culture,' read a tribute on his social media. 'He inspired generations of musicians and moved countless listeners with his artistry, conviction, and unmistakable sound.' He is survived by five children and four grandchildren. His wife, Iraida Palmieri, passed away in 2014.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Groudbreaking Latin music legend Eddie Palmieri dies at 88
Eddie Palmieri, the avant-garde musician who was one of the most innovative artists of rumba and Latin jazz, has died. He was 88. Fania Records announced Palmieri's death Wednesday evening. Palmieri's daughter Gabriela told The New York Times that her father died earlier that day at his home in New Jersey after "an extended illness." The pianist, composer and bandleader was the first Latino to win a Grammy Award and would win seven more over a career that spanned nearly 40 albums. Palmieri was born in New York's Spanish Harlem on December 15, 1936, at a time when music was seen as a way out of the ghetto. He began studying the piano at an early age, like his famous brother Charlie Palmieri, but at age 13, he began playing timbales in his uncle's orchestra, overcome with a desire for the drums. He eventually abandoned the instrument and went back to the playing piano. "I'm a frustrated percussionist, so I take it out on the piano," the musician once said in his website biography. His first Grammy win came in 1975 for the album "The Sun of Latin Music," and he kept releasing music into his 80s, performing through the coronavirus pandemic via livestreams. In a 2011 interview with The Associated Press, when asked if he had anything important left to do, he responded with his usual humility and good humor: "Learning to play the piano well. ... Being a piano player is one thing. Being a pianist is another." Palmieri dabbled in tropical music as a pianist during the 1950s with the Eddie Forrester Orchestra. He later joined Johnny Seguí's band and Tito Rodríguez's before forming his own band in 1961, La Perfecta, alongside trombonist Barry Rogers and singer Ismael Quintana. La Perfecta was the first to feature a trombone section instead of trumpets, something rarely seen in Latin music. With its unique sound, the band quickly joined the ranks of Machito, Tito Rodríguez, and other Latin orchestras of the time. Palmieri produced several albums on the Alegre and Tico Records labels, including the 1971 classic "Vámonos pa'l monte," with his brother Charlie as guest organist. Charlie Palmieri died in 1988. Eddie's unconventional approach would surprise critics and fans again that year with the release of "Harlem River Drive," in which he fused Black and Latin styles to produce a sound that encompassed elements of salsa, funk, soul and jazz. Later, in 1974, he recorded "The Sun of Latin Music" with a young Lalo Rodríguez. The album became the first Latin production to win a Grammy. The following year he recorded the album "Eddie Palmieri & Friends in Concert, Live at the University of Puerto Rico," considered by many fans to be a salsa gem. In the 1980s, he won two more Grammy Awards, for the albums "Palo pa' rumba" (1984) and "Solito" (1985). A few years later, he introduced the vocalist La India to the salsa world with the production "Llegó La India vía Eddie Palmieri." Palmieri released the album "Masterpiece" in 2000, which teamed him with the legendary Tito Puente, who died that year. It was a hit with critics and won two Grammy Awards. The album was also chosen as the most outstanding production of the year by the National Foundation for Popular Culture of Puerto Rico. During his long career, he participated in concerts and recordings with the Fania All-Stars and Tico All-Stars, standing out as a composer, arranger, producer, and orchestra director. In 1988, the Smithsonian Institute recorded two of Palmieri's concerts for the catalog of the National Museum of American History in Washington. Yale University in 2002 awarded him the Chubb Fellowship Award, an award usually reserved for international heads of state, in recognition of his work in building communities through music. In 2005, he made his debut on National Public Radio as the host of the program "Caliente," which was carried by more than 160 radio stations nationwide. He worked with renowned musicians such as timbalero Nicky Marrero, bassist Israel "Cachao" López, trumpeter Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, trombonist Lewis Khan, and Puerto Rican bassist Bobby Valentín. In 2010, Palmieri said he felt a bit lonely musically due to the deaths of many of the rumberos with whom he enjoyed playing with. As a musical ambassador, he brought salsa and Latin jazz to places as far afield as North Africa, Australia, Asia and Europe, among others. ___ Former Associated Press Writer Sigal Ratner-Arias is the primary author of this obituary.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Explosive and experimental, Eddie Palmieri was a revolutionary figure in postwar American music
Some 20 years ago I watched as Eddie Palmieri approached his piano, noting how his features radiated a mix of joy and excitement. As soon as he began to play I grasped why. To say the great Puerto Rican New Yorker was a thrilling performer is an understatement: seated at the piano he threw himself into playing explosive Latin jazz, his rhythmic attack reminding me how his first job as a professional musician was playing timbales in his uncle's band aged 13. This sense of joy, the excitement he found in making music, the chances he took, helped shape Eddie Palmieri's long, brilliant career. To my mind, Palmieri was one of the truly revolutionary figures of postwar American music, up there with Muddy and Miles and Aretha and Dolly: a musician who reshaped a genre and extended the music's possibilities. 'El Maestro' is how his fans and fellow musicians referred to Eddie, and this human hurricane, built like a fire hydrant with the brightest smile and a mischievous twinkle in his eye, never disappointed. Born to Puerto Rican parents in Spanish Harlem and raised in the Bronx, Palmieri grew up absorbing the music of his fellow Latinos – from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and, especially, Cuba – alongside the contemporary jazz and blues of his African American neighbours. Eddie started piano lessons aged eight – his brother Charlie Palmieri, nine years his senior, having already made his name playing Latin ballrooms while still in high school – and, by his early teens, was working alongside the likes of Tito Rodriguez while leading his own band. His love of Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner's groundbreaking jazz piano ensured he studied harmony and determined to extend the possibilities of the Latin big band. Due to his enthusiasm for modern jazz, Eddie's playing was often unconventional, employing unorthodox patterns and percussive effects, all the while drawing on the rhythmic richness of Latin music. His adventurous spirit ensured he influenced jazz, Latin and funk musicians while his generosity as a bandleader meant young musicians gravitated towards him, and the likes of Celia Cruz, Willie Cólon and Herbie Mann all appreciated his skills as a sideman. Palmieri made so much remarkable music across his long creative life its hard to know where to start when suggesting what to listen to. With his band La Perfecta he recorded 1965 solo album Azúcar pa' Ti (Sugar for You), a pioneering Latin American recording that laid a blueprint for what would soon be recognised as the New York salsa sound. The eight-minute long Azúcar got heavy radio play on jazz radio stations that previously had kept to the three-minute format. Eddie, when asked how he achieved this, simply noted that the mob-affiliated Morris Levy owned the label: when Morris instructed DJs what to play they obeyed. The album also marks the first recording of Palmieri playing his trademark montuno (a repeated syncopated vamp) with one hand while soloing with the other. In 1970 Eddie formed Harlem River Drive with brother Charlie. Recruiting top Latino musicians, and Black funk/soul musicians such as Bernard Purdie and Cornell Dupree, HRD's eponymous 1971 album served up a hugely influential Latin/funk fusion – War, the great Los Angeles funk band, borrowed heavily from Harlem River Drive while acid jazz DJs would introduce the album to UK clubs in the 90s. In 1974, album The Sun of Latin Music again demonstrated Eddie's mastery of blending jazz improvisation with sophisticated Latin dance rhythms – it won Palmieri the first ever Grammy for best Latin recording. Here he employed modal stylings, feedback and tape loops, marking himself as way ahead of his contemporaries yet never losing his core Latino audience. Eddie had helped pioneer and popularise salsa but, once it became a popular dance genre, he moved on, always experimenting, never resting on laurels. He loved to collaborate and his albums with the likes of Cal Tjader, La India, Tito Puente and his brother Charlie are all masterful. His adventurous nature meant he was invited to play on 1997's Nuyorican Soul album by Masters at Work – this album took New York's Latin flavours into the house music genre and won Palmieri a new audience. Not that Eddie was about to settle into Latin house – he kept pushing his own musical envelope and 2017 album Sabiduría ('Wisdom') is among his finest. I had hoped to see Palmieri play again one day, but least I have the memory of seeing El Maestro pound his piano with wild joy, this Nuyorican magus furiously blending jazz and Latin rhythms as he continued to quest across uncharted musical terrain.
