Eddie Palmieri, eight-time Grammy winner and Latin Jazz trailblazer, dies at 88: Who was he?

Eddie Palmieri, the avant-garde musician who was one of the most innovative artists of rumba and Latin jazz, has died. He was 88. Fania Records announced Palmieri’s death Wednesday evening.

Palmieri’s daughter Gabriela told The New York Times that her father died earlier that day at his home in New Jersey after “an extended illness.”

Who was Eddie Palmieri?

-Eddie Palmieri was the Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He revolutionized Latin jazz and salsa over a more than seven decades career.


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-One of the most influential figures in Latin music history, Eddie Palmieri was born on December 15, 1936 in Spanish Harlem to Puerto Rican parents, according to Billboard.

-He was greatly influenced by his older brother, the pioneering Latin pianist Charlie Palmieri. He started learning at the age of eight, and his brother Charlie, was a professional pianist. Charlie, known as the Giant of the Keyboards, died in 1988.

-At the age of 13, he began playing timbales in his uncle’s orchestra, overcome with a desire for the drums. Palmieri dabbled in tropical music as a pianist during the 1950s with the Eddie Forrester Orchestra.

-Coined as the "Madman of Salsa," was the first Latino artist to win a Grammy Award. He won his first Grammy Award in 1975 for his album The Sun of Latin Music.

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-Palmieri worked with Tito Puente and their album Masterpiece saw the duo pick up two Grammy gongs. His final Grammy win came in 2007 for the album Simpatico, which means nice or friendly when translated into English.

-Palmieri released the album Masterpiece in 2000, which teamed him with the legendary Tito Puente, who died that year. It was a hit with critics and won two Grammy awards.

-During his long career, he participated in concerts and recordings with the Fania All-Stars and Tico All-Stars, standing out as a composer, arranger, producer and orchestra director.

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-Over his career, Palmieri worked with renowned musicians such as timbalero Nicky Marrero, bassist Israel “Cachao” López, trumpeter Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, trombonist Lewis Khan and Puerto Rican bassist Bobby Valentín.

-Eddie Palmieri's death comes more than 10 years after the passing of his doting wife Iraida. He's survived by their five children and four grandchildren.