Conjunto La Perfecta

As a young man Eddie Palmieri learned from his brother Charlie, accompanying him at talent contests and gigs. He studied piano, and soon his time would come to perform in the dance halls with the great Tito Rodriguez. It might seem as though he was ready to follow the scene, but soon his innate curiosity and fierce vision began to emerge. In 1961 Palmieri started his first band featuring Ismael Quintana on vocals - Conjunto La Perfecta - foreshadowing his life’s quest for musical perfection. With Charanga as the dance craze of the time, he flipped the big band lineup by replacing violins with trombones, creating one of, if not the most innovative groups of the time. On the liner notes to the debut album, Charlie Palmieri dubbed the style ‘Trombanga’. This subtle but powerful change led a whole new movement as other bandleaders adopted the new sound. And yet, this is just the start of Eddie Palmieri’s experimentation.

Up next, the blending of style gets deep…

Saludando al maestro

EVERY DAY we are thankful that the great Eddie Palmieri has entrusted us with his recordings; albums that represent his continuous search for perfection in music. It began last year with the Latin Jazz classic Sabiduria, and continued in 2018 with Salsa albums Full Circle and Mi Luz Mayor. And so we salute Mr. Palmieri, with highlights from his career each day as we lead up to Friday’s release of Mi Luz Mayor. First, some history:

Born in 1936 in New York, Mr. Eddie Palmieri is a bandleader, arranger, and composer who has skillfully fused the rhythm of his Puerto Rican heritage with the complexity of his jazz influences. He gained international attention as a pianist in the 1950’s, playing with Eddie Forrester and the popular Tito Rodriguez Orchestra, among others. In 1961 he formed La Perfecta, featuring an unconventional front line of trombones that created a new sound, mixing American Jazz into Afro-Caribbean rhythms and leading to the trombone-heavy Salsa explosion in the 1970s.

Throughout the 60s and 70s Mr. Palmieri continued to surprise fans and critics with his unique sound – in 1970 he released the epic ‘Harlem River Drive’, merging Black and Latin music into a free-form sound that seamlessly blends elements of funk, soul, rock, salsa, and jazz. In 1975 Mr. Palmieri was awarded the very first Grammy for Best Latin Recording; this would be the first of ten Grammys over the next 30 years. His lyrics and arranging style have influenced countless musicians from a diverse array of settings, including Chick Corea, Ruben Blades, Willie Colon and the Fania All Stars, Christian McBride, and hip hop pioneer Bobbito Garcia.

2018 Countdown | Sasha Masakowski

It’s good to have a little fun ya know, and while we take the music seriously we were super excited for this record from Sasha Masakowski. Playful, eccentric, but with all the chops one would expect from a progressive Jazz musician, Sasha’s 2018 release Art Market brings a range of style with instant classics like ‘Juicy Booty Song’ and ‘Sister’, but it was her version of the New Orleans staple Jockamo that grabbed our attention. The song has a storied history, and Sasha re-imagines it from a woman’s perspective without losing the spirit. Dig in to Art Market right here.

2018 Countdown | Tommaso Cappellato

Tommaso embodies the art form: gentle, flowing, dignified yet absolutely curious. A traveler with a message who is just as comfortable in his native Padova, Italy, as he is in a New York studio. A student of the drum and the rhythm, and a man who embraces technology as it applies to music. He came to Ropeadope via Mark de Clive-Lowe’s imprint Mashibeats, delivering his acclaimed debut album Aforemention, in 2016 and this year he reworked the project with remixes that developed through random encounters on his tour of the world. Nia Andrews, Natalie May, and more bring the album out of the studio and into the world in a soulful way. Drop in right here for both albums.