Eddie Palmieri to receive the Nation’s Highest Honor in Jazz
July 18, 2012
“Known as one of the finest Latin jazz pianists of the past 50 years, Eddie Palmieri is also known as a bandleader of both salsa and Latin jazz orchestras. His playing skillfully fuses the rhythm of Puerto Rico with the melody and complexity of his jazz influences: Thelonious Monk and NEA Jazz Masters Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner. ”
About NEA Jazz Masters:
Each year since 1982, the Arts Endowment has conferred the NEA Jazz Masters Award to living legends who have made major contributions to jazz. With this new class, 128 awards have been given to great figures of jazz in America, including Count Basie, George Benson, Art Blakey, Dave Brubeck, Betty Carter, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Herbie Hancock, Elvin Jones, John Levy, Abbey Lincoln, Max
Roach, Sonny Rollins, Cecil Taylor, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, and Teddy Wilson.
NEA Jazz Masters are selected from nominations submitted by the public and receive a one-time fellowship award of $25,000, are honored at an awards ceremony, and may participate in NEA-sponsored promotional, performance, and educational activities. 173 nominations were considered for the 2013 NEA Jazz Masters. Only living musicians or jazz advocates may be nominated for the NEA Jazz Masters honor.
Link to Official Announcement from NEA
Eddie Palmieri’s 50th Year Anniversary DVD
Release Date of Tuesday August 16, 2011!
Eddie Palmieri, one of the most exciting and renowned Latin pianists and leader of both Latin Jazz and Salsa Orchestras will be releasing his first official DVD on Tuesday, August 16th, entitled “Eddie Palmieri 50th Year Anniversary DVD,” which will be sold exclusively on his website at www.eddiepalmierimusic.com and Best Buy located at Union Square, NYC.
The DVD captures a unique live performance filmed at the Bushnell Auditorium in Hartford, CT. Mr. Palmieri and his Salsa Orchestra perform many of his greatest hits on this anticipated DVD. The DVD also features an intimate interview of Mr. Palmieri where he shares his life story with poignant reflections, along with his creative inspirations for songwriting. The legendary nine-time Grammy award winner is a groundbreaking composer and arranger, who has carved a signature musical style that is unequivocal in its inventive, and at times, avant-garde approach. As such, he has consistently challenged the boundaries of both Salsa and Latin Jazz.
Mr. Palmieri, a venerated Puerto Rican icon, will be promoting and celebrating this release at Best Buy located at One Union Square South (Corner of 14th Street and 4th Avenue), in New York City at 5pm. The first 200 people to buy the Eddie Palmieri 50th Anniversary DVD will receive a wristband which will guarantee admission to the DVD signing at Best Buy where Erica Gonzalez, the Executive Editor of El Diario / La Prensa, will moderate a Q&A. This special event will be taped and streamed live on BestBuy.com. Later that evening, the Publisher and CEO of El Diario / La Prensa, Rosanna Rosado, will host the official DVD release party at the newly reopened Copacabana nightclub located at 268 West 48th Street, where Mr. Palmieri will perform with his Orchestra at 9pm. This extraordinary evening will also benefit the EXODUS program, an East Harlem project that assists ex-offenders readjust to the demands and challenges of every day society.
Both events are open to the press.
DC Jazz Festival
April 26, 2011
The organizers of the D.C. Jazz Festival announced this morning that pianist Eddie Palmieri along with Jimmy Heath will be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards at this year’s event. Heath and Palmieri will join such DCJF Hall-of-Famers as Dr. Billy Taylor and Ellis Marsalis. DC Jazz Festival executive producer Charles Fishman said in a statement that “[n]o words could adequately express how much Mr. Heath and Mr. Palmieri have impacted the jazz genre and community.”
Please click here to access the press release in its entirety:
http://news1.capitalbay.com/news/washington-dc/d_c_jazz_fest_jimmy.html
Long Island Music Hall of Fame
October 28, 2010
Port Jefferson, NY, PRNewswire
“The Long Island Music Hall of Fame (LIMHoF) is proud to announce its Third Induction Award Ceremony and Fundraising Gala, on Tuesday, November 16th, at the famed Oheka Castle in Huntington, NY. Inductees include star of the Latin music world Eddie Palmieri, who will be inducted by Grammy Award-winning producer Rene Lopez.
Other 2010 inductees include folk singer Oscar Brand, Carole and Paula from TVs The Magic Garden, jazz vibraphonist Teddy Charles, heavy metal band Dream Theater, classical clarinetist Stanley Drucker, hip-hop performers Erik B. and Rakim, classical composer Morton Gould, photographer Bob Gruen, jazz drummer Roy Haynes, rock keyboardist Al Kooper, music executive Steve Martin, gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, former WLIR program director Denis McNamara, legendary venue My Father’s Place, rock singer Lou Reed, oldies girl-group The Shangri-Las and avant-garde saxophonist John Zorn.”
Please click here to access the press release in its entirety:
Eddie Palmieri’s “Azucar Pa Ti” inducted into the 2009 National Recording Registry of the United States Library of Congress
June 23, 2010
Direct from the Library of Congress press release:
“Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian, with advice from the Library’s National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB), is tasked with selecting 25 recordings that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least 10 years old. The selections for the 2009 registry bring the total number of recordings to 300.
“It is time to once again celebrate the nation’s rich sonic history and the importance of sound recordings in our lives,” said Billington. “This latest list of selections showcases the diverse beauty, humanity and artistry found in the American soundscape. The Library’s Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation will partner with many individuals and organizations to preserve and sustain these significant examples of our creative spirit so that they can inform and enrich the lives of modern and future generations.”
Additions to the registry also feature notable performances by Little Richard, Willie Nelson, The Band, The Staple Singers, Eddie Palmieri, Ethel Merman and Patti Smith.”
“16. “Azucar Pa Ti,” Eddie Palmieri (1965)
This breakthrough album was the result of a conscious effort by pianist and bandleader Eddie Palmieri to recreate on record the new Latin sounds that he and his eight-piece “La Perfecta” band were playing nightly in New York nightclubs and ballrooms in the early 1960s, and it set trends for years to come. Though steeped in the earlier Afro-Cuban styles that he loved, Palmieri led a band that represented several Latin music traditions and was particularly distinguished by the contributions of the hard-charging, Bronx-born trombonist Barry Rogers.”
Please click here to access the press release in its entirety:
http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2010/10-116.html
The Museum of Musical Instruments honors
Eddie Palmieri with an induction into their
Celebrity Gallery
April 24, 2010
Eddie Palmieri was inducted into the Celebrity Gallery of the new ground breaking Museum of Musical Instruments located in Phoenix, Arizona. In Mr. Palmieri’s gallery you will find memorabilia such as the first Grammy Award he won in 1975 for “The Sun of Latin Music,” the Yamaha piano he used to compose “Masterpiece/Obra Maestra,” (recorded with Tito Puente), his Chubb Fellowship Award, among other special items unique to his legacy in the world of music. Eddie Palmieri is most grateful for this tremendous honor as he is in the great company of Carlos Santana, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, George Benson, Dick Dale and Leonard Bernstein, to name a few. Please click on this link for more information about this extraordinary Museum and its mission: