[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 182 (Tuesday, December 20, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1732-E1733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF EDDIE PALMIERI

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 20, 2016

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay 
tribute to Eddie Palmieri, a New Yorker, famed pianist and composer who 
has won nine Grammy Awards throughout his career. Mr. Palmieri has 
revolutionized Latin music, influenced many other musicians, and 
thrilled audiences with his unique sound. He is one of America's best 
jazz musicians and an icon in the music industry.
  Mr. Palmieri was born in Harlem, New York to Puerto Rican immigrants 
on December 15, 1936. He was raised in the Bronx and learned to play 
the piano at an early age. Through his education in the city's public 
school system, he was exposed to jazz.
  Mr. Palmieri was inspired to practice and perform publicly from 
watching his older brother, Charlie Palmieri, play with talented 
musicians. At the age of 11, Eddie Palmieri auditioned to perform 
classical piano at Carnegie Hall, and made his debut there in 1947.
  Mr. Palmieri's professional career as a pianist took off as he played 
with various bands in the early 1950s including Eddie Forrester, Johnny 
Segui, and the popular Tito Rodriguez Orchestra. By late 1961, Eddie 
Palmieri started his own band, Conjunto La Perfecta, which featured a 
unique instrumentation of trombones and flutes instead of trumpets. Mr. 
Palmieri also experimented with the fusion of jazz and Latin-style 
music, adding a bassist as

[[Page E1733]]

well as a vocalist. The unusual mixture became Palmieri's signature 
sound.
  After La Perfecta disbanded, Eddie began a new group with his brother 
Charlie, as well as musicians Victor Venegas, Andy Gonzales, Bernard 
``Pretty'' Purdie, and Ronnie Cuber. Developing a new style together, 
this group further blended traditional Latin music with Afro-Cuban 
influences.
  In 1974, Mr. Palmieri reached a career milestone with his release of 
The Sun of Latin Music. That year, he won his first Grammy Award, 
marking the first time that Latin music was recognized by the National 
Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS). He won again the 
following year for Unfinished Masterpiece (1974).
  Returning to Puerto Rico, Palmieri formed a band called the Eddie 
Palmieri Orchestra and recorded several Grammy-winning albums including 
Palo Pa' Rumba (1984), Solito (1985), and La Verdad (1987). In 1988, 
the Smithsonian Institution recorded two of Palmieri's performances for 
its catalog at the National Museum of American History in Washington, 
D.C.
  In 1993, Mr. Palmieri was appointed to the board of governors at the 
New York chapter of the National Association of Recording Arts & 
Sciences (NARAS). In 1995, he helped institute the Latin/African-
Caribbean Jazz category for the Grammys.
  Mr. Palmieri has received many awards throughout his career including 
the Alice Tully African Heritage Award from City College, the Harlem 
Renaissance Award, Yale University's Chubb Fellowship, and the Lifetime 
Achievement Award by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 
In 2013, Eddie Palmieri was awarded the coveted Jazz Master award by 
the National Endowment of the Arts, the highest honor an American Jazz 
artist can receive.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the 
extraordinary career of the exceptionally talented musician, Eddie 
Palmieri.