Eddie Palmieri, a trailblazer in Latin music, has died at age 88

Bandleader and pianist Eddie Palmieri, whose pounding rhythms forged a new style for Latin music, died Wednesday at the age of 88.

Fania Records, the renowned Latin jazz label that released several of Palmieri’s classic recordings, announced his death in a statement.

“Today, Fania Records mourns the loss of the legendary Eddie Palmieri, one of the most innovative and unique artists in music history.”

In the 1960s and early ’70s, Palmieri released a string of albums with his orchestra La Perfecta. They fused syncopated Afro-Caribbean beats and jazz stylings.

Songs like “Bilongo,” “Café” and “La Malanga” featured Palmieri’s signature, highly percussive piano playing. His was a full-bodied technique, employing forearms, elbows and even an occasional growl from the maestro himself.

Palmieri was born to Puerto Rican parents in New York City’s Spanish Harlem. It was a musical home. Palmieri got his start in his uncle’s ensemble, playing drums and timbales, his first instruments. His brother Charlie Palmieri would also go on to become a celebrated salsa and Latin Jazz musician.

As the Puerto Rican diaspora grew in the city in the 1950s, so did the circuit for Latin dance music. In an era marked by mambo, big bands and ballrooms, Palmieri soon found a home as a pianist in Tito Rodriguez’s Orchestra.

Known for his warmth and spirit, Palmieri was emphatic when asked on NPR’s Piano Jazz in 1997 to describe his explosive musical mix. “It’s definitely going to excite you,” he told host Marian McPartland. “I don’t guess I’m going to excite you with my music. I know it.”

By the mid 1960s, Palmieri was branching off in new directions, most notably in collaboration with vibraphonist Cal Tjader.

His knack for spotting legendary singers began with La Perfecta’s longtime lead voice, Ismael Quintana. Then, in 1974, Palmieri teamed up with a teenager from Puerto Rico named Lalo Rodriguez. The result of that collaboration was his first Grammy-winning album, The Sun of Latin Music. Palmieri would win more than half a dozen Grammys over the course of his career.

Palmieri became an elder statesman of Latin jazz, holding forth on its history, usually with a long cigar clasped in his hand. His song “Azúcar Pa’ Ti” was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2009. In 2013, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded him a Jazz Master Fellowship, one of the highest honors in jazz.

Palmieri would often dig into the history of the Caribbean to break down the rhythmic patterns that formed the basis of his music. “In a 300-year span, there was approximately 12 million Africans that were brought to the New World,” he told Piano Jazz. “They were never allowed their drums out of fear of communication. Fear of revolt. And these complex rhythmical patterns united in a compositional form called jazz.”

The Puerto Rican experience in New York City was for him a central theme. He protested against systemic inequalities in his seminal 1971 album, Harlem River Drive. His song “Puerto Rico” from his 1973 album, Sentido, is an enduring anthem for salsa aficionados all over the world. It’s also a testament to the inspiration Eddie Palmieri drew from his island roots throughout his storied career.