Record of the day: Eddie Palmieri, “Palmas”

Eddie Palmieri
“Palmas” (Cd Elektra Nonesuch 7559-61649-2)

With dozens of albums under his belt that have earned him numerous Grammy Awards, and a career that began at age 13 when he began studying Bach on the piano during the day and playing timbales in Tito Puente’s orchestra at night, Eddie Palmieri can certainly say he is one of the living legends of Latin music, very active in dozens of concerts around the world with his band of musicians and followed by an enthusiastic audience of fans who dance until they drop to the sound of his music.

An energetic pianist, he was fired from Eddie Forrester’s orchestra as a young man because he played too loud, which says a lot.
if you think that in the same dance hall his colleague Pancho Cárdenas, nicknamed «Rompe Teclas» (you broke the ball), played.
Initially skeptical of the jazz language, he changed his mind thanks to his composition teacher Robert Bianco,
which introduced him to the structural and harmonic innovations of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans.
Eddie could count on the example of great soloists who had begun to mix jazz influences with those of Latin American music, starting with Dizzy Gillespie with Gil Fuller and Charlie Parker with Machito.
Initially timid, this mixture gradually became more and more robust without the progressive harmonic complexity
of Palmieri’s scores distracted him from what he always considered the primary objective, making his audience dance.

“Palmas” is one of his best works, divided into seven breathtakingly paced tracks in which complex rhythmic interlockings are
produced by the interaction between the wind section and the rhythm section made up of piano, bass, drums and percussion.
Apart from the solos, nothing is left to chance in these scores (perfectly controlled in terms of voicing and contrapuntal movements) which nevertheless manage to create a climate of great spontaneity.

The group’s energy explodes into the stereo with explosive energy, prompting Palmieri to produce angular chordal solos that evoke the spirit of Monk.
Spirited pages like “Mare Nostrum”, “Doctor Duck” and “You Dig” will easily get you the St. Vitus Ball.

Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical subjects.

This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: Un disco per ogni giorno dell’anno” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.