Sun of Latin Music

Eddie Palmieri brings more than 50 years of of Salsa and Latin jazz to Mason Gross.

By: Megan Sullivan
   Cigar-smoking pianist Eddie Palmieri’s music is rivaled only by his ear-to-ear smile. One of the foremost Latin jazz pianists of the last half-century, Mr. Palmieri will perform Nov. 28 at Nicholas Music Center in New Brunswick. Two Mason Gross School of the Arts jazz groups — the Rutgers Jazz Ensemble, directed by Ralph Bowen, and the Scarlet Knights Jazz Trombones, directed by Conrad Herwig — will perform along with Mr. Palmieri.
   Rutgers Jazz Ensemble is the top student jazz ensemble at Mason Gross School of the Arts, and has performed at the Blue Note, Town Hall and Symphony Space, and in Japan by invitation of the Governor of the Fukui Prefecture. The Scarlet Knights Jazz Trombones is one of the elite groups in the Rutgers Chamber Jazz Ensemble program and was founded in 2005 by Mr. Herwig. The group comprises five trombonists and a jazz rhythm section and earned the first runner-up position in the 2006 International Trombone Association and Eastern Trombone Workshop jazz competitions.
   Mr. Palmieri’s career spans more than 50 years as a composer and bandleader of Salsa and Latin jazz orchestras. The Spanish Harlem-born composer won his eighth Grammy Award in February for his most recent release, Listen Here!, in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album. His other Grammys include the first presentation in the Best Latin Album category for The Sun of Latin Music (1975) and two for his 2000 release with Tito Puente, Obra Maestra/Masterpiece (one from the traditional Grammy award and one from the Latin Grammys).
   In recognition of his distinguished career, Mr. Palmieri has received multiple honors. In 1988, the Smithsonian Institution recorded two of his performances for its catalog of the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., a rare public honor. In 1991, Billy Taylor awarded him the Eubie Blake Award. He is among the few Latin musicians recognized by the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico and the New York State Assembly. The 1998 Heineken Jazz Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico, paid tribute to his contributions as a bandleader with an honorary doctorate degree from the Berklee College of Music. In 2002, Yale University awarded him the Chubb Fellowship — a distinction usually reserved for international heads of state — in recognition of his work in building communities through music.
   Born in 1936, Mr. Palmieri began piano studies at an early age, as did his celebrated older brother, the late Salsa legend and pianist Charlie Palmieri. At age 11, he made his classical debut at Carnegie Hall. Eddie briefly gave in to his desire to play the drums when he joined his uncle’s orchestra at age 13. By the time he turned 15, however, he said goodbye to the timbales and returned to the piano for good.
   In the early ’50s Mr. Palmieri began his professional career as a pianist with Eddie Forrester’s Orchestra and in 1955 joined Johnny Segui’s band. He then spent a year with the Tito Rodriguez Orchestra before forming his own band, Conjunto La Perfecta in 1961. La Perfecta featured a trombone section (led by the late Barry Rogers) in place of trumpets, which was highly unconventional for Latin music. It was known as "the band with the crazy roaring elephants" for its unique orchestration of two trombones, flute, percussion, bass and vocalist. With an infectious and soaring sound, Mr. Palmieri’s band soon joined the ranks of Machito, Tito Rodriguez and the other major Latin orchestras of the day.
   It’s no wonder he often indulges in a cigar — he’s had plenty of reasons to celebrate.
Eddie Palmieri will perform, along with students in the Rutgers Jazz Ensemble
and the Scarlet Knights Jazz Trombones, at Nicholas Music Center, Mason
Gross Performing Arts Center, 85 George St., New Brunswick, Nov. 28, 8 p.m. Tickets
cost $15, $10 students. For information, call (732) 932-7511. Mason Gross on the
Web: www.masongross.rutgers.edu.
Eddie Palmieri on the Web: www.eddiepalmierimusic.com