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NEA Announces Eddie Palmieri, 2012 R2R Festival artist, as Winner of 2013 NEA Jazz Master
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Announces the 2013 NEA Jazz Masters, Nation's Highest Honor in Jazz to nine time Grammy® Award winner and Latin music icon, EDDIE PALMIERI. Mr. Palmieri is widely recognized as one of the finest Latin jazz pianists of the past 50 years. “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.” (NEA)
With over 55 years as a composer and bandleader, 200 compositions and 30 albums, Eddie Palmieri (along with fellow 2013 inductees Mose Allison, Lou Donaldson and Lorraine Gordon) joins the ranks of musical legends who have made major contributions to jazz. With this new NEA class, 128 awards have been given to great figures of jazz in America, including Count Basie, George Benson, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie to name a few. The NEA will again partner with Jazz at Lincoln Center to produce an awards ceremony and concert in honor of the 2013 NEA Jazz Masters, that will be webcast live on Monday, January 14, 2013 on arts.gov and jalc.org/neajazzmasters. The ceremony will also be simulcast on SiriusXM Satellite Radio.
Heralded for his charismatic power and bold innovative drive, Eddie Palmieri was born in Spanish Harlem in 1936. Eddie began piano studies at an early age, alongside his celebrated older brother, the late Salsa legend and pianist, Charlie Palmieri. For Latin New Yorkers of Eddie’s generation, music was a vehicle out of El Barrio. At age 11, he auditioned at Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall) and joined his uncle’s orchestra at age 13, where he played timbales.
“By 15, it was good-bye timbales and back to the piano until this day. I’m a frustrated percussionist, so I take it out on the piano,” says Palmieri.
Eddie Palmieri embraces the future of his music by blazing a distinctive musical path to the delight of fans across the globe. He has one of the most actively touring Salsa and Latin Jazz orchestras to date, tours of which have taken him to Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin America, North Africa and throughout the Caribbean. A true powerhouse of brilliance known for his astute arranging skills and historic compositions, Mr. Palmieri has shown that time is infinite with respect to his repertoire as he continues to thrill audiences with his legendary style.
Eddie Palmieri is currently on his "EP75: Extended Play" tour, a worldwide celebration of the 75th year of Eddie Palmieri’s storied life and the legendary music he’s created. Mr. Palmieri is extending his legacy with a full schedule of events, including new music recordings for the first time since 2006. Some of his new compositions can be heard on the soundtrack of the soon-to-be released basketball documentary from director Bobbito Garcia, "Doin' It In The Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC."
Upcoming US appearances include New York’s SOB’s on August 3rd, The Hollywood Bowl (double bill w/Ruben Blades) on August 15th and the Monterey Jazz Festival on September 21st. For full schedule of events, please visit the websites listed below.
For more information on events, new music and videos, please visit http://www.ep75.com and www.eddiepalmierimusic.com.
