by SCOTT C

For over 50 years, Bronx-based pianist and bandleader Eddie Palmieri has brought the sounds of salsa and Latin jazz to the world. Originally a timbale player, this frustrated percussionist has remained loyal to the piano since he was 15, and it’s paid off—to the tune of eight Grammys and counting.

Mirror: When I think about the fact that you grew up in Spanish Harlem in the ’30s an ’40s, my mind goes crazy thinking about growing up in such a rich cultural centre.

Eddie Palmieri: I was born in Manhattan, and eventually moved to the Bronx where I was raised, and my brother Charlie used to get all the big records like Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, but the Latin music that was being made both before WWII and post-war was amazing, and really stayed with me growing up. When the Machito Orchestra came, and then Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez—oh man, this was the golden age of this music.

M: Do you ever feel like the energy and atmosphere of Latin music in the early ’50s New York could return to have a place in 2006?

EP: I would have to say no. At that time, everything was happening around Latin music, and it was one of the biggest moments that Latin music ever had. The mambo was king. Then came the cha cha cha that was coming in from Cuba, who we don’t communicate with anymore, but it was the music of Cuba that influenced the world, even making an impact in Hollywood. Imagine, commercial radio used to play all kinds of Latin orchestral music when I was a kid, and now, you just won’t hear that kind of music in the same way. There’s so many Latin genres now that the kids don’t know the older stuff, and sadly aren’t familiar with the dances either.

M: Do you consider yourself a purist?

EP: Yes, but flexible. Different genres have come and gone over my career. Don’t forget, I’ve been around for quite a while now, playing and seeing all kinds of things. You see reggaeton rappers with Latin orchestras now, making hybrid music, and that’s good. They end up helping each other.

With Yoel Diaz at Metropolis on Friday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m., $43

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