Jazz Forum Arts presents nine-time Grammy Award-Winner Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Ensemble. Eddie Palmieri is one of the foremost Latin jazz pianists of the last halfcentury, blessed with a technique that fuses such ubiquitous jazz influences as the styles of Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner into a Latin context.
No purist, he has also shown a welcome willingness to experiment with fusions of Latin and non-Latin music.
Like his older brother Charlie, Eddie started playing at an early age (eight) and studied classical piano while also playing drums. He made his professional debut with Johnny Sequi’s orchestra in 1955 and eventually joined Tito Rodriguez’s popular band in 1958-60. In 1961, Palmieri formed his highly influential band La Perfecta, whose flute and twin- or triple-trombone front line made American jazz musicians like Herbie Mann take notice; he also scored heavily in an excellent 1966 collaboration with Cal Tjader, El Sonido Nuevo (Verve). After La Perfecta split up in 1968 due to financial problems, Palmieri played
with the Tico and Fania All-Stars, recorded with Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, Cachao, and Justa Betancourt, and, like his brother, cut some Latin boogaloo sessions. Around the mid-’60s, Palmieri began formal studies of arranging, and the Monk influence became more pronounced in his piano work.
While recording for the Latin Coco label in the mid-’70s, Palmieri started to mix salsa with R&B, pop, rock, Spanish vocals and jazz improvisation. While much of his output as a leader remains out of print in American catalogs, several of his older albums are available on CD; Palmieri also remained active in the 1990s, recording the jazz-oriented Palmas (1993) for the normally classical Nonesuch label, as well as a series of albums for the RMM label. He is a nine-time Grammy-Award Winner. We welcome Eddie Palmieri and his band back to the Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown, NY on Friday, April 9, 2010. The concert is scheduled to take place from 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The concert was originally scheduled for Friday, March 26, 2010, but unfortunately, Eddie’s wife, Iraida (73) was shot last week by an 81-year-old neighbor. Iraida is in stabile condition and recovering. Tickets bought for the original show will be honored.
For tickets or more information, please go to here or call the toll-free number at 1-877-840-0457.
To enter the free tickets giveaway contest, please e-mail jazzforumarts@yahoo.com. First two responders will get two free tickets each.